The Social Table featuring Kita Food Festival

The Social Table featuring Kita Food Festival – David Tang, Lau Ka Hong, Haznizam Hamzah, Suhalmi Md Tasir & Kevin Yong

Words: Matt Brown
Photos: Monica Tindall

The always buzzy W Kuala Lumpur came alive with new flavours on November 26th as it hosted the Kita Food Festival for a brunch with some exceptional guest chefs. Already appreciated within the KL food scene for its support of local produce and food artisans, Flock has been offering an incredible Saturday brunch for a few months now; where in addition to the delectable buffet items one would expect from a 5-star hotel, there is a guest chef on hand to add their unique dishes to the menu. As part of Kita Food Festival’s 2022 line-up, Chef David Tang from Rosemead Singapore and Atelier Binchotan’s Chef Lau Ka Hong joined W Kuala Lumpur chefs, Chef Haznizam Hamzah, Chef Suhalmi Md Tasir and Kevin Yong to create a gourmet event to be remembered.

The annual Kita Food Festival takes place across Malaysia and aims to showcase the best of inspiring and innovative regional and global tastemakers, with events in Langkawi, Penang and KL. It’s a match made in heaven – Flock already promotes a number of local growers and ingredients, along with its talented team producing high-quality fare in scene-stealing surroundings. Adding the vision and talents associated with Kita allowed The Social Table brunch to go to the next level with a trio of a la carte options from some of the best talents around.

The Social Table Buffet Menu

Having experienced this cornucopia of deliciousness before, I was happy to see many of the standard items offered for guests to select for themselves. Snow Crabs, Green Mussels and Tiger Prawns fill the chilled seafood area, along with freshly shucked imported oysters. The Japanese section presents Sashimi, Maki rolls with Satay Lamb, Soft Shell Crab or Korean Beef, as well as Vegetable Nori Sushi.

The remaining sections of Flock offerings are named Appetizers, Plant-Based, Marinated, Cheese, Artisan Bakery and Pass Around – you are going to find many items to weigh down your plate at a brunch like this, and that’s even before you see the A La Carte section where the guest chef has their creations available for ordering.

Made to Order – Flock Menu Items

From Chef Haznizam Hamzah and Chef Suhalmi Md Tasir come four items available to order. The first is a glorious Heirloom Tomato Salad with tofu and basil, which combines sweet and fresh together in just the right blend. Otak Otak and Ulam Blangkas are served in an eye-catching coconut half, with the fresh salad complementing the seafood of the dish. A beautifully tender Beef Brisket sits atop Keladi Rice and features sea cucumber as a unique yet expertly included ingredient to highlight the flavours of the meat. The chefs’ final menu choice is a giant Fresh Water Prawn, served with flat noodles and egg-based Telur Curry. All of the dishes are hearty, and tasty and showcase the enviable talent of Flock’s two talented chefs.

Made to Order

Rosemead’s Chef David Tang

The signature guiding ethos of Singapore’s Rosemead restaurant is seasonality. Chef David Tang has named this highly regarded fine dining establishment after his Californian hometown and uses influences from home that focus on the simplicity and diversity of ingredients at their peak during the right season.

For The Social Table x Kita Festival event, Chef Tang created four dishes from which diners could explore the Californian-inspired flavours and seasonally perfect produce. The Dry-aged Pumpkin, topped with a crunchy seed crumble and sitting on top of a thick and tasty Mexican mole, was a vegetarian dish with many meaty layers. Wonderfully tender Chicken Shawarma came seasoned with Lebanese 7-spice and Basmati rice. California Prawn Salad with Green Mango and a Chinese mustard vinaigrette was fresh and light and perfectly suited to the warmer weather of the morning. Finally, a Local Grouper’ Hong Kong’ style with smoked soy and fragrant chilli was possibly the standout amongst a menu of standout items, demonstrating the skill and commitment to elegant simplicity for which Chef Tang is renowned.

Atelier Binchotan – Chef Lau Ka Hong

Chef Lau Ka Hong was also in house from his immensely popular eatery in Taman Desa, where excited followers often must book months in advance to secure a table. We happily cut the line by experiencing his delicious dishes at this special event (sorry to everyone still waiting for a table!). Binchotan is considered by many to be the world’s best charcoal, as in cooking it is odourless and smokeless, allowing the food to remain the star of the plate. Chef Hong’s items for this special event illustrated his skill with this method of cooking using four different menu choices.

Australian Green Asparagus was perfectly grilled with nori dressing and came with a quail egg that added a creamy element to the wonderful crunch of the vegetable. A Mini Duck Burger with grilled duck patty, sauce gribiche and house BBQ sauce was just the right size for a rich and meaty dish. Hamachi Tartare Lompe was an intriguing blend of textures – the soft tartare, Cameron Milk Corn grilled on top, and the potato and flour lompe underneath – with subtle flavours of marinated tuna and corn. The New Zealand Lamb Rack combined juicy red meat with a sweet purple carrot purée and jus for another example of refined and sophisticated grilling that Chef Hong has built his vast following on.

Desserts by Chef Kevin Yong

I would be awfully remiss if I weren’t to dedicate some of this article to the impeccable work of Chef Kevin Yong, who creates for every Social Table at the W Kuala Lumpur what might be the best dessert menu in the city. By sourcing exceptional ingredients, Chef Kevin ensures that every piece, whether bite-sized or heaped without remorse onto a food blogger’s already buckling plate, impresses with its flavours, textures and immaculate presentation.

Despite loud proclamations of being too full, somehow I had to try the Kelantan Chocolate Tart (smooth, rich and worth any ignoring of a diet), Pickled Papaya Panna Cotta (an alliterative delight), and my own creation from the Gelato Tricycle of (more) Kelantan chocolate gelato topped with Oreo crumbs and shaved coconut – who can resist a tricycle?! There were even gorgeous chocolate chopsticks and white chocolate ‘dumplings’ available; it’s always a delight to sample the latest wonderful portions from Chef Kevin’s imaginative kitchen.

Find out more about Kita Food Festival here.

The Social Table at Flock, W Kuala Lumpur
121, Jln Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+6 012 347 9088
Reservations: http://bit.ly/FlockRSVP

The Social Table at Flock
1st Saturday of the month
12 pm – 3 pm