Brix Union at Changkat Bukit Bintang: Restaurant review

Changkat Bukit Bintang has lost much of its lustre for dining devotees in recent years, but thankfully, there remains a smattering of restaurants waging the good fight on this street. Brix Union ranks among the better ones, its gastropub menu teeming with temptations. Start your meal here with guacamole (RM20), chunky and creamy, coming in a couple of different styles, including one that’s made Southeast Asian with ikan bilis for a briny crunch, served with Indonesian emping chips.

Move on to more starters – the cannellini bean soup, laced with kale, pork bacon and garlic oil (RM19), is comfort food in a bowl, as is the baked triple-grain rice blanketed with Gouda cheese, harissa, broccoli, spinach and pistachios (RM28). Also available: A very European strudel dough pie packed with minced pulled pork and cabbage (RM18).

Choices galore for carnivores: Grilled ox-tail marinated for 24 hours in flavoursome herbs and spices (RM69 for half a tail), a pulled beef brisket burger drenched in its own drippings (RM28) and an ‘Underbelly’ (RM59), essentially roast pork belly with sauteed bread dumplings, sauerkraut and apple sauce. Caveat: Our visit here was sometime back, so it’s very possible the menu has evolved since then.