Amazing French-influenced meals overlooking the cityscape
Perched in a quiet corner of Troika Sky Dining in Kuala Lumpur is the brand-new Fritz Brasserie. The French-inspired restaurant (which takes over the space from Cantaloupe) has a natural elegance underscored by gorgeous, unbeatable views of the city skyline beyond – which depending on the time you choose to dine – might feature a burnished golden sunset or a stelliferous constellation of stars, all buoyed by the peaks and inclines of the buildings that hover around it.

The restaurant has been masterminded by executive chef and director of Troika Sky Dining Christian Bauer and his partner Eddie Chew (both of whom are also responsible for other Troika Sky Dining eateries like Fuego and Strato) to recreate a style of French food that represents both simplicity as well as refinement. This was in response to more high-brow degustation meals that – while enticing – often require long hours of commitment and consequently – do not often inspire repeated visits.

“We used to do fine dining. And then Eddie and I got very tired of eating the multi-course dinner and all of that. And we just feel that it’s a bit done, although of course a lot of people still do it and still love it. It has its place, it has its fans, but for us we wanted to really go back to nicely prepared simple food.

“And simple doesn’t actually mean it’s easy to do. So, that’s what we’re trying to do, create somewhere where you can go every day and find something to eat. And it’s based of course on the French brasserie style, you know, so it’s something where you have quite a wide variety of things to eat and you can go there and be like ‘I feel like steak’ or ‘I feel like fish’,” explains Bauer.

The seafood tower features the freshest treasures of the sea sourced from all over the world. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star

The menu took Bauer six months of research and development before he came up with a final round-up of dishes that he felt satisfied with, although he says he hopes to add more meals to the menu over time.

“I’m quite happy. There’re still a few other things that I want to add. But the problem is, when you add things, you have to take others away. And then, if it’s kind of a menu that’s enormous, and the kitchen can’t make it, quality goes down. So, that is a problem. And then, when you take something away from the menu, people will go like, ‘Oh, why did you do that?’,” says Bauer, laughing.

Everything at Fritz is made in-house from the cultured butter to the sausages and cured meats. The food reflects French ideas and philosophies but there is also an innovative, global slant to many of the meals.

Service is friendly and the servers here seem to really enjoy their jobs, especially when table-side theatrics are called for in the form of flambe-ing some dishes.

Anchovies on toast might sound relatively simple in theory, but you’ll be singing the praises of this dish once you actually tuck into it.

To start a meal here, definitely opt for the Fritz Platter (RM250). This is essentially a huge seafood tower filled with fresh prawns, oysters, mussels, whelks, salmon and scallop sourced from all over the world and served on a bed of ice. This is accompanied by three sauces, including a homemade mayonnaise.

The seafood is incredibly fresh, which means you’ll require little additional accoutrements to jazz it up. The prawns for instance are voluptuously plump and sweet and will inspire instant addiction. The oysters meanwhile are slippery, silken fellas with a light brininess underscored by rich aquatic qualities. Other highlights include the salmon and scallop – both of which are velvety and incredibly fresh.

Next, do not miss out on the house-favourite Anchovies on Toast (RM16 per toast). It’s hard to explain how a little slice of crusty bread can offer so much pleasure, but this is exactly what this dish does. The grilled sourdough bread is topped with maple butter, smoked anchovies and cream cheese in what proves to be a winning combination with an all-star cast. The crunchy bread segues into the rich cream cheese which then yields to the succulence and smokiness of the anchovies in what can only be described as a true triumph of flavours and textures.

The Hokkaido scallops are supple and tender but it is the rustic stewed cannellini beans with homemade sausage that takes this dish to a whole other level.

The toast is a hard act to follow but the Hokkaido Scallop (RM94) works hard to inspire the same level of confidence and excitement. Here, you will discover two fat seared Hokkaido scallops laid atop stewed cannellini beans with fried homemade Nduja sausage and its oil.

The scallops are the main scene-stealers here and work hard to gain your affection – with a lovely crust on the surface revealing plump, incredibly tender and sweet flesh within. The stewed cannellini beans with Nduja sausage add rustic, savoury notes to the meal that will remind you of the best sort of homemade meals – the sort fashioned out of love.

From the mains, you would do well to opt for a show-stopper in the form of the Steak Flambe au Poivre Vert (RM195) which is essentially a seared tenderloin with a sauce made out of butter, port, green peppercorns, beef jus and cream, served with potato mille feuille and green beans.

There is a lot of work that goes into making sure the steak is executed to perfection. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star

As advertised, the steak is flambe-d tableside by enthusiastic wait staff, and it is this dramatic display that is definitely something worth seeing – as you watch the steak being drenched in butter over and over again and then slowly, almost subversively transformed into a glorious slab of meat slathered with a rich sauce, dripping with the goodness of butter, port and beef jus.

The steak is literally as good as it gets – a burnished outer carapace succumbs to juicy meat still pink throughout and extremely supple. The sauce that accompanies the beef isn’t just a mere footnote, it is one of the main characters in this page-turning meal and is moreish and indulgent. Perhaps the only slight letdown is the potato mielle feuille which is a tad overdone in parts.

To finish your meal at Fritz on a high note, opt for the Crème Brulee Flambe (RM35), a twist on the traditional crème brulee which sees the classic French dessert elevated with a vanilla sponge set against vanilla ice cream and flambe-d with Cognac.

The tenderloin features a lovely outer char that segues into meat that is juicy, succulent and tender alongside a rich sauce buoyed by port. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star

Now, there are traditional meals that most people wouldn’t dare touch at all for fear of being accused of desecrating a classic. Yet, sometimes it is new tweaks like the one Fritz has so bravely attempted that will leave you wondering why no one thought to do it before.

In this incarnation, the charred softness of the crème brulee melds against the cake-ish qualities of the vanilla sponge with Cognac forming a strong counterpoint. It’s an insanely good dessert, one that takes crème brulee to stratospheric new levels.

Ultimately a meal at Fritz Brasserie offers high-quality French-influenced meals in an elegant setting. The two combinations – beautiful place and the food to match – make it a definite pitstop for diners looking to add delicious meals to their dining repertoire.

Fritz Brasserie

Troika Sky Dining

Level 23a, Tower B, The Troika

19 Persiaran KLCC

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2162 0886

Open Monday to Sunday: 6pm till late
Fritz Brasserie,French food,Christian Bauer,Eddie Chew,Troika Sky Dining
Fritz Brasserie, a new restaurant in the city centre shines a spotlight on well-executed French meals injected with a touch of global inspiration.