Text Ooi Sulyn | Photography BK Loh

Being born and bred in a small town, I naturally prefer to dine in homey settings. Thus I was a little hesitant at first when I headed to Angus House for lunch, a fine dining Japanese steakhouse tucked away on the highest floor in Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. But what greeted me was not an ostentatious display, but an inviting place that lets quality speaks for itself. Softly lit and furnished in a clean-cut style, it gives off a minimal yet elegant air, and with sultry piano music playing in the background, it felt like I was stepping away from the city and into a calm, tranquil place. After being introduced to the manager, Julian, I took a seat with my colleagues and let the restaurant’s accommodating staff take us through a very pleasant dining experience over the course of an intimate afternoon.

Living up to its name, Angus House boasts of their selection of steaks which are mostly imported from Australia, with the exception of their Wagyu and Kobe. Their specialty lies in preparation: the steaks are charcoal grilled, which sears in flavor and retains the meat’s tenderness, and using Japanese ingredients in their sauces give an eastern twist to otherwise very western fare. In fact, most of their culinary has that kind of approach: there will be one or two key ingredients in an unassuming dish to remind your palate of the land of the rising sun. Apart from steaks, they also offer seafood, pasta and poultry, and of course a meal of this cuisine is not complete without wine to finish: their wine cabinet, which will be the first thing that catches your eye as you enter, carries a fine selection of reds and whites from countries as far as Chile and New Zealand.

We were there to sample their set lunch, but Julian, being an excellent host, also gave us the treat of trying
their signature dish and dessert that was specially made for our visit. Once seated, we delved right into our first course. Appetizer was Japanese green salad, which was fresh greens topped with wafu (paper thin fish flakes) and drizzled with dressing made of shoyu and vinegar. The result was a crisp and light teaser that whetted our palates for our soup du jour (soup of the day) which came in three: sweet corn, green bean and minestrone, served with a hard roll on the side. The hard roll was, well, hard. We were told that they were made without eggs, hence the slightly dry and chewy texture. However they went well with the soups, which had distinctive tastes and were different from one another. The green bean was a savory, thick and creamy broth while the sweet corn was not as dense, but still creamy, and sweet as the name suggests. The minestrone in comparison was lighter and milder in flavor: clear, tomato based soup with little chunks of vegetables; it makes a nice contrast from the previous two.

First course over, the main dish made its entrance in the form of Spaghetti Pescatore. Tomato based seafood pasta served with squid, prawns, clams and mussels; I liked how the seafood flavor had been infused but not overwhelmingly so, making it easy on the palate.

Next was Angus House’s signature dish: Black Angus tenderloin with Japanese sauce made of Shoyu and Fuji apple. Cooked over the open air charcoal grill situated at a corner of the restaurant, it was served medium rare with a dollop of butter and garnished with baby potatoes. The result was a perfect marriage of sweet, savoury and a hint of butter mixed with the beef’s natural juices, as we chewed on each succulent morsel, and we clearly saw why it is such a hit among patrons.

The Hamburg steak concluded our main course. Accompanied with mushroom and black pepper sauce, the steak was more like a hearty minced meat patty topped with a bull’s eye. This was a more typical dish, but nonetheless worthy of praise: the mince was lean and the fine bits of mushroom gave the sauce a full flavor.

Dessert was gourmet sized chocolate marjolin drizzled in vanilla sauce. The look resembles tiramisu and is best described as layered dark chocolate, cream and nuts.

Tables cleared and sipping on coffee, we chatted with Julian and asked what he was craving to eat at that very moment, to which he replied “local hawker food”, which showed his down to earth side and warmed this Malaysian’s heart. He also mentioned that they wanted to create a more intimate and romantic ambiance for diners, which made me envision the place buzzing in a cozy, warm candlelight affair as couples hold muted conversations over their meals, their privacy undisturbed. As we took our leave – for we had stayed way past their break, and only he and two others remained to attend to us – I took in the surroundings for one last time. Cool white marble, ebony wooden beams, beige sack cloth lanterns glowing discreetly in corners, Angus House proved that a fine dining restaurant can be classy without being arrogant in any way. And that suited me very much.

Angus House is open from 11.30am – 10pm on weekdays and past 12am on weekends. Their lunch menu is available at an affordable price ranging from RM26 – RM 35, and includes appetizer, soup du jour, main and dessert. Prices for dinner start from RM 42 for mains. The restaurant has a seating capacity of 98 and features a mini bar, open air grill and private rooms are available for hire. All prices are subject to 10% service charge and 5% government tax.

Restaurant: Ninja Jones Izakaya, Kuala Lumpur

Valentine’s Day Dinner
Guess where I took MiSsMyNx for Valentine’s Day Dinner? Where you able to guess? It’s written all over my previous food post!

Anyway, since no one answers me (how could you right? You’re reading my blog, not chatting with me…). The answer’s Ninja Jones @ Northpoint.

Making an early reservation was a good thing as there were practically crowd lining up waiting for their seats at the entrance from 7.30pm onwards… Now, the best bit I overheard from the manager was that, by 8.30pm, those without reservation, they have to be turned away. There just isn’t enough space to accomodate walk in customers for that day. Inside my heart was like, phew, Thank God I made reservations for us.

On to the food that we ate… Gyu Karubi Sumini-Yaki: Wagyu Beef or Kobe Beef, your choice. The beef do taste different compared to those you get in other places. All those massaging and alcohol DO give the cows better meat! How long it takes for you to cook the beef is also up to you, so you can choose to have some as rare, medium raw or cooked.

Salmon Carpaccio: Raw salmon prepared with some italian touch. To tell you the truth, I don’t really like those salmon that was served at Sushi Kings and all those fast food Sushi restaurants cause I feel that the fish ain’t fresh enough. But This plate of raw fish, I can tell you this, the one plate we ordered isn’t enough for both of us!

Soft Shell Crab Temaki: This California Roll with Soft Shell Crab in it looks good, but I didn’t eat any of it. Didn’t really like Seaweeds.

King Prawn Roll: I’ve commented about this dish before in my previous Ninja Jones post and I will still say it again. It was good! Too bad they didn’t have any Caterpillar Roll that night or we’d have ordered that again.

Volcano Roll: Again, a dish that we can never get bored of, no matter how many times we orders it.

Eringi Ninniku Shoyu Grill: Mushrooms on a grill, best eaten as soon as it arrived as the mushroom will tend to have a tougher bite to it as it starts to dry up from the heat of the stove.

Ti-Ra-Mi-Su: The Tiramisu Cake with a scope of green tea and some fruits in it. A nice dessert to end the night. So, How was your Valentine’s Dinner? Do come and comment a bit.