Hall Of Fame, Bangsar South: 2021 Menu, from Claypot Bak Kut Teh to Siew Yok Pizza

From its splashy, playful murals to portraits of iconic moments in basketball, boxing, badminton and football to TV screens perpetually set on sports broadcasts, Hall Of Fame has been a familiar destination for sports fans for nearly six years. Electronic dartboards, an arcade machine, pool table and beer pong table help you personally experience the thrill of a game yourself.

But Bangsar South's vibrantly friendly hangout is more than a run-of-the-mill sports bar - its kitchen also deserves a shout-out, with a selection of something for everyone, spanning East to West with crowd-rousing favourites and cool creations to pair with your pint of beer or bottle of soju.

For claypot comfort, we like the Claypot Bak Kut Teh (RM22) and the Claypot Lala Soup (RM18.90), both not often seen in sports bars. 

The BKT is impressively executed, comprising a beautiful mix of meaty, tender pork belly and ribs, perfectly stewed in a soothing herbal broth with mushrooms and tofu, complete with shallot-showered rice for a soulful meal. But if lala is your true love, there are plenty of fleshy clams in the ginger-aromatic, chilli-spiked soup to leave you satisfied too.

If you're searching for slightly more unusual concoctions, Hall Of Fame does fun things with Chinese roasted pork, including Siew Yok Pizza (RM29) and Siew Yok Wrap (RM21). 

The Siew Yok Pizza is tremendously hearty, thick and cheesy without being cloying, with each slice topped with a piece of tasty siew yok to placate pork cravings, balanced with capsicum and pineapple - ideal to share, offering substantial value in a portion that'll easily feed two to three persons.

Grilled goodness: If you prefer your protein to pack a knockout punch, have the Garlic Grilled Prawns, juicy crustaceans with a buttery richness that would meet the mark in a tapas bar (RM22 for one person, RM28 for two; served with toast), and Grilled Mary’s Lamb (RM24), savoury red meat for bar bites, with lots of marinated lamb shoulder cutlets that carnivores will enjoy gnawing, partnered with rosemary brown sauce and a refreshing mint sauce.

Burgers and bangers will banish hunger for the entire evening: The Beckham Pork Burger boasts a house-made pork patty layered with loads of crispy bacon, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce (RM23.90), while Gang Bang (RM40) is a grand slam of four plump sausages - farmer's, chicken, chorizo and thueringer - with fries, salad and mustard, Thai chilli and brown sauces for delicious dipping.

Classic platters that channel nostalgic memories include the Guinness Pork Ribs, slow-cooked after being marinated overnight with Guinness Stout (RM26 for three slabs, RM35 for five) and the perennially popular Hainanese Chicken Chop that a traditional Hainanese kopitiam would be proud to serve (RM21).

All in all, Hall Of Fame earns cheers for providing a cheerful space for fun, casual feasts with friends - many thanks to the team here for having us.

Hall of Fame

G-2B, Ground Floor, Nexus Bangsar South, Jalan Kerinchi, Bangsar South, 59200 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur Daily, 12pm-12am. Tel: 03-5033-2488

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Umi Omakase, Bangsar South

Our favourite omakase experience so far of 2021, Bangsar South's new Umi Omakase offers many skilful moments, some surprising ones and a few transcendent flashes of brilliance. Chiba-born chef Takahiro Shiga and his team strike a strong balance between serving seasonal specialities and crowd-pleasing produce, executed with a mastery of Japanese ingredients.

The most comprehensive omakase dinner tops out at RM980, kicking off very promisingly with starters like sakura tofu, Iwate-sourced oyster, and a platter of shishito peppers, sliced abalone, chilled hairy crab, Japanese tomatoes and vinegared seaweed.

Sashimi surfaces in two beautiful courses, including one of sayori, saba and baby red snapper blossoming over ice, like springtime breaking over winter.

Hot cooked dishes range from a memorable chawanmushi, steamed in yuzu skin for a rich, penetrating tang throughout the egg custard, crowned with luscious ebi and uni, to fried shirauo and mountain vegetables to the over-the-top decadence of Japanese A5 wagyu beef layered not only with foie gras but sea urchin, roe and shaved truffles, plus a punchy side of thick truffle sauce.

Umi's nigiri sushi is distinctive, with rice that's notably warm-temperatured and savoury-tasting, featuring well-separated, soft-textured grains. The neta-shari proportions are practically perfect, a sterling showcase particularly for the amaebi and otoro.

The pinnacle is the uni sushi - many restaurants in KL serve this, but none has wowed us as much as Umi. This is uni sushi that's capable of stunning customers into silence, compelling them to close their eyes as the Bafun uni melts into the rice, sinking into their tongues and memories, washing us over with flavours of earth and sea, a cloud of warm and cold contrasts. 

We also ordered extra servings - the akagai sushi is worthwhile, as is the gunkan sushi with saltwater-marinated sea urchin.

For fans of extravagantly fatty rice bowls, the engawa don with foie gras should satisfy, followed swiftly by a soulful clam soup and reviving ending of the juiciest Japanese melon and cherries.

Umi Omakase

Ground Floor, Tower 11, Avenue 5, Jalan Kerinchi, Bangsar South, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.

Daily for lunch, 12pm-230pm; two sessions for dinner, 6pm-8pm, 8pm-10pm. Tel: 03-2242-3313

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com