I've heard about Chef Yenni from her days in Meatology and had actually included her restaurant in my restaurant-to-visit list but, for some reason, never gotten round to doing it. Then I read her humbling experience and emotional comeback story of having to shut down her 17-year old restaurant due to the pandemic and the courage to start again.
And that courage has led her to open her new restaurant,
Meat Feds by Chef Yenni Law @ Section 11 PJ, finally a place to call her own (+ this place comes highly recommended by my blogger friend,
PhongHongBakes, so there's no reason not to try). They actually relocated here from
Taman Paramount where she co-shared the space with her wine supplier. Watch out for the small signage at the top corner of the restaurant otherwise it's quite easy to miss the place since there's no visible signboard (I'm not sure why though).
The place is pretty simple in terms of looks and furnishing, not too big a space but comfortable enough. The decor certainly does not scream high end for the quality of food they serve. I prefer this kind of unpretentious, casual, relaxed vibe which I feel more comfortable in. I don't need fancy settings...just good food! ;)
From where I was seated, I could see one side of her wall space was adorned with framed pictures of all the awards and accolades that she was graced with throughout her illustrious career. It's good to celebrate one's milestones and accomplishments, big or small, along the way.
Decor and ambience aside, let's get to the food starting with the
appetiser rounds...and we ordered quite a few that evening kicking off with this
Ham Sap Siew Yuk @ RM33 which is unlike the traditional taste of
siew yuk you'd find selling at roasted meat/chicken rice stalls in our local coffee shops, of course.
There's nothing
ham sap (lewd) in this rendition of
siew yuk (
lol), just that the pork belly has been marinated for 48 hours in a
salted egg sauce (
ham/salty) and a
caramel glaze (
sap/wet) instead of the usual salt + vinegar marinade used by roasted meat stalls. It featured the most incredibly crispy crunchy skin I've ever tasted in a
siew yuk version while still keeping the meat absolutely moist and tender. It was irreproachable in both taste and texture...what a way to kickstart our meal. ^.^
Next was the
Slow Crawler @ RM25 and, as the name implies, it has to be snails,
French snails to be exact...or its more "
atas" name of
escargots...and if you know me, you know how I love them molluscs (be it cockles, clams, scallops or oysters with the exception of mussels).
Featuring 4 pcs of rather large, juicy
French snails (and I happened to grab the largest piece...
yay!) cooked in a secret
cream sauce, it was simply awesome. Not sure what the chef's secret sauce was (something different from the usual butter/garlic/parsley sauce I'm used to having) but it went very well with the escargots. I can easily gulp down a dozen of these! ;)
I ordered the
Tuna Balls @ RM48 coz, first of all, it was visually appealing on the menu and secondly, it's not a common appetiser I come across in other restaurants. The shell of the tuna balls resembled a popular
Indian street snack of
panipuri (that's traditionally filled with potatoes, onions, chickpeas & spices with a flavoured water like a diluted chutney) but this one has a more "
atas" filling of marinated
saku AA tuna with
pickled onions,
sea grapes and
yuzu puree.
The shell of the tuna balls were extremely crispy and makes for an explosion of flavours in one bite dipped into a squirt of yuzu puree with its lightly charred tuna, tart pickled onions and juicy sea grapes. A very light and refreshing starter which was different and delicious...and just like the previous dish of escargots, it was perfect for sharing among our party-of-four.
This was followed by the
Roll With Me @ RM25, a dish (on the menu with a chef's hat) of
prawn paste and minced pork wrapped in
streaky bacon topped and finished with
bonito flakes and
tobiko.
Bacon-wrapped things are a favourite of many offering a fragrant, savoury bite with its charred edges. Eaten with the cream sauce at the bottom, it was a delight. There were also some slivers of (what I thought was) vinegared daikon to provide that bit of acidity to the dish.
Rounding up the appetisers was this
Butter of Gods @ RM78 of
roasted bone marrow topped with
caviar and served with
focaccia sourdough and an
onion +
dill pickle. I've been reading how tasty bone marrow is and have always wanted to try but not many places offer this dish. So I went on saw it on the menu here, I ordered it without hesitation.
It was even better than I thought it would be with its rich, fatty, buttery, umami flavours. You eat it by scrapping and scooping the bone marrow off the bone and spreading it on the piece of sourdough provided. So good, it literally has that instantly melting texture and the pickles were there to cut through the richness. The dish is aptly named as the taste was indeed heavenly...food fit for the Gods indeed! It was so creamy, buttery delicious that I wanted to pick up the bone and lick it clean! :D It was an indulgent delicacy that was deeply satisfying and decadent! ^o^
Are we done yet? Not quite. From the
Appetisers section, we move to the
Frills section of the menu where I ordered the
Grilled Thorn-Apple @ RM12, a wordplay on the word "thorn" that simply meant pineapple slices.
Featuring 3
grilled pineapple pieces seasoned with
Moroccan spices, it was charred to juicy sweetness offering a refreshing respite to our otherwise meaty meal.
