Review: CHARR @ The Manor KLCC

Sky-high restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are nothing particularly new. But usually, you’ll find those atop skyscraping hotels or other commercial buildings. A restaurant on the top floor of a residential tower is a somewhat rarer find, but that’s exactly what we ventured into the heart of the city to check out on a recent Friday night – CHARR Dining.

While the name certainly gives a hint, the fire, flames and a beguiling aroma of wood smoke as you enter CHARR confirm the experience offered by this stylish restaurant perched high above central Kuala Lumpur at The Manor Serviced Residences on Jalan Stonor.

You’ll smell the wood smoke as soon as you step in

Dining in a recently opened restaurant is always an exciting prospect, full of anticipation and curiosity. Could this merely be another barbeque restaurant, one that has adopted charcoal that is so familiar in preparing several Malaysian dishes, or a ubiquitous wood-fired pizza outlet? We tried to do minimal research before visiting, if only to preserve the sense of experiencing something new and unexpected.

These pre-visit thoughts also centred on how we humans use not just heat but fire to prepare much of the food we consume. The controlled use of fire by early humans is believed to date back around 1.5 million years. Evidence suggests that Homo erectus, one of our early ancestors, was the first to master fire, using it for warmth, protection, and cooking. The adoption of fire as a tool provided humans with critical advantages. By around 300,000 years ago, fire was being consistently harnessed in daily life.

The ability to cook food over fire not only improved nutritional intake, but also facilitated the practise of socializing around communal fires, further shaping early human society. Once permanent shelters were built, the fireplace and hearth became the heartbeat of the house. Food was not only cooked here; it was often eaten there, and the hearth became the heart of the household. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, this tradition continues.

Over time, cooking has enabled the creation of shared meals, fostering social bonds and the development of complex social structures. CHARR celebrates this tradition with the kitchen fires being central to the restaurant. These fires are used to prepare the dishes, but they also provide sensory stimulus to guests who can lift their heads from their phones to watch the theatre unfolding in the kitchen.

In our experience, the restaurants which have an open kitchen, in full view of diners, tend to turn out excellent food. Over the years, we’ve found virtually no notable exceptions to this little rule, so as we took our seats at CHARR, our gaze was surprisingly not trained on the stellar 47th-floor views of the city, but rather the fully open kitchen with its two woodburning cooking stations – both fully ablaze in anticipation of the dinner rush. Diners can choose a table inside, or outside in what we’d call a semi-al fresco dining space, in that it’s not fully open, but definitely leans towards more of an outdoor experience. The background music was filled with mostly contemporary hits (we’d say largely from the last couple of decades), and was never intrusive or overbearing.

The semi-outdoor dining space, offering sweeping views

We arrived a bit early in the evening, but before long, the dining room had pretty much filled up, and we couldn’t help but notice that the diners on hand, at least on that particular Friday night, trended quite young. This could be because it’s still a new restaurant, and younger patrons may be more adventurous and eager to try the city’s latest culinary offerings. That said, we noticed all manner of patrons, whether couples who were clearly on dates or groups of friends in sizes anywhere from two to six! When we dined, most people in CHARR were busily engaged in social interaction either with fellow diners or their circle of global social media contacts. Watching the flames, we contemplated how the ability to harness fire for cooking set the stage for profound changes in human development, both biologically and culturally. Fire altered food’s physical properties, making it easier to digest by breaking down complex proteins, starches, and fibres, and unlocking certain nutrients. Fire also had direct effects on human evolution; particularly the development of smaller teeth and jaws, as cooking reduced the need for extensive chewing. Humans also became energized from their food, contributing to the expansion of the human brain.

These are probably not the musings of many of CHARR’s patrons, but it’s hard to overstate the importance of fire when it comes to both cooking and human evolution! Early humans likely gathered around the fire, not only to cook food but also to exchange ideas, forge relationships, and strengthen community ties. In this sense, the controlled use of fire represents one of the earliest forms of communal activity, a precursor to modern culinary traditions. Of course, we continue these activities by dining out, enjoying barbeques, sitting around campfires when the opportunity arises, and being transfixed by flickering fireplace flames when holidaying in a cold climate country.

Fast forward to the present day, and the legacy of fire-based cooking remains deeply embedded in professional kitchens. Many chefs still use open flames in various forms to prepare food, a practice that evokes both the primal roots of cooking and the precision of modern techniques. From charcoal grills to wood-fired ovens, flame cooking continues to offer unique flavours and textures that cannot be replicated by other methods.

The tasting menu on offer during our visit

Diners at CHARR can choose from either a set ‘degustation’ menu of sorts (more on this later) or the a la carte menu. The set menu intrigued us because of its somewhat elastic pricing scheme… and the corresponding notion that the menu isn’t really all that set. You see, diners can tell their server (and ours was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable) where their budget aligns most comfortably with the prices on offer. When we dined, the choices were RM250 and RM350. Based on our own experience, that the menu will reflect very good value for whatever price you choose.

