Serious about seafood, 4Play brings together the talents of four restaurateur friends whose passions and skills span cooking to interior design to marketing. Their new creation is a modern venue that strives to breathe fresh life into the ocean's bounty, for the sake of prawn pleasure, fish fulfilment and clam contentment.
Expect rich, robust flavours from head chef Desmond Augustus Fernandez's kitchen, perfect if you prefer punchy dynamics from your food.
The cioppino is a winner, ideal for fans of soups and stews, brimming with a bowl-load of mussels, squid, prawns and squid in a broth made naturally sweet with tomatoes, olives and herbs (RM26).
If you like familiar Malaysian nuances, crustacean comfort can be found in the salted egg yolk prawns, sauteed with curry leaves, onions, cili padi and chilli flakes (RM28), and the spicy deep-fried prawns saturated with a thick, deeply fiery sauce (RM28). Thumbs up for the firm, fleshy prawns.
For hearty sharing, 4Play recommends pots of crabs (RM75 for 500 grams), clams (RM30) or mussels (RM35), which can be prepared according to your choice of flavour - coconut cream and chilli, creamy butter chilli, creamy beef bacon and basil, spicy chilli, salted egg yolk, or green curry.
We couldn't find fault with the crab or the clams, both of which tasted market-fresh, illustrating 4Play's commitment to quality. The seafood was capably cooked, so the crab channelled a tender, succulent chew while the clams conveyed a juicy bite. The sauces were tasty, worth soaking up with some fried mantou.
There's more to the menu; you can even construct a complete meal sans seafood, starting with lip-smacking spinach-stuffed mushrooms (RM22) before moving on to a main course of chicken stuffed with an enjoyable mix of jalapenos, sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese (RM35) and a crowd-pleasing dessert of choco molten lava cake with ice cream (RM21), washed down with wines and juices. Service is warm and efficient.
Many thanks to 4Play for having us.
4Play Seafood & Co
A1-G2-07, Solaris Dutamas (Publika), Jalan Dutamas 1, Kuala Lumpur. Daily, 12pm-12am. Tel: 603-6211-9908
