IT was such a pleasure to let the chef decide what we should have for dinner and be served as soon as we arrived.

We knew that we were in the capable hands of Angie Hiew, the chef and owner of Tifa at KL Trillion.

It’s been a year since she opened Tifa, a private kitchen in the elegant dining room where you can enjoy a four- or five-course menu or order a la carte. The cafe outside is for casual dining with the express lunch menu starting at RM25.

I was blown away by the poached egg on hollandaise sauce with avocado. The sauce was fine, silky, and creamy. The yolk was perfectly done, flowing to meld with the sauce. Together with avocado and salad greens, it made for a delectable, classic starter.

The wild mushroom soup came with a long, thin piece of toast topped with porcini mushroom slices and chitose cherry tomato. We tipped the porcini and sweet tomato into the nutty, aromatic soup made of boletus mushrooms. It was soup to be slowly savoured in between bites of the crispy toast rubbed with garlic and tomato.

The main course of braised grass-fed beef cheek was another classic dish. It was slow-cooked with red wine, herbs, celery, onions and garlic for eight hours, rendering the meat meltingly tender and flavourful. I wiped the dish clean of the delicious gravy with the meat and creamy mashed potato that was served with it. The marinated fennel on top balanced the richness of the beef, as did the asparagus.

If beef is not your thing, there are other main courses on the a la carte menu, such as the dragon tiger garoupa fillet with mango salsa and white balsamic vinegar that I had on a previous visit. It was a luscious fried fish fillet with a tangy sauce enhanced with the sweetness of chitose tomatoes and mango salsa.

And then there is the smoked chicken breast featuring juicy slices of lightly smoky meat deliciously paired with mango salsa and pommery mustard sauce.

Of course, when making a reservation for dinner, do let the chef know your meat or fish preference for the main course. It’s a reasonable RM148 for four courses and RM168 for five.

Beautifully plated artisanal desserts were our fourth course. These included lychee raspberry mascarpone, black forest cake, and tiramisu.

I liked my boozy tiramisu that stayed true to the traditional Italian recipe. The black forest cake was stunning encased a giant red “cherry”.

The lychee raspberry mascarpone came in a pink heart and is just the dessert for Mother’s Day.

The lunch express is served until 3pm. You can have a burger with crispy boneless chicken leg and fries with coffee; baguette pizza with coffee and chicken parmigiana; avocado poached egg and mango salad; or the signature chicken pate.

Tifa Modern European Restaurant & Bar is on the ground floor of KL Trillion, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. Call 017-358 1338, for enquiries. – May 13, 2023.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.