Sabayon at EQ — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Sabayon is the newly refurbished EQ hotel’s (former Equatorial Hotel) latest F&B option and is clearly positioned as a fine dining restaurant, with a Michelin starred Chef from Sweden at its helm. Soft-opened since September 2019, the restaurant will be officially launched in the near future. We didn’t make a booking and were warmly welcomed by the Sabayon team.

Located in the 51st floor of the EQ tower, the restaurant offers beautiful views (albeit spoilt by the haze) of KL and the twin towers. The interior design is elegant, cosy and stylish at the same time, with a high ceiling distinctively lit in blue. White elements that are supposed to look like clouds are hanging from the ceiling. Steel and copper elements throughout the space complete the design. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the carpeted floor helps with the acoustics, something that many restaurants in KL don’t even think about. In summary, the perfect environment for a fine dining experience in the clouds.

Sabayon offers four different tasting menus ranging from RM288++ (3 course) to RM528++ (7 course) per person. The prices are on the high side, but in-line with hotel fine dining. We opted for the 4 course Classic Set Menu (RM452++ pp).

After some “amuse-bouche” (one of them compressed watermelon), Sabayon served their own freshly baked sourdough bread together with 2 types of butter (truffle, salt) and olive oil, pure joy for our taste buds. Next was the pan fried foie gras which was served with compressed apple (a vacuum cooking technique, so we were told), blackberries and balsamic vinegar. I personally prefer cold foie gras but it was a good experience nonetheless. In the meantime, my partner (who doesn’t like liver) had the barley risotto, which she visibly enjoyed. After a refreshing granita with candied orange peels as a palate cleanser, we continued with our main dish, the Wagyu Sirloin (MBS 5) together with bone marrow, mushrooms and a sherry vinegar sauce, which was slightly on the sweet side.

The next highlight was the cheese platter composed of all locally made cheese (by producer milky whey) together with tomato jam, caramelized pecan nuts and other sauces. The cheese platter was unexpectedly large and by this stage our bellies were already filled. We enjoyed it nonetheless and even order more of the rye crackers. We couldn’t finish the cheese platter and had to leave a little bit of room for the dessert, an excellent chocolate ganache. The final touch were the “mignardises”, little chocolate creations with local Malaysian influence, such as a sweet laksa infused praliné (awesome). We had an Aperol Spritz as an aperitif and then wines by the glass (and apparently the first beer ever served in this restaurant!) for the rest of the dinner.

As expected from an outlet of this nature, the service team was very attentive and Fatin, our main waitress, did a great job.

Sabayon is a place for special occasions, and we would...

This chic contemporary European fine dining restaurant is perched on the 51st floor of the EQ hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The parking fee is a flat rate of RM12 on weekends. Parking space is aplenty. This restaurant only serves course meals with three, five and seven course options. Deposit is required when you make reservations. I went with the three-course option that served foie gras, wagyu beef cheek, and baba cake. I upgraded to wagyu tenderloin so I was charged an extra RM128. The foie gras or duck liver was absolutely moreish. It was served with le puy green lentils and granny smith apple puree. The sourness from the puree gave a nice touch to the overall taste of the foie gras. Tender and melted in my mouth. I was rather disappointed that I wasn’t given an option on how well my tenderloin should be cooked. I always eat my meat med rare but the meat was cooked med well to almost well done. My two other friends both ordered the illegal pasta and salmon for their options which tasted rather average and didn’t scream luxury at all. It tasted like something I can whip out at home on a Sunday night. The baba cake which is a french decadent was also nothing to shout about. It tasted just like any other sponge cakes but fancier looking and served with some sort of pastry cream. It did come with a canalé though which was delicious. You can never go wrong with a canalè.

The restaurant is absolutely beautiful. With high ceiling, contemporary light fixtures and accent lighting, it feels très chic indeed. Perfect place for a date or to bring your significant other.

The service was rather swift. I didn’t have to wait long for the foods to arrive. Since I came with two of my friends, all our meals always arrived at the same time. Splendid timing. What I was quite unhappy was that the server mistook one my friends’ order. He opted for salmon for one of the options but was served with steak instead. The menu was quickly corrected nonetheless. It was also disappointing that the server didn’t take note of what our orders were individually. My friend’s food was sent to me and my food was sent to my friend. At such a luxury eat, I feel like I didn’t have to remind the servers of our individual orders of who ordered what. Even the server took some time to get our bill.

Overall, the taste was average to say the least. The whole experience for me was enhanced only by the sheer interior of the establishment. The only reason why I would probably come here again is to soak in the aesthetics of the restaurant. We also checked out the Blue bar next door. It had a viewing deck that overlooks the Petronas twin tower and the KL skyline. Absolutely breathtaking! Another thing is that the server would also take a picture of you using their phone and printed out the picture as a keepsake. Well that was a nice touch indeed, but I do feel they should at least ask for a permission before doing so. Will I be back? Maybe not in...

Expensive and overrated

We wanted something special for our Christmas dinner, so we found this amazing looking restaurant. Pays extra to get a good table with the view of the towers. Unfortunately looks isn’t everything. The experience would have been better if we just went to the bar next door as the view there is free and the wine package was the highlight of the dinner anyways. We had a special set Christmas dinner, so this may not apply to the normal set menu. Oyster with champagne: great presentation, and fun with the raspberry gelly to spice it up, however it would have been better if the oyster was raw than cooked. Overall a good dish. Good champagne, however we did not get to finish the champagne before they served the white wine. As both of these should be cold, we found it odd that they were served so close together. We asked to hold off on the next course but that was too late. Made everything seem a bit rushed. Scallops- presentation ok. Bit boring with white plate and white scallops. There was no contrast in the dish, so overall quite boring dish. Considering the price of the dinner I would have expected something more exciting. Otherwise good pairing with the wine. Duck- Foye gras.. if we had seen that this world be served we would have chosen an other restaurant as the ducks are not cared for properly. The dish it self had a panacotta looking bottom with a broth on top- mixed it looked like cold fat on top of a stew.. tast was ok, again nothing special. The mushroom dish on the side was new and exciting, so a plus for that. Palate cleanser - good Lamb- presentation good. But the lamb tasted quite strong, more like sheep meat. And the amount of fat around the meat was too much for two of us and the third thought it was good, so a bit split opinions. The butternut puré was really good, shame it was so little.. the plus was great red wine! Dessert- maybe a bit too many components here? Chocolate, chestnut, some jam and some whipped foam. Not sure what it was but something tasted like an ashtray- might be the chestnuts? Overall great presentation. Petit four- okay, nothing special

Service Overall good service, I do wonder, considering how many waiters there were at work, did they have rush around the restaurant? It all seemed a bit stressed and it didn’t feel relaxing to sit there. It also felt like it would be best if we ate quickly and left as soon as possible. We struggled to hear what the waiter said, but otherwise great service.

Mind you this seems a bit harsh as the restaurant has good food, but we were expecting exceptional food, and there was nothing special with this dinner. Spend your money somewhere else and grab a drink...