[Pork-free] TBC is the newest restaurant to open in TTDI – which is fast becoming a hub for good dining experiences.
TBC Restaurant began as The Burger Chef in 2021, when head chef Patrick Lim decided to sell high-quality burgers online during the lockdown.
When the economy opened up this year, Patrick proceeded with his initial plan of opening a contemporary European restaurant in the cosy neighbourhood of TTDI.
However, the spirit of The Burger Chef lives on – now in the abbreviated name TBC, which had put his name on the local gastronomy map.
TBC Restaurant in TTDI
Together with his sous chef Nick Chan, chef Patrick offers a casual fine dining experience at TBC.
With a focus on contemporary European cuisine, TBC also incorporates international influences and seasonal ingredients such as freshly shucked oysters served with yuzu dressing, ikura and chives; and lightly cured ocean trout.
Excellent hospitality at TBC
We made reservations for Max’s birthday dinner in October (a few weeks after its official opening).
From our first step into the restaurant, we immediately noticed the warm and attentive service from the waiting and kitchen staff.
Although the counter seats (which provided a clear view into the bustling kitchen where the magic happens) were not yet open, chef Patrick was kind enough to offer us seats personally.
This proved to be the right decision as it was amazing to see the team at work – and from their interactions, they appear to be a tightly-knit team.
Personal touch from chef Patrick
The waiting staff were no slouch either, as we definitely felt the warmness in their hospitality.
This warmth is quite rare to experience today – sad to say – based on our visits to a few casual fine-dining restaurants in the Klang Valley recently. While their service was efficient, there was a certain coldness and “robotic” quality to it. But that’s not the case here at TBC.
Throughout the dinner, chef Patrick would personally serve and engage us in lively conversations about his dishes and the concept of TBC. He was also very keen to hear our honest feedback on his food – which we appreciated.
A good start with the Cauliflower
For hors d’oeuvre, TBC offers two sections of the menu – Starters and Bites.
While the Bites section offers interesting items such as Ikura Salmon Cone & Yuzu Gin Shot (RM58) and the afore-mentioned Oysters in Ponzu Dressing (RM60), we ultimately settled on Starters.
The Textures of Cauliflower, Dubarry Velouté, Almonds, Truffle Oil (RM52) were a scene-stealer!
The humble cauliflower is prepared in three ways: cauliflower florets served as tempura, pickled, and as a cream – all providing contrast in textures and flavours.
The batter of the tempura is crispy and lightly seasoned for a clean taste, while the sliced pickled cauliflower provided a hint of acidity to the dish.
This is finally contrasted with the creamy rich cauliflower veloute – which tasted like a good creamy cauliflower soup – with a drizzle of truffle oil and toasted almonds to seal the whole dish. We enjoyed this dish a lot!
Hokkaido Scallops
We are suckers for Hokkaido scallops, and had to order the Hokkaido Scallops, Grilled Carrots, Curry Leaf, Carrot Cream (RM89) on the menu.
While the description looks intriguing on paper, the scallops were not as juicy or sweet as we had hoped (like the one we recently ate at Gordon Ramsay. Read our post here).
Nevertheless, the use of curry leaves, curry oil, carrot puree, and crispy sago squid ink crackers make for an interesting combo when put together for this dish.
Warm Uni Cappellini is a flavour bomb!
For mains, the Warm Uni Capellini, Creamy Abalone Emulsion, Chive Oil (RM150) was absolutely stellar!
Cold capellini dishes seem to be very popular among Klang Valley eateries recently, so we definitely appreciate chef Patrick’s approach to serve the pasta dish warm.
But this was not without purpose. The warm capellini served in a beautiful thick and creamy sauce was bursting with briny abalone flavour!
When mixed together, the capellini just absorbed the richness of the abalone essence, which was further enhanced by the liveliness of the uni, and briny flavours of the Italian caviar.
Chef Patrick was kind enough to add an extra spoon of caviar to our dish – which further elevated the seafood extravagance. This dish is truly not to be missed if you visit TBC.
Lamb Rack with Mediterranean influences
Any dish after that excellent uni capellini will be a tough act to follow. True enough, the Chargrilled Lamb Rack, Ras El Hanout, Baba Ganoush, Cucumber Feta Salad (RM168) just lacked that wow factor, but it was still a decent entrée.
Sous vide for four hours (chef Patrick was still experimenting with the duration) and finally finished on the chargrill, the lamb was sufficiently tender but just needed a bit more seasoning for the flavours to cut through.
However, the supporting cast was delicious. We enjoyed the moreish flavours of the baba ganoush with hints of smokiness in the eggplant, and the couscous and raisin mix in the feta salad for sweetness.
Chocolate Tart
We finished the night with TBC’s Chocolate Tart, 52% Dark Couverture, Chocolate Cream, Vanilla Gelato (RM48).
With ganache made from 54% chocolate from Ghana and chocolate cream moulded from 63% Brazilian cocoa, the tart was a decent cap for the night, though we wished the dish had a little more sweetness to it, whether from the chocolate or the cream.
Summary
Overall, we enjoyed our dining experience here at TBC.
We give top marks for the wonderful hospitality, and for the personal service by chef Patrick. Our favourite dishes here are the warm uni capellini and cauliflower dishes.
TBC is currently only open for dinner service, and chef Patrick is still fine-tuning his operations for a complete experience after listening to customer feedback. One day, he may even re-introduce his burgers.
RECOMMENDED!
TBC Restaurant
Address: 125, Jln Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 6.30pm-10.30pm Daily (Closed on Mondays)
Phone: 017-304 7851
Website: https://tbc.restaurant/
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