Enfin by James Won at Menara Hup Seng: Restaurant review

This modern French restaurant ranks among the city centre’s most beautiful new venues, occupying the sort of space that bolsters expectations of a exceptional experience.

Starters

Visiting for lunch, we couldn’t resist ordering a bread platter (RM22); the menu emphasises that Enfin bakes its own, relying on natural yeast and French-milled flour. The offering evokes crostini-like toasted slices, thin and crunchy, which might not placate patrons seeking fresh bread they can sink their teeth into.

This comes with three dips – pesto, eggplant, and possibly mushroom and olives (service here is well-intentioned, but not everyone on the floor is capable of explaining what’s being served) – each enjoyable, but the entire ensemble is only marginally more intriguing than the complimentary bread that welcomes customers elsewhere.

If you need a starter, a more distinctive choice might be the orange-coloured Mimolette cheese salad (RM24), a dish that echoes back to Malaysian chef-founder James Won’s original restaurant, Brasserie Enfin in Oasis Ara Damansara.

Duck dishes

Being devotees of duck, we had to also check out the duo of duck and chicken wings (RM28); the former is massive, comprising French free-range fowl, quinoa-crusted for a memorably crisp-textured exterior, while the latter is a lot more ordinary, prepared with a soy butter glaze that tastes mainly Oriental. Both prove punchy in flavour, though they might benefit from some sauces on the side to broaden their dynamics.

We’d probably skip the duck burger – the patty is thick but tastes only faintly like duck and feels over-processed; we may have preferred pulled duck for a real-meat chew, especially for a burger that chimes in at RM45.

Mains

For our mains: Enfin’s rendition of boeuf bourguignon features faultlessly tender meat with roasted roots – it’s well worth having for RM48, even though we’d wish for greater depth and boldness in the flavour of the sauce.

The roast chicken and salted duck egg risotto (RM45) is competent, but fundamentally indistinguishable from what you’d find at a decent Italian restaurant in KL.