Asador V is the KL city centre’s sleek new sanctuary of steaks and seafood, seared on scorching flames with a scenic skyline, served in a spectacular setting steeped in mid-century Manhattan stylishness.
Step into this sprawling restaurant with soaring ceilings, its cavernous space luminously lit by colossal brass crystal chandeliers. An elegant mezzanine of private rooms and intimate corners is buttressed by elaborate Roman-inspired pillars with polished poise.
It’s breathtaking at first sight, one of the Klang Valley’s most dramatic dinner destinations, comfortably hosting up to 150 patrons inside the fourth floor of Menara Hap Seng 3.
A twenty-foot-high bar, gleaming with golden glamour, faces the open kitchen where meat and vegetables, fish and crustaceans are prepared on open fires fuelled by acacia wood and charcoal, led by chef Daric Liu, who honed his craft in Switzerland, Germany and Australia.
The top-calibre menu is monumental, inspired by Asador V’s founders’ travels through Spain, paying homage to South American asado barbecue traditions with a modern sophistication.
Asador V is a protein powerhouse, promising prime cuts of dry-aged Spanish and Australian beef and duck, buoyed by seafood like Josper oven-grilled whole turbot, princely lobster paella, charred Spanish octopus, Alaskan king crab legs. Hokkaido scallops and New Zealand Ora King salmon.
Every element at Asador V is meticulously put together, from the custom-built dry-aging cabinets that keep beef at no more than 3 degrees Celsius to the choice of Sal de Anana salt harvested in the Basque Country, beloved by Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain.
For the most commanding business lunches in the city, also check out Asador V for its Elite Power Lunch, Monday to Saturday, 12pm to 3pm. The three-course menu starts from RM118+, with show-stoppers like grilled MB7 wagyu beef striploin, sous vide chicken Galantine, and char-grilled braised lamb collar roulade.
Fun fact: The V in Asador V stands for the restaurant's original sibling, Vantador, Desa Sri Hartamas' six-year-old steakhouse.
Also check out the dry-aging chillers and Argentinian-influenced parrilla grills, before settling in with the starting brioche, house-baked for a warm, comforting fluffiness, gently laced with rosemary and cheese, coupled with garlic herb butter.
Asador V's skilled kitchen brigade does justice to the bounty of both sea and land.
For a bold, robust combo, order the Bone Marrow (RM138) with an add-on of Charred Oysters (RM60 for three). This is a decadently memorable partnership - the Spanish Rubia Gallega marrow, baked to meltingly gelatinous glory, synergises sensationally with the smoky creaminess of oysters, showered with Avruga caviar and sliced truffles on toasted ciabatta.
Other colourful opening acts include the Charcuterie Board (RM95), a brilliant board of cured beef tongue and beef cecina, complemented by complex Monte Enebro goat cheese and blue cheese, complete with fresh and dried fruit, mixed nuts and crackers, and Mixed Salad & Ice Cream (RM38), a vibrantly wholesome bowl of mesclun, charred orange, blueberries, pomegranate, candied walnuts and yuzu vinaigrette with a special surprise - Asador V's house-churned ice cream, in a choice of salad-suitable flavours of blue cheese or olive oil.
Fans of fantastic fish, try the Turbot (RM380) - Asador is KL's rare restaurant that offers this Atlantic flatfish whole, Josper-grilled for a crisp browned surface that harbours moist, flaky flesh, rounded out classically with lemon, capers and sauteed vegetables.
The Lobster Paella (RM220) is another sublime show-stopper - a mighty half-portion of Canadian lobster, joyously juicy, jazzes up a pan of crunchy-textured arborio rice, saturated with seafood stock and saffron, aromatically cooked with white wine, finished with confit garlic aioli and chives allium. Perhaps the current most impressive paella in the Klang Valley.
Also irresistible: Aged Duck Breast & Foie Gras (RM138), spotlighting duck breast that's amazingly aged for two weeks, impeccably seared to luscious perfection, powerfully paired with thickly silky foie gras and temptingly savoury duck bacon, balanced with the nectarous fruitiness of charred grapes and orange demi glace. Duck devotees, don't miss this.
From cuttlefish to chicken, Asador V's kitchen hits the right notes in every recipe, spanning sultrily charred cuttlefish with parsnip puree, burnt lime, green oil and seafood jus (RM110) to dry-aged turken chicken, turning up the heat for poultry pleasure with playful peri-peri sauce, burnt lemon and charred endives (RM120). Roasted Sunchokes (RM35) and Honey Glazed Heirloom Carrots (RM30) illustrate how even the side dishes are a well-thought-out delight.
Desserts aren't an afterthought - the evening ends with the triumphant table theatrics of the Pistachio Citrus (RM48), a pistachio sablé layered with bergamot ganache, orange segments, lemon glass and vanilla whipped ganache, worthy of the best contemporary Parisian patisserie.
The Dry Aged Burnt Cheesecake with White Chocolate Chantilly (RM45) isn't our typical burnt cheesecake - its crumbly base of compressed digestive biscuits is baked with dry-aged beef fat butter, lending an unmistakably savoury twist to a crowd-pleasing treat, in an exciting way to end the Asador V experience.
Asador V
Unit 3A-1 & 3A-2, Menara Hap Seng, 3, Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 6pm-12am.
