Chef Han’s New Menu at Bref Review

Chef Han’s New Menu at Bref Review

Words: Kitty Noble Photos: Monica Tindall

Constantly evolving, the team at Darren Chin’s restaurants are agile and keenly aware of customers’ desires. With the bar for enticing diners quickly changing, Chef Han at Bref by Darren Chin has been given the kitchen’s full helm. Empowered with the design of the most recent menu, Han leaves the wing of legend Darren Chin, and is responsible for taking flight on his own. We’re here tonight to see how the crew are keeping up or stepping ahead of the times.

Location

Bref TTDI is the more ‘accessible’ and laid back of Darren Chin restaurants, creating a casual, sharing plate kind of place. The open kitchen takes up nearly a third of the restaurant’s space, with a poured concrete wraparound bar doubling as the pass. Purple velvet curtains adorn the walls, and a gentle hubbub fills the air.

‘Survival is the name of the game,’ states Darren, proclaiming that we need to have drinks before settling down to business. Darren is also here to taste the menu for the first time and offer feedback. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to hear the story first hand from the restaurant’s patron. With a half bottle of Bollinger Champagne NV (RM 288) lubricating conversation, we settle in for the ride.

The new menu was construed by Han and his team, a very deliberate stepping away from the helm on Darren’s part. This was done firstly to empower and mentor and secondly to keep abreast of the times. During the first MCO, there was a realisation of what the menu meant. Like so many, it was adapted for takeaway. The next step of the MCO, says Darren, is to be relevant in the current market. There is fierce competition at the mid-range dining end, so there is a need to evolve and remain contemporary. As many of the regular dishes were becoming rather ‘pedestrian’ to the dining community, the decision was made to tear up the whole menu and think again. The pandemic’s limitations made it challenging, of course, but to get ahead of the curve, the team needed to be ready to get regulars and new diners through the door. Just a week into full-service, Darren is keen to build brand awareness of this Brave New World.

Chef Han’s New Tasting Menu

All tables are served bread to begin. However, as you might have come to expect, there are no ordinary baguette slices and olive oil here. Instead, it’s an antipasto of onion puree, tomato and yoghurt, spinach and artichoke served with sourdough and a brioche-croissant crossbreed, known as a croll.

Tonight we enjoy samplings from both the ala carte and tasting menu (RM 288), kicking off with an amuse-bouche. An Irish oyster with ponzu and caviar goes mightily well with our Champers. It’s sided with a caviar tartlet in a crisp shell with egg. The third in the trio is a truffle ball with a crunchy exterior, giving way to an earthy, soft inside.

First Course

The first course of the tasting menu is an extra-large tiger prawn wrapped in a buckwheat crepe with spinach lobster mousse, and cucumber. A deliciously citrus yuzu vinaigrette and bonito infusion accompany the same. The bonito infusion gives a deep richness to the creamy, crunchy prawn, prettily served in a white ceramic bowl with pea shoots.

Wine

The next wine is an Italian white, Gaija, Rossh-Bass Langhe. This is an unusual blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (RM 230 half bottle) from a producer of predominantly red wine. It has citrus on the nose, giving way to boldness and finishing with a spritely minerality, with tropical fruits rising as the glass warms. It’s a great choice to go with seafood; in this instance, the prawn.

Bref A la Carte

To keep us on our toes, we move to the a la carte menu with Buttermilk Fried Chicken (RM 35). Each piece is served with a gochujang aioli, umami radish and red-veined sorrel. The buttermilk coating adds a lovely zestiness, balanced well by the punchy deep-fried chicken thigh, leaving a lovely lingering flavour. This ‘starter’ dish for me would be an entire meal on its own or the perfect plate to share with friends.

More Wine

Darren clearly has a nose for wine, and the next selection is Marsannay, Bruno Clair 2015 (RM 398). Sporting a little rim variation due to the age, ‘Les grasses Tetes’ or the fatheads is a Burgundy. This hearty pinot noir has cranberry, mulberry, red cherry and a touch of mint on the nose, with rich oak on the palate. With so much going on, it might benefit from a brief decanting. 2015 was one of the best recent vintages for red wine, so I think this particular bottle has a few more years to mellow and round out the red fruits.

Chef Han’s New Menu at Bref – Ala Carte

Our next dish is the Terrine de Foie Gras (RM 58). It’s a mousseline of foie paired with pan-seared foie gras, caramelised fig, brioche and roselle jelly, which puts a smile on my face. It’s a clever variation instead of the usual cherry. This pairs beautifully with Albert Manne, Alsace Gewurtztraminner (RM 55). The typical nose of lychee and rose and the slight acidity cuts through the fattiness of the liver.

Veggies

Brocco Family (RM 35) offers light relief with a plate of veggies. The veg is complement by ‘smoked salted egg yolk,’ which is basically a smoked Hollandaise sauce. Smoking the sauce adds a whole new dimension to it and something I’ll be trying myself at home. What a way to jazz up vegetables! As veggie lovers, Mon and I are delighted when this plate lands in front of us. It sports chargrilled broccolini, raw cauliflower, sprouting broccoli and toasted almond flakes to add texture.

Chef Han’s New Menu at Bref – Octopus

Having recently watched My Octopus Teacher, I felt a bit guilty with the next dish of Galician Octopus (RM 115) with Hokkaido scallops. Although, not guilty enough as we polished off the smoky octopus and local vegetable salad in minutes! Winged beans and a pepperoncini relish (which reminds me of a chimichurri without the oiliness) were adept partners. The octopus is firm without being chewy, and the scallop is melt-in-the-mouth. As ever, we gobble up the greens.

Spring Chicken

For our last savoury dish, we enjoy Baby Poussin with Foie Gras (RM 85). The free-range spring chicken is wrapped in feuille de brick pastry with foie gras, cordyceps mushrooms, Chitose spinach and truffled chicken jus. It’s a favourite of chef Han. A superb, unctuous dish, I wish I was hungrier because this is perhaps my favourite of all. More foie gras?! Leave your guilt at the door!!

Bref Desserts

Apple 8 Valrhona’s Blonde Dulcey Chocolate (RM 35) is an outright winner for me. As someone who prefers savoury to sweet, it takes quite a lot to impress me on the pud front, but this one does!! Speculoos biscuits create the crunchy, spicy bottom, then layers are topped with spiced apple. Something between an apple pie and a strudel in flavour, this really has “European comfort dessert” written all over it.

Pistachio Paris-Brest (RM 40) is the nomenclature for the PBP bike race, where roundabouts are infamous. Crème Legere is served with olive oil ice-cream and sea salt, the ice-cream being a big hit for Mon!

Chef Han’s New Menu at Bref Review

Chef Han’s new menu at Bref is an exciting progression. We look forward to seeing him further spread his wings as he evolves as a chef, emerging from the tutelage of one of KL’s masters.

Reasons to try Chef Han’s new menu at Bref: a vibe of being “in” amongst KL’s “in-the-know” diners; local ingredients prepared with a French flair; competent wine list – especially appreciate the several half-bottle options; love the complimentary bread; must try the Baby Poussin with Foie Gras and Apple 8 Valrhona’s Blonde Dulcey Chocolate.

Chef Han’s New Menu at Bref
26A, Lorong Datuk Sulaiman 1, Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
bref-kl.com
bookingmaestro.com
+603-7731 5032

Bref Operating Hours
Thursday, Friday & Saturday: 12–3 pm, 6–10 pm
Sunday: Closed
Monday to Wednesday: 6–10 pm