DC by Darren Chin Omakase Menu

We are back at DC by Darren Chin on a Friday evening after a seven-year hiatus. In the last couple of years alone, owner-chef, Darren Chin, has firmly planted his restaurant at the pinnacle of Malaysian fine-dining, gaining its One-Michelin-Star rating in the Michelin Guide to Kuala Lumpur & Penang for 2023 and then retaining the star for 2024.

Darren Chin, always confident and self-assured, has now elevated his offerings a few notches higher, with a special omakase menu served at a cozy eight-seater counter, reminiscent of Joel Robuchon’s L’Ateliers, on the new Level 3 of his eponymously-named restaurant.

Here, one gets personalized service from the man himself. Watching Darren move is like witnessing poetry in motion: smooth, purposeful. A certain economy of movement - every turn of his body, when his hand reaches for an ingredient or an implement, or to put a pan or pot on the stove, seemed so well-rehearsed.

Darren has only one sous chef assisting him here, unlike his army of chefs in the kitchen downstairs serving the main dining room. Here, serenity prevails, as Darren waltzes calmly across the narrow aisles between his stoves, the prep tables, and the service counters.

Smoked Oyster | Caviar
We started off with two freshly-shucked oysters: a French Gillardeau and a Hyogo Kyushu. Both meaty and delicious.

The smoked Hyogo Kyushu oyster topped with Iranian Baerii caviar was excellent.

Sweet potato espuma | Mozuku | Crab | Apple - very rich dish: the sweetness from the espuma hid the earthy richness of the North Borneo/Sabah crab meat & crab roe.

The Mozuku seaweed as well as apple crisps lent additional textural dimensions to the overall dish.

Mackerel tartare | Mountain caviar | Harissa.

Crab snack.

Fatty bonito | Smoked cauliflower | aged ponzu sauce - one of my top two dishes for the evening.

King crab | Galangal sauce | Chrysanthemum | Marineres emulsion, covered by gluten-free pasta.

Echo of the Sea - cold angel hair pasta in signature truffle sauce, bafun uni, blue shrimp and local mud crab.

Seabass | Grilled vegetables.

Crab claw | Panang curry | Apple butter sauce | Rice pot - the spike of chili heat from the Panang curry surprised us.

One gets a quenelle of rice to finish off this dish.

A5 Miyazaki Chateaubriand | Kabu tatin | Fermented berries jus - this is my favorite dish for the evening: perfectly grilled steak, accompanied by Japanese kabu/turnip tatin, and smooth quenelles of plum gel and black garlic.

Perfectly-cooked Miyazaki steak.

Migaki strawberry tart | Mascarpone ice-cream | Yuzu caramel sauce.

Chocolate mignardise: gold-covered one with sea buckthorn filling, and one with pecan praline & sea salt.

A meal at DC by Darren Chin is a pleasurable gastronomic journey through a symphony of flavours. The perfect meal is now within one's grasp.