On the food trip called Vagabond

Fresh from his Melbourne stint at Attica, touted to be one of the best restaurants Down Under, chef Daniel Kong from Kuching, together with 2 other partners – his brother and fellow chef Woon Ming – set up Vagabond KL in Desa Sri Hartamas, KL. The restaurant is result of some soul-searching during a long road trip, fuelled by a desire to return to his roots and a curiosity to explore the culinary landscape in Malaysia; menu offers a play on modern South-east Asian cuisine. Beyond South-east Asia, the dishes offers a little of everything, almost too much, as seen from the likes of a touch of British (scotch egg) and China – Xinjiang hummus.

We started with a ‘hello’ with Umai Pai Tee (RM16/2 pieces) that had blanched squid, umai gel, scallop mousse, topped with ikura. Finished in a pop, it had a lot going on in one mouthful. Different from the usual yam-bean offering, this innovation with a tinge of sour had the palate going, “huh?”, but in a good way.

Really enjoyed the Prawn Scotch Egg with a slight runny centre, on top of Thai yam khai dao (fried egg) salad (RM26), more than I would an actual British scotch egg in a pub frankly, as those are often cold and doughy. Meanwhile, the Miso Cabbage (RM24) had a clever lift in flavour, thanks to the Thai basil mayo and crispy pickled onion, though I would have liked the cabbage to be more charred which would have then made it more fragrant and stand out. 

Egg fried rice with Japanese asari clams and edamame (RM26) was top notch, with sufficient wok hei (breath of the wok) fired up. Simple but comforting, we asked for some cut bird’s eye chillies (my nyonya heritage betrays me) to complete the taste, lending more pizzazz to the Malaysian favourite.

Admittedly, the lamb massaman (RM68) was not my favourite. The gravy was rich in herbs and spices, with bits of pineapple, yet subtle and not overpowering in taste – boasted really good, sublime flavours (more of it would have been good, too). However, some pieces of the Australian lamb, although said to have been slow-cooked for 8 hours, were a little dried out as the meat had been prepared separately from the gravy, so it didn’t absorb the richness of the sauce.

Daniel offered up some cheesecake which comes with a dallop of terung asam jam (Indian nightshade) for dessert, but we were too stuffed to take on more.

A special shout out to the craft beers 1602, deliciously brewed in Sarawak which was balanced in flavour and oh-so-delightful (RM28/650ml or 2 mugs)! I would go back to Vagabond just to have these again, but of course, there’s more of the food that needs exploring too! Prices are about average, give the ‘atas’ location, though the mains are a little steep.

During a conversation with the chef, we suggested that perhaps more of his heritage could shine in the dishes to come as Sarawak has much to offer the culinary world, and in doing so, lend a clearer direction to the menu. Right now, it seems like a hodgepodge of stuff with no particular region to boast of. Let’s see where this Vagabond heads in the near future.