Review: The Hungry Tapir

There was a time where any suggestion of going to KL’s Chinatown for a fun evening would have been met with groans – and possibly some remarks questioning your idea of a good time. But for the past few years, that hasn’t been the case at all, and in fact, an argument could now be made that Chinatown is one of the city’s hippest and most happening places to enjoy a night out. A long and mostly unofficial campaign of gentrification and improvement in the area has taken hold, and now, an assortment of funky bars, trendy restaurants, an eclectic slate of curio shops, cafés, and heritage buildings, and of course, the ever-venerable Petaling Street assortment of knock-offs and other bargains all contribute to a refreshed, vibrant area that also happens to be home to the world’s second-tallest skyscraper! Suffice it to say, Chinatown is enjoying a well-earned renaissance these days.

We recently nipped in to The Hungry Tapir, a popular vegan eatery just steps away from Petaling Street (the street shopping attraction, that is – the outlet is actually located on Jalan Petaling itself). It’s upstairs, and as soon as we climbed the stairs and entered the open-plan restaurant, we were grabbed by the appealing aesthetics. Just imagine how a chic, urban, vegan restaurant might be designed and decorated, and chances are, The Hungry Tapir will have ticked several of those imagined boxes. It’s inviting, it’s both retro and modern, it’s classy but laid-back, and its overall ambiance is certainly one sure reason that the restaurant attracts such a diverse cross-section of patrons.

Choose a window seat for a view of the street scene below

You need not be vegan, or indeed even vegetarian, to feel instantly at home here. And if you’re an avowed carnivore, rest assured, one of the best things about vegetarian and vegan places like this is simply that the constraints put on the chefs in a very real way forces them to be that much more creative. So we were pleased to take our seats and dive into what was, for us, an unfamiliar and correspondingly exciting menu. Our server was efficient and knowledgeable, so that helped quite a bit. (In fact, we felt the service at The Hungry Tapir was most definitely a high point!)

We chose a couple of intriguing options from the ‘Nibbles to Share’ section of the menu, including the Blushing Pumpkin Tortillas (RM25) and the Crispy Cheesy Flatbread (RM28). The tortillas, made ‘blushing’ by the addition of beetroot, were topped with glazed pumpkin, miso chili dressing, pickled onion, purple cabbage, and some microgreens. If you’ve ever had fresh fish tacos, these may remind you of that, just because of the various textures and the taco-like form factor. We really enjoyed these, and felt this menu item was both creative and tasty.

The latter choice, however, which is supposed to be a vegan take on the venerable Margherita pizza, was a bit of a mixed bag. Vegan cheese doesn’t quite seem to fully mimic the properties of dairy cheese, and since this actual pizza really only has three ingredients to begin with (tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella), it’s hard to pull it off without one of them. A shower of cashew-derived parmesan was a nice touch, though, and we give props to the freshness of the tomato.

There was quite a bit on the menu which interested us, honestly speaking, so after these two starters, we just opted for a platter that included a good variety. Our choice was the ‘Soul Food Platter’ (RM90), which came piled with Fried Cheeken, Pink Bombshell Burger Sliders, Truffle Baked Mac-No-Cheese, Roasted Cauliflower and Pumpkin Salad, and Homemade Crisps. This was plenty for at least three people (perhaps more if another dish were ordered), and we loved it.

The ‘cheeken’ is actually crispy-fried oyster mushrooms (very nice) and the burger is made from beetroot, topped with vegan cheese, homemade BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, and vegan mayo. The salad was terrific, and the crisps were mildly addictive, but the star of the platter was surely the ‘mac-no-cheese’ pasta dish. Beautifully executed, this macaroni bake with homemade vegan cheese also wove in mushrooms, fried tempeh, and truffle oil. Rich, fragrant, and absolutely delicious, this choice anchored what was a terrific overall platter. (The truffle baked mac-no-cheese is also available as an à la carte choice for RM28.)

We augmented our platter with some inexpensive selections from their sides menu, which includes such treats as Cauliflower Rice (RM4), Hummus (RM5), Carrot ‘Bacon’ (RM8), and Avocado (RM6). We thought the bacon was an especially nice addition to the mac-no-cheese dish!

Tempeh, a tasty form of fermented soybean that’s especially popular in Indonesia, makes an appearance in a few dishes here, but of course we weren’t able to try everything this time. The ones that piqued our interest, though, included the vegan Nasi Lemak (RM27), Spicy Tempeh Fingers (RM12), and the TLTA (RM25), a sandwich that riffs on the famed BLT by combining smoked tempeh, lettuce, tomato, and avocado on fresh sourdough bread.

To quench any thirsts, diners here can enjoy alcoholic beverages (cocktails, beers, and wines) and non-alcoholic drinks (mocktails, juices, kombucha, shakes, smoothies, teas, coffees, and various matcha-based delights). The prices are reasonable with house wines by the glass at RM25, cocktails (RM28-RM38), beers (RM22) and kombucha (RM13). The locally made kombucha was a particular delight, both favourably priced and very refreshing. We chose the Blueberry Açaí sparkling probiotic tea and it was delicious.

The Hungry Tapir champions the use of local ingredients in their cocktails and mocktails. More interesting is the use of rice wine from Sabah’s Kadazan-Dusun community in some beverages. This wine is made from glutinous rice called pulut. Sadly, stocks were low when we dined, but the bar staff had a bottle of tuak, a similar beverage made by Sarawak’s Iban community. Leaving the concoction in the capable hands of the bar staff, we enjoyed a cocktail comprising tequila, tuak and various juices. It’s our suggestion that you should ask if you are interested in discovering these East Malaysian delights.

A specially curated ‘tuak-tail’ from the bar

Other cocktails sampled included Cynthia’s Margarita (RM32), comprising tequila, amaretto, asam boi and orange juice served in a coupe glass. The inclusion of the local delicacy asam boi (salted dried plum) created a unique interpretation of this universally popular cocktail. Meanwhile, the similarly priced Elderflower Paloma, comprising tequila, grapefruit juice, elderflower, and agave, was most refreshing and invigorating.

Wine drinkers can choose from several wines sourced from various regions and styles including a few that are organically produced. While it’s a relatively short list, few will complain with an Angove Long Row Chardonnay and Angove Long Row Cabernet Sauvignon, the two wines available by the glass (RM25, or RM120 by the bottle). These are supported by wines by the bottle, including a French Chardonnay, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a French red, a New Zealand Pinot Noir, a rosé from Provence, and an Italian Prosecco.

Angove is a family-owned, small-batch, hand-crafted winemaker that produces a range of wines from grapes sourced from South Australia’s McLaren Vale. Its fifth generation of winemakers produces wines from organically grown grapes, and the estate takes a holistic approach to making wines that are as pristine and pure as possible, making this by-the-glass choice a natural fit for a restaurant like The Hungry Tapir.

Desserts here mostly comprise a selection of cakes and pastries from a display case and we followed our server’s recommendation and ordered a decadent brownie with a scoop of vegan ice cream. The cakes are all baked at the restaurant’s sister vegan bakery just up the road called LaGula. While the ice cream has a soft serve-like texture, it was still a fine accompaniment to the rich, chocolatey brownie, and a nice ending to a most enjoyable meal.

If you’re enjoying a visit to Chinatown, stopping by The Hungry Tapir is definitely an easy recommendation to make, even for non-vegans. The charming ambiance, great service, and creative selection of vegan dishes make this one of the area’s most popular eateries.