akar — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Akar Dining masterfully weaves a narrative of innovation and heritage through thoughtfully crafted dishes. Each course tells a story, balancing tradition and modernity with a symphony of flavors and textures. The journey begins with the X-Dairy Cow, where earthy beetroot meets briny Amur caviar, elevated by a rich beef fat emulsion. The Prawn Pais features sweet big head prawns paired with creamy glutinous rice and delicately wrapped in mulberry leaf. Next comes the Breadfruit, a bold, spherical creation filled with salted duck egg jam and crowned with duck floss, reimagining this tropical fruit with umami richness.

The Squid offers a refreshing interlude, pairing passionfruit jelly and cucumber with tender squid for a vibrant, citrusy delight. The Oyster & Chayote is a vibrant expression of the sea, where creamy oyster meets lactic lemongrass and sea grapes. The Slipper Lobster showcases indulgent lobster tail with uni, crispy onion kuih cucur, and pumpkin foam, playing with textures and rich, creamy flavors.

As the meal progresses, the Jicama & Abalone pairs tender abalone with earthy liver, wrapped and coated in a creamy betel leaf sauce. The Shima Aji & Kale combines perfectly grilled fish with spring onion and fish liver sauce, crispy kale, and a luscious kale sauce for a herbaceous and umami-packed experience. The Aged Duck, wrapped in a chewy rice cake and paired with mulberry and herbs, balances smoky, sweet, and savory notes seamlessly. The Crab Claypot is a comforting yet elevated dish featuring koshiikari rice mixed with crab and engkabang, finished kamameshi-style with a rich crab broth.

Desserts are a celebration of flavor and creativity. The Passionfruit surprises with vibrant sorbet, kombu, roselle sauce, banana leaf oil, and a hidden panna cotta, offering a tart and complex palate cleanser. The Fig Leaf ice cream, topped with almond and anchovy crumble, is paired with brown banana caramel and guava jelly coated in assam boi sugar for a sweet-salty finish. Finally, the Trio delivers a nostalgic Malaysian touch with light kuih bahulu, tangy green mango onde, and caramelized kuih sarang semut paired with jackfruit dolce, accompanied by mulberry and toasted rice tea.

Akar Dining isn’t just a meal—it’s an immersive experience where local ingredients meet innovative techniques. Every dish is beautifully executed, balancing creativity and cultural homage. For anyone seeking a fine dining experience that lingers far beyond the final bite, Akar Dining is...

Honestly, the meal was just average. Their best item on the menu was the scallops. Next was the mackerel, it was quite salty for my taste as well as for my dinner partner overall wasn't that impressive, mediocre at best. The 3rd item was the Cornish chicken it tasted like Chinese claypot chicken rice the rice was probably the highlight of the dish overall it was just experience was ok. The extra RM30 you paid for is the Foie Gras. I've tasted my fair share of Foie Gras this was by far an absolutely garbage. I didn't even finish my dish. It was extremely salty, sweet, and sour all at the same time. The flavour was over complicated. I completely lost my appetite after that dish. A palate cleanser provided before dessert it was too very disappointing, the ice calamansi was nicely sweeten and refreshing but the cucumber shred was just a buzz kill. The combination just didn't work for us. Lastly, the dessert. There is such thing as properly sweeten and extremely sweet. Don't get me wrong, I have a sweet tooth but my tooth could only take so much. Milo, belgium chocolate mousse like and cincau cube at least I think those were what I was served, it was not too bad but if you cant take too sweet of a dessert you probably wouldn't enjoy the meal.

Overall, for RM318 for 2 pax and they don't even have regular warm water, I had to pay 18 bucks still water which was okay i didn't really mind but I wanted warm water that's all just. To me, it wasn't worth the price. Personally, I would rather pay more for Bref by Darren Chin or Ember Modern Bistro for restaurants around TTDI and have a more filling and satisfying meal. Ember dinner is only RM120 with a more impressive menu layout. Bref, I am not too sure if they have a dinner menu but their food are pretty impressive overall.

To make things worst, I wasn't even full after all the meal. I am not a huge eater by any means.

If you are after a place with nice ambience and really wanting to try them out. Just go for the RM120 4-course meal and hit the mamak after that. Just to give them a try at your own risk.

No wine was reviewed as I can't drink due to health reason and I am not a...

Customer service needs a lot of work. I reserved quite ahead of time but they got the date wrong. I corrected them and they ended up making two reservations for me instead, one on the correct date and one on the date they got wrong.

They used to have 3 seatings but due to the RMCO, they reduced it to 2 seatings instead. Unfortunately, my slot was affected and I had to reach out to them to change my slot although I was expecting the restaurant to reach out to their affected customers instead of the other way around.

I asked for their 8.30pm slot, which they confirmed, but the day before my reservation, I received a reminder which stated that my reservation is for the 6.30pm slot. At this point, I was quite fed up so I didn't bother correcting them and simply accepted that I would be having dinner at 6.30pm instead.

As my partner has an allergy to cinnamon, I contacted them over 2 weeks in advance to let them know and to ask if they could swap out the cinnamon cake dessert for something else. They confirmed my request and told me they would swap it out for a chocolate praline but one day before our reservation, they contacted me to let me know that the kitchen is no longer available to accommodate our request. They suggested just swapping out the cinnamon ice cream to a different flavour but when I asked them to confirm if the cake itself doesn't have any cinnamon in it, they told me "it's mixed spice 😅 very little cinnamon". I was shocked and appalled by their lackadaisical attitude towards customers' dietary restrictions. I had to reiterate that my partner literally cannot have the dessert due to an allergy. They then agreed to swap it out to ice cream and gelato instead. Although I agreed to it, I was utterly disappointed that their only solution was to provide ice cream. If we had wanted to order ice cream for dessert, we wouldn't go to a fine dining restaurant.

I ended up cancelling my reservation altogether. Shame, as I have heard so many good things...