Review: Culina Bistro and Wine Bar

What would happen if a retail purveyor of gourmet foods and wines opened a bistro? That’s exactly what the new Culina outlet offers, as the 30-year-strong Singaporean mainstay (taking the Latin word for ‘kitchen’ as its name) has now launched its fresh concept here in Kuala Lumpur. With a market, wine shop, and dedicated dining outlet, Culina delivers a gastronomic experience that’s at once upscale and unexpected.

We slipped in to the decidedly minimalist bistro recently to check out the menu. The design of the restaurant is certainly unique, and we felt a few more additions would go a long way to making the space more inviting. With virtually nothing but hard surfaces throughout – terrazzo tabletops, polished concrete floors, and mint-green and black tiled walls – if the restaurant is even half-full, it gets pretty loud. Perhaps some canvas artworks on the walls to help absorb some of those sound waves?

But though ambiance is important, it’s only one part of a restaurant’s ‘holy trinity’ – the others being, of course, food and service. We felt Culina scored well here. The menu is fairly extensive, and though we were only able to try a few dishes, what we chose offered a good cross-section of the menu’s selections. Culina doesn’t seem keen to specialize solely on any one thing, but rather to do several things quite well, from smoked seafood (as well as a chilled selection), steaks hot from a Mibrasa charcoal oven, pizzas, and pastas to a range of mains with a variety of choices, including a Wagyu burger, rotisserie half chicken, ocean trout, and several more. The menu appears to be largely Italian-inspired, but certainly with a twist all its own (Shawarma pizza, anyone?)

Culina’s Mibrasa charcoal oven turns out excellent steaks

We loved the Crab Cake (RM78) and Burgundy Escargot (RM68) starters, the former being one of the best lump crab cakes we can recall, served with a creative take on celeriac rémoulade, and a Marie Rose sauce. Meanwhile, laden with parsley and garlic butter, the tender escargots served with crusty baguette slices, were a triumph. Curiously, the Beef Tartare (RM88) we ordered was adequate, but only a pale harbinger of the incredible beefy goodness to come later (read on for this stunning dish).

It’s always hard to make choices during a meal when you only have a couple of people dining, and we were gutted to pass up on tempting entries like the Burrata Cheese Salad (RM68), freshly shucked oysters (market price), Ortiz Anchovy with marinated cucumber (RM38), and the Rotisserie Chicken Salad with avocado, walnuts, and grapes, served with a creamy apply dressing. But the pain of passing up such tasty-sounding starters quickly disappeared when our mains arrived.

We couldn’t resist trying a Culina pizza. There are only four, two of which are suitable for vegetarians: the Margherita (RM58) and a creative Zucchini Blossom Pizza (RM58), though on the latter, the ‘lemon ricotta goat cheese’ component couldn’t find enough favour at our table, so we opted for the safe choice – a Pepperoni Pizza (RM68). The most important part of a pizza is the crust and this one was flawless, truly. It was a very tasty and satisfying pizza, though we might have to question the price point for a 12” beef pepperoni pizza. Granted, Culina uses the famed San Marzano tomatoes for its sauce, so that surely plays a part. And if the crust’s perfection gives anything away, it’s that only the best ‘Tipo 00’ flour is likely used.

The Pepperoni Pizza is terrific, but a little pricey at RM68

The Butcher’s Cut, a 250g ‘cut of the day’ steak (RM220) was an absolute revelation, one we’d put up against steaks in KL costing quite a bit more. The seared crust delivered from the Mibrasa charcoal oven was amazing, the steak was cooked to the precise right doneness, and the day’s cut, a premium grass-fed striploin sourced from O’Connor Beef in Gippsland, Australia, might just be the best thing to come out of the country since Olivia Newton-John.

The Butcher’s Cut we had – an Aussie striploin – was magnificent

Desserts, for those who fancy them, are wonderful here. We enjoyed the Soft Serve (RM20), made with Sulawesi grand cru vanilla ice cream and carob molasses in a crispy house-made waffle cup, and also the Banoffee Pie (RM38) with its biscuity crust, banana cream, and dulce de leche.

Don’t let the plain-sounding ‘Soft Serve’ name fool you… this is an outstanding dessert

CULINA WINES

First impressions are important, and the 14 wines offered by the glass at Culina should make most diners who enjoy their wines sit up and pay attention. For some, it is familiar wines that capture their attention, while for more adventurous diners, it’s the appeal of something new, perhaps with a little mystery.

Diners at the bistro have three wine options – bring their own with a hefty corkage, purchase bottles from the adjoining retail outlet and pay a cellar-to-table fee of RM50/bottle, or purchase wine by the glass or bottle from Culina’s compact wine menu. We opted for the latter and chose from two sparkling wines (Taittinger Brut Réserve and Prestige Rosé), six whites, and six reds.

The line-up captures attention for the geographical spread alone, with wines from Lebanon, Burgundy, Champagne, Germany, South Africa, Austria, Australia, Alsace, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, and Sicily. Grape varieties are as alluring with Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Syrah, and Nero d’Avola, along with some more recognisable varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Some white wines that tantalised our taste buds were the Weingut Fred Loimer Grüner Veltliner from Langenlois in the Kamptal region of Austria, and the Fritz Haas Riesling from the Mosel Valley. Loimer’s impressive wines are produced biodynamically, with Grüner Veltliner an ideal pairing for several of Culina’s seafood starters.

The Fritz Haag Riesling Trocken is produced organically, and delivers a creamy texture as it is made as a fruity but dry style. The grapes are grown in Brauneberg on the famous shale vineyards along the Mosel that impart mineralic notes.

The reds on offer are mostly big wines, apart from a lighter Trimbach Pinot Noir from Alsace in France. The juicy cut of Aussie beef we enjoyed was a superb match with two reds selected, the Cedro do Noval Syrah (a blended wine that includes Syrah) from Portugal Douro’s region and the Torres Celeste Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero in northwest Spain.

Considering the relationship that the restaurant has with the adjoining retail wine outlet, some diners may ponder the lofty prices of still wines by the glass (ranging from RM43 to RM66). Still wine by the bottle is priced roughly four times that of the glass, so purchasing it by the bottle is more economical. That does not apply to the Champagnes, whose bottles are six times the price of the glass.

As Culina has just opened, it can be assumed that small issues like the correct listing of wines (Chateau Musar, for example, which is described as Chardonnay, but is actually a blend that also includes Viognier and Vermentino and labelled as ‘Jeune’), and proper presentation and pouring of wines at the table, will be resolved. The well-known Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc looks a bit out of place alongside the other wines. That said, Culina is to be praised for its efforts to broaden the taste profile of its guests while offering a most inviting selection of wines.

With its adjoining market, fresh seafood, and a nice selection of wines, Culina is a fine addition to The Shoppes at Four Seasons Place.

Additional text by David Bowden