Into the belly of The Gathering Beast: Brilliant, sometimes bizarre ‘Chinese fusion' cooking in Aman Suria

Yahoo

a day ago

PETALING JAYA, June 12 — The Gathering Beast, set loose on Aman Suria barely a month ago, is unlike anything else in the neighbourhood in more ways than one.
For one, its sweeping exposed-brick facade, towering glass windows and abundance of potted plants make it look more like a chic downtown darling than a self-styled 'Chinese-fusion' restaurant in the suburbs.
The facade of the restaurant. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Inside, antique earthenware, ornate figurines and calligraphy on the walls all work to exude Chinese tradition, right down to the choice of round tables only, with Lazy Susans on the larger ones.
But it can also be very untraditional.
The open kitchen, with its loud, crashing woks and roaring jet engine-stoves, bellows at the dining room in a way never seen in a 'traditional' Chinese restaurant at this level.
Maybe at a dai chow, but no self-respecting banquet restaurant would ever let anyone hear the kitchen.
The result is a buzz, an energy that belies the restaurant's surprisingly small capacity.
Inside the main dining room. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Then there's the food.
Despite the menu's emphasis on shareable dishes, some feel more suited to the centre of a tiny table with multiple glasses of wine than sitting comically small on a wide Lazy Susan.
One of three cold starters, the Red Cabbage and Arugula Salad (RM28) sports unbelievably crisp, fresh leaves of red cabbage tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette with arugula and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Their nutty, toasted character complements the wholly unexpected addition of strawberry compote, a sweet flourish in an otherwise sharp and bracing dish.
Truth be told, I wasn't expecting to like this. The prospect of a compote that was either puckery or cloying didn't exactly fill me with anticipation. But the balance of sweet and sour was perfect.
Strawberries and red cabbage? It works. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Dry-aged Sashimi (RM58) is another cold starter that bears little resemblance to anything Chinese, swapping wasabi and shoyu for an aioli made with a proprietary garam masala blend and a burnt leek soy sauce, served over slices of firm, clean-tasting red emperor fish.
The warm, floral character of coriander seed burst through the aioli, leaving a peculiar taste in the mouth that was surprisingly pleasant.
Dry aged sashimi with 'garam masala' aioli, one of the more unique flavour profiles. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Fried Tofu (RM22) is a subdued riff on Taiwanese fried stinky tofu, getting all its funk from a healthy squirt of blue cheese dressing, offset by some pickled shallots.
It's a playful introduction to the possibilities of stinky food, with the sharpness of blue cheese but none of the bitterness of stinky tofu.
It is in the larger proteins that The Gathering Beast really shows its claws, none more so than the Beef Three Kingdom (RM56).
Three types of beef offal, tripe, tendon and cheek, are wok fried in a sort of gong bou style with cashew nuts, dried chillies and green onions.
Beef Three Kingdom was the best dish of the night. — Picture by Ethan Lau
These are then fused together with balsamic vinegar and, most interestingly, celeriac. Tender slices of the root join a few dollops of celeriac purée, its mild celery-like flavour and gentle sweetness recalling the kind of mash where celeriac is often used instead of potato in European-style beef stews, now showing its value here.
Unlike at most conventional Chinese restaurants, where main dishes are often designed to go with rice, much of the menu here is not built with that in mind. But this dish is an exception. It would be a dream to eat with a bowl of hot rice.
But like most conventional Chinese meals, especially when dining in a group, fish is a must.
Instead of the usual steamed preparation, the menu offers a grilled fish of the day (RM108), which on that night was a whole Malabar red snapper.
The fish arrives splayed out on a bed of peppercorn sauce, deliberately kept lighter than the rich, heavy au poivre typically served with steak, leaning instead on the fruity, spicy notes of the peppercorns.
The skin is blistered and charred in a few spots, the flesh moist and succulent. On top are a few blobs of caramelised soy aioli and a generous scattering of dill, whose citrus-liquorice profile plays naturally well with the fish.
Definitely not one to go with rice, but fret not.
'Ying yong', but make it with 'kuey teow'. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Like any proper Chinese meal, closing out with carbs is the way to go here, and the golden fried kuey teow (RM78) is more than up to the task.
The noodles are deep-fried and submerged in a rich fish broth, mimicking the crispy and saucy textural contrast of Cantonese-style ying yong noodles.
But here, the kuey teow is lighter and dissolves in the mouth rather than giving you something to crunch through, and the broth is intense and thick, with no egg in sight.
Enjoyed with green chilli or vinegar, it is a wholly unique preparation of fried kuey teow I have not had elsewhere, and one that feels entirely in step with the restaurant's 'Chinese-fusion' label.
Black sesame cake with 'crème Chantilly' on the side. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Of the three desserts, only one impressed: a simple-looking slice of black sesame cake (RM18), a butter cake flavoured with black sesame and lightly caramelised in the pan, served with crème Chantilly.
But it had been an impressive meal overall, with interesting and creative dishes, some clearly Chinese, others with Japanese, Indian or French inflections, but most importantly, executed with confidence.
When 'fusion' restaurants open, no matter how vague that term is, we seem not only to cut more slack, but sometimes even to celebrate them for folding local flavours, ingredients and techniques into something recognisably foreign.
Local seafood or herbs in a French or Japanese restaurant? How innovative, how creative! But flip it the other way, and the reception is rarely as generous. Why is that?
The Gathering Beast
29A-G, Jalan PJU 1/43,
Aman Suria, Petaling Jaya.
Open Wednesday to Monday, 5.30pm-12am. Open from 4.30pm on Friday to Sunday.
Tel: [phone]
Facebook:
Instagram:
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram for more food gems.
* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram for more musings on food and mildly self-deprecating attempts at humour.