We indulged in a procession of dishes delivered and explained with professionalism and a smile. Indeed, throughout the leisurely meal, the service was superb. Servers had a good understanding of the menu and the whole concept of the restaurant, and we were particularly impressed with the wine service.

We started with a few light bites to whet the appetite. Pommes Anna with herbs, crema and smoked trout roe is the kitchen’s interpretation of a French classic of crisped layered potato accompanied by crisped potato layers complemented by nutty brown butter, herb-infused crema, and topped with smoked trout roe.

Next up, deboned chicken wings with pad kra pao and fermented hot sauce offered spiciness, along with a crispy texture from the caramelized chicken skin. We also placed an extra order from the regular menu for the Barbacoa Lamb Tacos (RM24). Very, very nice… and keep in mind, everything is cooked by fire, either in what amounts to a wood-fired broiler or a blazing-hot wood-fired oven.

Next up was the burnt onion with smoked stracciatella (soft Italian cheese) and chimichurri (spicy South American sauce), topped with lightly smoked trout roe was a celebration of onion sweetness, the creaminess of the cheese, and the spiciness of the sauce.

Following this, we savoured the Wagyu beef tongue prepared with harissa yoghurt and served on a mini naan with a sunnyside-up quail egg on top. And if that wasn’t indulgent enough, the next dish was an incredible seared foie gras, placed atop a nice brioche along with the chef’s take on pandan kaya, and topped with an egg yolk jam and served with a bit of soya salt. Simply outstanding, both in its creativity (bringing in a bit of a local Malaysian touch) and its flavour.

Another dish that reads simplistically on the menu, much like the burnt onion, was also quite complex in its flavour profile. Cameron Highlands-grown white corn is prepared with fermented jalapeño, spices and Parmigiano Reggiano. The fire-kissed corn was crunchy and flavoursome with the other ingredients adding the spiciness that most crave in their food.

As we got to the mains, each of us was able to choose from four selections. We opted for the Sanchoku Wagyu MB7 with smoked shallots and beef jus, and a Smoked Duck Breast with rosemary apple. Though both were tasty, our clear favourite was the Aussie Wagyu. Our portion was admittedly slightly overcooked (a roaring open wood fire still presents challenges), but even though the beef was more medium than medium-rare, it was still delicious. The other options on the menu included a whole spring chicken and the ‘catch of the day’ for those who prefer seafood.

Dessert choices included a dark chocolate Lava Tart and a Choux Craquelin with pineapple. We ordered one each, and much like the mains, a clear winner quickly emerged. Chocolate lovers will of course exult in the rich tart (with its curious smoked vanilla ice cream, which was if nothing else a real conversation piece), but we gravitated towards the choux, that wondrous light French pastry delight, lashed with tropical flavours and a nice airy creme. It was a fine finish to a truly enjoyable and engaging fire-centred meal.

As for the beverages, CHARR offers a fairly comprehensive drinks menu. The Fat Boy Pale Ale captured our attention and provided an essential relaxant after negotiating Kuala Lumpur’s stressful early Friday evening traffic. Brewed under license by the Heart of Darkness in Vietnam, this pale ale is, according to the labelling, a tropical fusion of Malaysian fruits including mango, citrus, pine, passionfruit, and lime. It was most satisfying in providing refreshing flavours and mild effervescence. The same brewery has two other selections on the menu at CHARR, a chocolate stout and an IPA.

The very presentable wine list provides brief tasting notes on some 30 wines (red, white, rosé, and sparkling). They are listed by name only, but the fact that their country of origin is not listed may frustrate some. That aside, it is a tempting list with two reds (Spanish Tempranillo/Merlot, RM42, and an Australian Shiraz, RM48), a rosé or rosado (Spanish, RM42), and a white (Spanish, RM42) by the glass. The other wines are available by the bottle and range in price from RM158 to RM788.

A range of cocktails is presented, too, and we enjoyed the Piña Taka (RM40), an elegant rum-based cocktail boasting melon, lime, and pineapple flavours. We also very much liked the presentation of drinking water in a glass CHARR-branded water bottle… a very nice and eco-friendly touch to what was a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience, and one we can enthusiastically recommend.

During dinner, Chef Leong Chee Mun, co-founder of CHARR, visited our table for a quick exchange of ideas. Not surprisingly, he is inspired by the ancient cooking method of using high heat over an open flame to unlock bold, smoky flavours. This technique, celebrated for its ability to enhance natural ingredients through fairly rapid caramelization and the Maillard reaction, is at the heart of CHARR’s culinary philosophy. The Maillard reaction occurs when proteins and sugars are exposed to high heat, producing the golden-brown crusts on meats and vegetables that are prized in many culinary traditions… and always appreciated by hungry patrons who love good food.

We gathered that Leong and his team have embraced fire cooking not only for its unique results but also for the connection it provides to ancient culinary practices. The presence of an open flame is a dramatic focal point in the kitchen, reflecting both artistry and skill. In a world of increasingly sophisticated kitchen gadgets and technologies, fire continues to hold its place as a vital tool in the chef’s arsenal, a reminder of how far humanity has come since those early days of cooking over an open flame.