Turning three this month, Sitka continues to reinvent itself as one of KL's most engaging eateries, evolving now into a modern Asian restaurant & convivial wine bar. A meal here fires up both the imagination & the appetite, composed with a finely tuned balance of skill & style that's the lifeblood of a dynamic kitchen. Sitka's food is meant to be shared, savoured, talked about & remembered; start with what could be considered 21st-century, citizen-of-the-world dim sum - compellingly tender white cut chicken with a dressing that's both tasty & textured (RM20), beautifully stuffed prawn wontons in a lip-smacking Thai-inflected butter sauce (RM18), & radish cake blanketed in the fluffiest scrambled eggs & chicken floss (RM16).
While waffles & tacos have vanished from Sitka's current oeuvre, the venue maintains a flair for taking popular, crowd-pleasing fare & reinterpreting it in noteworthy ways. Baos have never been hotter in KL's modern F&B landscape, & Sitka puts its own stamp on them - the Shanghai burger bao is a hearty hybrid that sandwiches Sitka's own-baked, chives-laced buns with thick patties built of wagyu beef trimmings & house-made pickles (RM24), while the twice-cooked duck bao evokes the enjoyment of eating Peking duck, paired with steamed mantou, with lots of meaty fowl flesh, warm to the touch, to rip into & relish (RM38).
Through every offering, there's an intense commitment that's evident to real food, reliant on fresh, passionately sourced ingredients, prepared through honest, hard work. It's the ideal showcase for seafood to shine, from a standout salad of torched salmon vibrantly partnered with creamy eggs & peas that generate a genuine snap, rounded out with spicy yuzu aioli (RM27), tuna tataki, the smooth delicateness of the protein balanced by the uplift of yuzu kosho ponzu & pepper oil (RM23), & sesame-crusted market-chosen fish with garnishes that pay homage to Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City (RM34).
Red meat secures respect too; seared wagyu flank steak promises primal, sink-your-teeth-into-this pleasure, complemented by a choice of fish sauce & lime or yuzu kosho butter & zucchini (RM38). The sense of capable versatility here is bolstered by lamb, cumin-spiced & presented with smoked yoghurt in the fashion of Chinese jian bing (RM18) or braised with Coca-Cola & chillies to sumptuous succulence (RM42).
Desserts adopt a quality-over-quantity approach - there are three sweet treats on Sitka's menu, & all merit investigation, from the butter cake irresistibly coupled with brown butter ice cream (RM18) to the nearly sensual chocolate cremeux with coconut custard & coconut espuma (RM18) & the complex ensemble of mochi with mango sorbet, condensed milk & pomelo (RM18). Browse the diversity demonstrated on Sitka's wine racks for a suitable vintage, but be sure to also check out a cocktail or two - combinations like bourbon & tamarind or vodka & sake with lemonade & yuzu salt (RM24 each) confirm that beverages are far from an afterthought here. Many thanks to Sitka for this terrific feast.
Sitka
8-5, Jalan Batai, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 11am-11pm. Tel: 03-2011-1117