Picture this: you shut your laptop with relief, it’s 6pm on Friday, and the sun is dipping low. The work week is finally behind you and, instead of battling the crowds for dinner, you’re craving a quiet table for one—just you, your meal, and a well-deserved downtime. Finding a little pocket of peace in bustling Kuala Lumpur may seem elusive, but it does exist if you know where to look.
And so, this brings me to my second and most recent visit to Hide KL. This time, it’s dinner for one, with a front-row seat at the U-shaped marble counter, overlooking the open kitchen. From my corner, I watch executive chef-owner Shaun Ng and head chef Eason Cho lead the team with practised discipline, while sommelier CY Yap steps in to introduce each of my wine pairings. Although it’s my second visit, it’s my first proper taste of Hide’s standalone menu. My earlier experience had been a four-hands collaboration with chef Johnson Ebenezer of Bengaluru’s Farmlore, curated as part of a Kita Food Festival initiative.
This new menu (from RM698), Ng admits, is unlike those before it. After years of rotating dishes, it may well be Hide’s first permanent line-up. “It’s still new, but the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re planning to present this as Hide’s fixed menu. In the past, we would change things every three to four months, and never really held on to any dishes until now,” he says. From start to finish, the 14-course dinner feels best described as experimentally creative. Mirroring the cadence of a novel, the menu progresses through four distinct chapters: Whispered Openings, Unfolding Truths, Veiled Transitions, and Gentle Ends. Or, in the restaurant’s own words, “A journey of concealed truths, bold transitions, and unexpected truths.”
Nothing signals a beginning quite like sparkling bubbles, and it’s the Louise Brison À l’Aube de la Côte des Bar 2018 that ushers in the first four opening bites. A pale gold champagne, its sharp minerality and crystalline freshness introduce a whimsy note on Extinct Secrets, a crisp, dinosaur-like crunch, while the scallop and dashi deliver a rich, indulgent hit with scallop cream and caviar atop. Here, the cuvée’s acidity cuts through the creaminess, allowing the scallop’s sweetness to shine amid the brininess of the caviar.
One might assume Not A Bread is a classic bread course, but the pun is in the name. It is, in fact, something entirely different that subverts that assumption. “This is a sensitive dish, so please enjoy it right away,” a member of the kitchen team advises. The fragile creation—an air bread sandwich filled with truffle ponzu and honeyed red dates—is one Ng says took multiple attempts to perfect. Upon first bite, the bread dissolves instantly, flooding the palate with a sweet-savoury mouthful. I find myself especially taken with the melinjo curry noodles, where capellini is dressed in belinjau sauce and topped with crab, which is a local-inspired homage to classic curry mee. Light yet satisfying, it brims with cheerful familiarity.
Even amidst intricate components, Ng’s touch keeps nostalgia at the forefront. Borne of memories from his grandmother’s kitchen, Beneath The Skin presents a colourful turmeric rice salad with black cod, sambal, pink and white pomelo, pomegranate, and mung beans. To uncover the dish’s evolving layers, Ng suggests trying it three ways—first the rice alone, then with the curry sauce served on the side, and finally a splash of kalamansi. Aged Memory, in turn, offers seasoned depth and maturity—a dish that Ng aims to spotlight at Hide. On the plate, 14-day-aged duck is paired with pickled Korean pear, duck jus, and sesame paste.
Easing into Gentle Ends, Layered Nostalgia pairs ice cream with bright citrus, sour plum jelly, crunchy milk crumble, and syruped fruit, while Final Whispers concludes with petit fours—including a dumpling-shaped mochi stuffed with salted egg yolk, a whimsical note that brings the dinner full circle.
Hide KL is located on the Concourse Level of Ritz-Carlton Residences, 105, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, with lunch service on Friday and Saturday from 12pm to 2:30pm.
For dining reservations, send a WhatsApp message to +6013 203 3627.
Photography by Law Soo Phye
