By EDKL Writer A. A.
A poke bowl imbued with Malaysian culinary accents. An oyster pan roast inspired by a memorable meal in Las Vegas. Sea urchin, squid & much more.
Eatomo recently launched its second outpost in Solaris Dutamas, & it's our best bet for a feast of all things oceanic in the Publika enclave right now. The name will be familiar especially to residents of Taman Desa, where the first Eatomo originally opened a year ago.
Founders Calvin & Eva have expanded their menu significantly for Eatomo at Solaris Dutamas - the couple not only care about serving fresh seafood at fair prices, they also hope to satisfy customers with some genuinely interesting, thoughtful & well-executed recipes. We like the setting here too, a cool cross between a seafood bar & an American diner, with a wide window view of the neigbourhood outside.
Lunch or dinner at Eatomo should kick off with live oysters, flown in directly from France. You might find these oysters still carrying the sea water from their original harvest location, bolstering their full-bodied brininess. The Fine de Claire varieties are well-known & cherished, cultured in shallow waters of the Atlantic coast, but the revelation might be the Tsarskaya No. 1, living up to its nickname of 'The Pearl of the Tsars,' promising a smooth lusciousness & rich subtleties of flavour. We'd be happy to head to Eatomo simply for the Tsarskaya, with a few Bloody Mary Fine de Claire shooters on the side.
For the main course, Eatomo offers not one, not three, but seven poke bowl recipes, each hand-crafted with sashimi-grade fish, made-from-scratch sauces, crisp veggies & bountiful toppings like guacamole, crab salad or capelin roe on a bed of premium calrose rice.
Choices include the tropical-themed Tuna Mango Poke (RM19.90), with sweet & fruity nuances, balanced with the crunch of marinated seaweed.
But for something uniquely Eatomo, check out the Pokelantan Bowl (RM21.90), which is meant to be California-meets-Kelantan, constructed with salmon, yellowfin tuna, butterfish & crunchy salmon skin, tossed with a zesty cili padi lime marinade that ratchets up the spice level a bit for a localised kick.
If you prefer food that's built for sharing, the Oyster Seafood Pan Roast (RM45.90) comes recommended, a lovingly prepared, protein-packed stew that seeks to replicate a dinner that Calvin & Eva enjoyed immensely at Nevada's Palace Station hotel, showcasing roasted oysters, crab, mussels and shrimp in an ultra-creamy butter garlic tomato seafood broth (made with no water, purely seafood & sauce, for a robust punch), served with spaghetti to help soak everything up. Hot & very hearty, both in portion & flavour.
For a lighter touch, the Lemon Butter Clams (RM28.90) feature live clams steamed in sake lemon butter garlic sauce, paired with a side of rice. Fresh & fleshy, less complicated, but equally enjoyable.
Choices include the tropical-themed Tuna Mango Poke (RM19.90), with sweet & fruity nuances, balanced with the crunch of marinated seaweed.
But for something uniquely Eatomo, check out the Pokelantan Bowl (RM21.90), which is meant to be California-meets-Kelantan, constructed with salmon, yellowfin tuna, butterfish & crunchy salmon skin, tossed with a zesty cili padi lime marinade that ratchets up the spice level a bit for a localised kick.
For a lighter touch, the Lemon Butter Clams (RM28.90) feature live clams steamed in sake lemon butter garlic sauce, paired with a side of rice. Fresh & fleshy, less complicated, but equally enjoyable.
If you're a don devotee, you'll find reasons to visit Eatomo too. You won't go wrong with the Mentaiko-Seared Salmon Ikura Don (RM29) - it's everything we'd expect it to be, a delectable interplay of perfectly flame-broiled ocean trout that's both succulent & smoky with irresistibly tasty mentaiko sauce & Hokkaido salmon roe for bursts of umami-rich flavour.
There are a few non-seafood exceptions to Eatomo's menu. The Wok-Fired Spicy Gyutandon (RM21, served with miso soup) is one of KL's most satisfying versions of this recipe, spotlighting prime beef tongue cooked with a house-made three-chilli spicy shoyu garlic sauce. A deserved, delicious bestseller - you can even double the gyutan for an extra RM15.
Perhaps the one recipe we felt needed more tweaking was the Little Tokyo Creamy Uni Udon Pasta (pictured here with a half tray portion of sea urchin for RM55; customers can also opt for a quarter or full tray). The sea urchin is sautéed in a lightly creamy seafood broth, mingling with Sanuki udon, garnished with salmon ikura and shiso. Maybe we're not fans of cream-based noodle preparations, but the broth seemed to overshadow the natural sweetness of the sea urchin. Other customers though might relish this, particularly if you're looking for something rich & fulfilling on a rainy evening.
Eatomo's side dishes merit mentioning too - the Chipirones Crispy Squid (RM23) is a plateful of buttermilk-seasoned mini-squid with notes of garlic & herbs, representing a tapas-style dish with a savoury bar-snack appeal. But what surprised us was The Shiit-Ake Bomb (RM18) - three shiitake mushrooms, coated in panko, stuffed with spicy Japanese mentaiko and Aussie farm cream cheese, fried to a crisp juiciness, altogether addictive.
Before we left, we took away one last thing - a nice helping of Norwegian Salmon Trout Sashimi (Large - RM38), one of Eatomo's many sashimi offerings, which also include yellowtail, octopus, surf clams & more.
Before we left, we took away one last thing - a nice helping of Norwegian Salmon Trout Sashimi (Large - RM38), one of Eatomo's many sashimi offerings, which also include yellowtail, octopus, surf clams & more.
Plenty of possibilities to wash down your meal, from the K-Town Yogurt Soju to Mickey’s HARD Root Beer - as its mouse-loving name suggests, the latter (a massive mix of stout & root beer) is inspired by the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland. And right now, the happiest place in Solaris Dutamas might well be Eatomo for us; many thanks to the team here for having us.
Eatomo @ Solaris Dutamas
A2-G2-06, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-6412-2280
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