Sitka at Damansara Heights: 2017 Menu

This review is brought to you in part by Sitka.

Turning three this month, Sitka continues to reinvent itself as one of KL’s most engaging eateries, evolving now into a modern Asian restaurant and convivial wine bar. A meal here fires up both the imagination and the appetite, composed with a finely tuned balance of skill and style that’s the lifeblood of a dynamic kitchen.

Starters

Sitka’s food is meant to be shared, savoured, talked about and 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 and textured (RM20), beautifully stuffed prawn wontons in a lip-smacking Thai-inflected butter sauce (RM18), and radish cake blanketed in the fluffiest scrambled eggs and chicken floss (RM16).

Mains

While waffles and tacos have vanished from Sitka’s current oeuvre, the venue maintains a flair for taking popular, crowd-pleasing fare and reinterpreting it in noteworthy ways. Baos have never been hotter in KL’s modern F&B landscape, and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and pepper oil (RM23), and sesame-crusted market-chosen fish with garnishes that pay homage to Hanoi and 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 and lime or yuzu kosho butter and zucchini (RM38). The sense of capable versatility here is bolstered by lamb, cumin-spiced and presented with smoked yoghurt in the fashion of Chinese jian bing (RM18) or braised with Coca-Cola and chillies to sumptuous succulence (RM42).

Desserts & Drinks

Desserts adopt a quality-over-quantity approach – there are three sweet treats on Sitka’s menu, and all merit investigation, from the butter cake irresistibly coupled with brown butter ice cream (RM18) to the nearly sensual chocolate cremeux with coconut custard and coconut espuma (RM18) and the complex ensemble of mochi with mango sorbet, condensed milk and 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 and tamarind or vodka and sake with lemonade and yuzu salt (RM24 each) confirm that beverages are far from an afterthought here. Many thanks to Sitka for this terrific feast.

Location & Details

Address: 8-5, Jalan Batai, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.
Hours: Daily, 11am-11pm.
Tel: +603-2011-1117
Find: View directory for Sitka here.