Steak and frites (as we all know) is a perfect pairing, so an order of
Truffle Fries @ RM17 was expected. I'm always weary of truffle-related dishes as some places use truffle oil which is particularly pungent and unappetising to me, so I made sure this was not the case (and was assured it was not) before I ordered.
The shoestring fries were fried to crispy perfection and those little bits of
truffle gave it that added umami savouriness making the fries one of the best I've eaten...gloriously tasty, absolutely addictive. These truffle fries make for a perfect side dish (to your meats) or as a snack while enjoying your drinks.
With the appetisers and frills all served, we've arrived at the real scene-stealer of the night (which was served last)...the
4 GYU Platter @ RM399 showcasing 500g of 4 types of tasters/cuts...
Angus Entrana (AE),
Wagyu Rump (WR),
Black Angus Flank (AF) and
Butcher's Cut (BC).
The menu describes in detail all the various cuts and where the cuts are from the cattle (if you wish to know)...I don't coz I won't remember it later anyway.....I just want to eat! ;D The server advised us to eat in a
specific order (just like you would with
Japanese yakiniku) starting with
AE, WR, AF and ending with
BC.
I guess this approach of
flavour gradation of starting (perhaps) with lighter cuts before progressing to richer, more marbled cuts allows us to appreciate the nuances of each cut better. But some of us with a simple palate may not be able to fully recognise the subtle differences in the progression of each cut. So, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter in which order we eat, it matters that we enjoy what we eat.
All the 4 cuts were stunningly tender, juicy and buttery with good flavour though some of the leaner cuts may have a bit more of a bite. Of the four, my personal favourites were the
Angus Entrana and
Butcher's Cut for its rich flavour and tenderness. You start with a
wow (AE) and end with a
bang (BC)...that's how I would describe my experience. For those who get confused or can't decide which cut they would like, I suggest you get the 4 GYU which allows you 4 types of taster portions of different cuts to find out which one you really like (and perhaps you can specifically order that when you return).
But what impressed me the most was how consistent the cooking of the steaks were and they were done to a
perfect medium rare (as requested) for all the cuts. I've not seen meat so expertly executed in a while...perfectly seared and cooked to the right sumptuousness. ^o^
The meat was juicily partnered with 2 sauces, a
Garlic Pepper Sauce and a
Brown Jus, both of which did not do justice to the meat, not that they weren't good, just that they weren't needed. For me, the steaks were best eaten
naked as it is or with a light sprinkling of salt.
And there were plenty to choose from...as the meats were served with a box of their
signature homemade salts of
French, Smoked, Chinois, BKT, Habanero, G & O, Mala, Herb &
Umami. I tried 5 of the salts (French, Smoked, Habanero, Herb & Umami) and my favourites were the
smoked and
umami salt with the meats.
For drinks, my friends went with cocktails, they offer only two,
Pineapple Mint Mojito @ RM23 and
Assam Martini also @ RM23. I had a non-alcoholic drink of
Power Spark (Berries Infusion) @ RM13.
We were too stuffed for dessert. Of course, I had to end my exquisite evening with
Coffee @ RM8 (this is capsule coffee ya, nothing fancy, but it'll have to do if you just need coffee)! :D Service was friendly and competent (which is commendable since the place is run by a small team) and very accommodating too (we stayed beyond their closing hours and weren't
chased out gestured to leave which was very nice of them). We also made a special request for the dishes to not come altogether at once (since we ordered quite a few) so that it won't be cold by the time we get to the last dish. Towards the end of our meal,
chef Yenni was ever the gracious host to come by our table for a few words (her partner,
chef Shelly, said hello too). I've only been to a handful of places where the chef herself/himself would take the time to come by personally just to check if everything we had was fine. I think that's important to build
relationships.
My Personal Opinion
Hands down, this was the best meal I've had this year....maybe even in the last 5 years...lol! For those looking for excellent quality meats with expert execution where the prices you pay go solely on the food (and not the fancy-schmancy setting), look no further! ^_~
The 4 Gyu would be an excellent start where you can taste four different cuts in one meal and you can then narrow down which cut you like best and order solely that (or a cut close to that) on your next visit. The meats were cooked to perfection and were utterly juicy, tender, buttery, simply delicious beyond words.
From the appetisers & frills section, my favourites were (in this particular order) the
Butter of Gods for its meltingly stellar bone marrow that was exquisite in taste, the
Ham Sap Siew Yuk for its indescribable, immensely crispy texture of the skin and tenderness of the meat, the Tuna Balls for the explosion of flavours in one bite, the
Slow Crawler, a flavourful treat that's a quintessential delight of French gastronomy and its simple
Truffle Fries that's alluringly savoury and crisp. Oh dear, did I just name almost every dish? ;D What to do.....I love them all!
So, if that's not enough assurance that you'll come away with a good meal here, I don't know what is. My friends and I enjoyed our meal so much, we can't wait for our next visit though I've to say the prices ain't cheap (be prepared to spend at least RM200 or more per person) but you know you'll get good quality food in return. If budget is a concern, make this your choice when celebrating special occasions. ^.^
Meat Feds by Chef Yenni Law
23 Jalan Dato Mahmud 11/4
PJS (PJ South) Section 11
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 011-3313 2329
