Destinations

Bara On Six Kuala Lumpur review: Happy Hour Asia highlights Traders Hotel’s excellent, refurbished restaurant and gin bar!

Situtated on level six ’bara’means: amber or flames, which reflects the fact that it’s a contemporary grill restaurant. And the absence of white cloth tables, the atmosphere is still leisure-like while it is a great choice for a sophisticated lunch or dinner – which could be combined with a drinking session at the special gin bar. Hence, guests will come across as different atmosphere at lunch time versus evening time. Gin bottles on display shelves behind the bar stretches high up to the ceiling on four sides of a wide, wood panel-covered pillar.

Happy Hour Asia’s visit is for lunch and on offer Tuesday – Friday you can have ’The Executive Set Lunch’, which comes with all you-can-eat appetizers, along with a main course, and also the option to add a dessert.

Bara On Six serves the fines cuts, local seafood and a selection of craft gins with a nod to Malaysian influences. Its Executive Chef Unaver Unabai and his team has conceptualised a menu focused on and paying homeage to the intricate flavours of Malaysia and the high-quality ingredients they indee can source locally. Aside classic grill items, the dining venue also offers delectable alternative dietary options, inspired by a healthier lifestyle.

Leading the charge for local and home grown, the hotel restaurant also wants to be as sustainable as it possibly can, and therefore collaborate with artisan food producers, where the produce is mostly sourced locally. For instance, the kale in the Kale salad is source from SunwayX, a vertical hydroponic farm in Kuala Lumpur City Centre itself while the delicious tomatoes used in our Tomato soup is source from Cameron Highlands. For the dessert selection: Cacao Chocolate comes from the Pahang region, and the coffee beans are from Sungai Pelek, Sepang.

Even select meat comes from Malaysia: The poultry is delivered from a free-range farm in Tapah, Perak while the seafood is supplied by various fish farms in the country.

Upon entering the restaurant one finds a show kitchen (though parts of the restaurant tables are situated around a corner). The oyster bar is also right in front of the open kitchen, where guests can make their choice of the delicacy that will then be shucked upon order. The chosen oysters are then served on ice, with: Ponzu (Japanese citrus-based sauce, red pepper Chermoula, and the classic sauce for serving with oysters: Mignonette. You find Fin De Clair and Sydney Rock among the selection.

The décor suitably includes wall paintings depicting oysters. Dining tables come in square brown wood, with four high-back leather chairs at each table.

Bara on Six offers some taste sensations, and the opening act is Farmed tiger prawn Hinava
Borneo style (tiger prawn tartare, ginger, shallots, chili, Cameron chive and highland lime juice). So here ‘Hinava’ actually had to be looked up, and it turned to be a dish from Borneo indeed; “a traditional native dish of the Kadazan-Dusun people in the state of Sabah. It is made from fish and mixed with lime juice, bird’s eye chili, sliced shallots and grated ginger”. This sushi-like cold dish is quite sensational in its taste, with a hint of lime and spices.

Other starters equally tempting are: Roasted Cameron highland tomato soup (with basil oil and Mascarpone), or Chargrilled Japanese octopus (with chorizo ragout).

Then it’s time for some oysters that are well chilled and beautifully presented in a bowl with crushed ice and lime slices. Washed down with an oyster wine pairing glass of white, Tempus Two Sauvignon Blanc (Australia) it’s a perfect combo that surely wakes up one’s taste buds!

The Savignon Blanc also fits the choice of ‘Sea & Land’ main entree perfectly: Almon crumbled seabass fillet a la plancha (with highland cauliflower mousseline, pickle Kyuri and basil clam fumet). The fish is served triangle-shaped and with the slightly burnt crumble covering its skin, surrounded by some opened clams and pickles; where flavour, texture and colour of the ingredients are perfectly combined.

It’s perfectly cooked and delicious, and with the most beautiful plating. The same goes for the choice of inspired dessert: Chokanan mango textures. If mango is something you prefer then this Sweet Finish is it, and also not a heavy – but rather light – dessert.

Another option is the Chef’s artisan cheese platter (Fin Briard Aux Truffles, Buchette Cendree, Jacquin, Soresina Provolone, Grana Padano), a perfect if wishing to continue exploring the wine list…

Other main courses to mention where the local content cannot be discounted are: Roasted Tapah Perak free-range chicken (Braised lemon olive French bean, highland tomato cherry, lentils ragout) and Grilled Kuala Selangor farm tiger prawns (Highland mesclun salad, Cameron capsicum chermoula).

Here, the Malaysian hybrid Kaluga Amur caviar ’Malaysian Oscietra caviar’ must also be highlighted: ”T’LUR is the first ever Malaysian brand caviar that is 100% local. Bred and produced in Tanjung Malim, Perak, the caviar collection from T’lur has a unique, distinctive flavour that is produced using a local aquaculture technique that is different from the traditional method of sturgeion farming. This creates a more localised Asian flavour in the caviar”.

On the grill front in-house dry aged steaks are on the menu, from meat specialy picked from Stanbroke farms, originally from the gulf region of northen Queensland.

Bara on Six coming with an integrated gin bar the following signature gin cocktails can also be mentioned:
OMG: Oh-My-Gin
Citadelle gin, cointreau, Creme de Casis, Orange and lemon juice

Ginny@Six
Botanist Islay gin, melon liqueur, mojito mint syrup and lemon juice

Pinky Gin-tini
Chase pink gin, pomegranate syrup and lime juice

The Gentleman
Roku gin, martini bianco, bitter truth orange and Yuzu tonic water

Ginawo Ku (My Heart)
Tanqueray No.10 gin, sparkling wine, raspberry jam vanilla syrup and lime juice

It all makes for a fabulous dining and drinking adventure in the evening or a beautiful business lunch!