September 5, 2022

Atelier Binchotan @ Taman Desa, KL

Heard tons of WOW about Atelier Bichotan, and finally, I managed to visit.

Atelier Binchotan 備長炭坊

Located at Taman Desa, this restaurant housed an open kitchen concept with a no-frills dining space; whereby patrons get to observe the chef in action while enjoying their delicious dishes on the solid concrete dining table. Atelier Binchotan uses Japanese binchotan charcoal to flame up the ingredients, enhancing the flavors of the ingredients naturally, giving a scented smokiness aftertaste.

I must say, this restaurant has got to be the hardest one to get the reservation. There are only 8 to 10 seats per time slot and reservation can only be done on tableapp once they announce “open for reservation”. Normally the seats would be taken up in seconds. It is like striking the lottery if you managed to get the seats. Thanks to my friend, Jessie for helping us to score the seats. We made our reservation in June, till … August, only we get to visit.

The menu is short and simple; there are also some off menu items which are not listed in the menu. As we had a greedy mind to order everything on the menu, but the staff hold us back. LOL. She was very nice, slowly explaining to us and even helped us to plan on how many we should order.

But first, pop a bottle. You may bring your own bottle with corkage fee charges at Rm 40.

Oyster Ice Cream (Rm 20)
Sea lettuce, sushi vinegar
A chilling cold starter or maybe I should say this is a perfect amuse bouche that helps to open up the appetite. Each spoonful of ice cream was jam-packed with its umami-ness and the briny sea flavour.

Kaya Toast (Rm 40)
Foie Gras, brioche
Thick cut of grill-roasted brioche layered with kaya and garnished with foie gras shaving. This was such a perfect combination! It was creamy and fatty, with velvety smooth texture melted on your tongue and ended with a sweet egg-y scent of kaya. Must must must order!

Mini Burger (Rm 18)
Barbecue pork patty, gribiche
Juiciest barbecue pork patty sandwiched in between the fluffiest buns and loaded with sauce gribiche. Gosh, it was soooo yummy and juicy, bursting every flavours in my mouth as I chewed it.

Smoked Beetroot (Rm 30)
Apple leather, parma ham, XO sauce
A refreshing combination with a medley of sweetness from the beetroot, apple leather and parma ham.

Thai Baby Eggplant (Rm 30)
Black garlic chimichurri, pine nut

Shima-aji (Rm 65)
Smoked tomato jam, kelp salt
Beautifully grilled fish with fragrant charred edges but raw-ish center, served along with smoked tomato jam and sprinkles of kelp salt. The tomato jam was quite a surprise to me, to go along with the grilled shima-aji. However, I’d find the shima-aji a lil’ fishy. Hmmm…

Charcoal Grilled Japanese Scallop (Rm 80)
That size was so gigantic! No regret ordering this off menu item. It was so sweet and packed with the sea essence! I still get a huge chunk even though it was sliced into three servings for sharing.

Pork Cheek (Rm 60)
Burnt onion, chestnut puree
Oh myyyy, another must order! The pork cheek was very tender and succulent, with perfectly charred edges. That charred edge’s aroma was something nowhere else can mimic it. It was so aromatic, so delicious!

Australian Angus Rib Eye (around Rm 250 for 350gram)
Sarawak black pepper and watercress salad
Made medium rare, again, it was just too amazing with its beautifully charred edges but at the same time the protein part remained in pinkish hue.

Duck (Rm 80)
Garlic sausage, peach
If you happened to see this in their off menu, please just order it. We made a right decision ordering this. I don’t think I have ever tasted such texture and combination.

The aged duck was extremely juicy with crusty skin, paired up well with the sweetness from the peach and garlicky sausage.

Pistachio & Cherry Tart (Rm 15)
Nutty and creamy

Buah Keluak Tart (Rm 18)
Warm chocolate, smoked paprika
A very special sweet ending where you get the combination of savoury, bittersweet and spicy flavour at the same time.

Melon Ice Cream (Rm 20)
Green grape, Jasmine Tea Vinegar
Ahhh, a very refreshing sweet ending, with sourish sweet green grape and lightly scented aroma from jasmine tea vinegar.