KLCW's pairing dinners showed how chefs and bartenders can work well together

The Star

03-05-2025

The second Kuala Lumpur Cocktail Week (KLCW) has come and gone, and it was an amazing week of fun, events, and bar-hopping to a lot of great guest shifts by international bars, serving plenty of great drinks.
The centrepiece of the event was the KLCW Festival Village at Sentul Depot, where almost all the participating local bars set up shop to serve cocktails all day long. It also saw the finals of the Hennessy MyWay cocktail competition, which saw Oh Chong Hau of Nest cocktail bar in Penang emerge as Malaysia's first ever national champion for the competition.
While I managed to make it for a number of the international guest shifts, this year's highlights for me were the cocktail pairing dinners, arguably the one aspect that sets KLCW apart from many other cocktail festivals out there.
This year, I sat for two of these dinners, both of which highlighted how cocktails and food can go hand-in-hand with one another.
Helmed by chef-owner Raymond Tham, modern Malaysian restaurant Beta needs no introduction, having been awarded one Michelin star in last year's Michelin Guide KL and Penang.
What many diners may not know is that the restaurant also has a unique cocktail program that follows Tham's philosophy of championing Malaysian flavours and ingredients.
For the KLCW pairing dinner, we tried four different drinks from the menu, all made with either The Botanist Gin and Remy Martin 1738 Royal Accord cognac.
The Pollo-Me cocktail is made with Botanist gin, pomelo, Chartreuse herbal liqueur, and mint.
We started with the Pollo-Me, made with Botanist gin, pomelo, Chartreuse herbal liqueur, and mint.
A refreshingly herbal tipple that puts the citrus notes of the pomelo up front, it paired very nicely with the opening tray of Snacks, which included finger bites inspired by classic Malaysian dishes like Penang's perut ikan, and Kedah's perkasam. There was also a delicious yeast-less, tapioca-based bread that came with a rich and savoury 'sambal' that brought out the citrusy notes of the Pollo-Me really well.
The pairing cocktail for the Scallop dish was the gin-based Myristica.
Next up was the Scallop dish – a lightly seared scallop paired with a kacangma (motherwort) emulsion, heirloom tomato and barley base, and topped with a scallop and mussel foam.
The pairing cocktail for this dish was called Myristica, made with Botanist Gin, clarified nutmeg and lemon. The distinct taste of the nutmeg added a pickled note to the more umami flavours of the scallop, while the sour notes added a hint of acidity to it as well.
The highlight of the night was the main course – Wagyu Short-Ribs Masak Hitam with Acar and Kadok – which on its own was a delicious Malay-inspired dish with acar vegetables and fried daun kaduk.
The Wagyu Short-Ribs pairing with the Pepper-groni was the highlight of the night.
The pairing of the Pepper-Groni cocktail, however, elevated the dish to a different level.
A negroni twist made with Remy Martin 1738 cognac, Campari, rosso vermouth and housemade pepper bitters, the sweetness of the cognac and vermouth itself both complemented and contrasted with dish.
The Campari also added layers of flavour to the acar, and the pepper spice note just rounded everything off in the finish.
The White Coffee dessert was paired with the elegant Nyonya Noir cocktail.
Last but not least was the White Coffee dessert, which is Tham's take on a date pudding, incorporated with coffee blossom and coffee husk.
This was paired with the Nyonya Noir, made with fat washed butter Remy Martin 1738 cognac, pineapple and buah keluak infusion.
Served in an elegant tulip tasting glass, this was a silky, decadent drink that added complexity and pineapple notes to the rich sweetness of the pudding.
While the Beta dinner showed how an in-house bartender can help complement a chef's vision with his or her drinks, the second dinner I attended at Raw restaurant at Else Hotel gave a different insight.
This was when I realised how a highly respected chef and an acclaimed bartender can work hand-in-hand to create pairings that bring out the best in both food and drinks.
This dinner had drinks by Joel Poon, bar manager and co-owner of Reka:Bar (recently named No.49 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2024), and food by Jun Wong, executive chef of Yellow Fin Horse, also located at Else Hotel (but which is currently taking a break before the launch of its 'second season' later this month).
Wong (left) and Poon's collaboration showed how chefs and bartenders can work well together.
The collaboration paired three cocktails made with Michter's Unblended American Whiskey, Los Siete Misterios Doba-Yej mezcal, and Farmer's Gin with four of with four bold, flavour-forward dishes.
While two of the drinks were adapted from Reka's existing menu, the first one, Solar Flare, was an original drink created for the occasion.
Reka's Solar Flare drink provided a surprisingly playful contrast to the Tonno dish.
Made with Farmer's Gin, soursop, green mango, curry leaf, and coconut oil, the drink was paired with 'Tonno', a delightfully refreshing starter that balanced the rich fattiness of lightly seared tuna with pesto and a lightly spiced acqua pazza with juniper and caper berry.
While the juniper in the acqua pazza melded well with the gin in the cocktail, the drink's soursop and green mango elements provided a surprisingly playful sour yet fruity contrast to the dish that was quite interesting.
Mezcal is known for its smoky flavours, and the next drink, Martini ... Still Not Stirred (adapted from Reka's existing menu), used that smokiness to enrich the main course.
This featured two rich and sumptuous dishes – Grilled Fresh Water Prawns (with chilli crisp oil, garlic toum, a side of greens, and sourdough); and Stuffed Aubergine (breaded aubergine stuffed with feta, Harrisa butter, and lemon).
Reka's Martini ... Still Not Stirred cocktail had a surprising duality when paired with the main course at the Raw dinner. — Photos: MICHAEL CHEANG/The Star
What surprised me most about this pairing is how differently the cocktail interacted with each of the two dishes. Made with Los Siete Misterios Doba-Yej mezcal, Farmer's Gin, figs, and dill, the spirit-foward nature of the cocktail added a powerful, smoky contrast to the rich seafood flavours of the prawns.
At the same time, the mezcal, dill and figs in the drink cuts right through the savoury butteriness of the aubergine, adding a touch of herbal flavour to the palate.
The dual nature of the drink when sipped alongside these two different dishes was, for me, the highlight of this dinner.
The garnish on the (C)loud and Clear cocktail went perfectly with Wong's dessert.
While the first two drinks played a lot more with contrasting flavours with the dishes, for the dessert, Poon decided on a drink that complements it instead.
(C)loud & Clear (also adapted from Reka's current menu) is made with Michter's Unblended American Whiskey, white rum, Pedro Ximénez sherry, and Oolong milk tea, and is a cocktail that would satisfy even those who do not have a sweet tooth.
Its crowning glory, however, is a matcha cloud garnish that was perfect when paired with Wong's dessert – the Burnt Marshmallow Yuzu Pie. With hints of citrus from the pie and silky, sherried fruity notes from the cocktail, it was the perfect way to end a most satisfying cocktail pairing dinner.
Michael Cheang is all cocktail-ed out after KL Cocktail Week. Follow him on Facebook (fb.com/mytipsyturvy) and Instagram (@mytipsyturvy).