Located on concourse area of Starhill Gallery, dining at Shook! couldn’t be a more pleasant experience; the exceptionally tall ceiling spanning across 7 levels giving it the perfect condition in echoing live jazz music by performers on stage while I sat comfortably on jester colored attention-seeking chairs, overlooking the open kitchens that feature Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Western cuisine.
All these only made possible when Agnes invited me to share this gift certificate she won from work, which included one night stay at Ritz-Carlton hotel, dinner at Shook! and breakfast at Cesar’s.
For dinner, we started off with complimentary whole wheat bread slices. The olive oil glass cruet with elevated grape-bunch chamber for balsamic vinegar fascinated me a bit.
The menu was specially customized to suit the gift certificate hence there were only two 4-course meal to choose from. No specific name or whatsoever to indicate them, but if I had the honor, it would definitely be hers and his.
Agnes chose hers, the lightly seasoned, colorful and delicate while my his menu was completely opposite, of meaty and huge portion.
Hers: Insalata
Layered Fresh Tomatoes with Buffalo Mozzarella and Basil Coulis
His: Snow White Dancing Prawns
Deep Fried Prawns with Hot Mayonnaise, Sprinkled with Honey Glazed Walnuts
Bites of warm and bouncy de-veined prawns further elevated with crispy walnut bits. It was one of the best.
Hers: Oki Dobin Mushi
Japanese Clear Soup with Chicken, Prawns, and Vegetables served in Teapot
Dobin Mushi (土瓶蒸し) , a traditional Japanese steamed broth served in dobin teapot , is widely available in the season of autumn and winter. Here in Shook!, they served us this pretty teapot of bamboo pattern, a perfectly match to its bamboo handle.
To enjoy this to the fullest, first open the lid and take a sneak peek while sniffing the aroma swirling out from within the pot. Next, put back the lid, pour out some clear soup into a small cup and drink it. For second cup, squeeze in a bit of lemon follow by clear soup. If you would like the citrusy taste, squeeze in the lemon directly into the teapot. Half way through drinking the soup, place those ingredients to a small plate using a chopstick or spoon before eating them. It is uncommon to consume directly from the teapot.
His: Wild Mushroom Cappuccino
Exotic Fresh Mushroom Soup flavored with Chili Truffle Oil and Fresh Cream
A bowl of satisfaction; be it in the rich taste or huge portion.
Hers: Grilled Salmon Steak
Grilled salmon steak on sautéed zucchini, matched with pop-in-the-mouth fish roes sauce, and on top of them a bunch of perfectly grilled sweet cherry tomatoes. Salmon was slightly salty to my liking.
His: Spiced Rack of Lamb
Racks of lamb sitting on a bed of mashed potato, accompanied with pearl Spanish onion confit, onion ring, and served in apple fig sauce. It came in medium doneness as requested and the pinkish meat was absolutely gorgeous.
Hers: Chocolate and Peanut Heaven
Layers of Rich Chocolate Ganache Biscuit and Peanuts, served with Caramelized Bananas and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
His: Rich Chocolate Snicker Bar
Our desserts were very similar; the same rich chocolate ganache biscuit and peanuts bar, chocolate stick, strawberry, blueberry, physalis, but hers with vanilla bean ice-cream while mine with fruit salsa. The chocolate ganache biscuit was indeed rich, just to be spoilt by the bad oily taste of peanuts. The mix of diced dragon fruit, papaya, honeydrew with chili made this fruit salsa too hot to bear.
Even though the dessert didn’t put a happy ending to our dinner, the other dishes were pretty good. Before we left the restaurant, I found out that the actual cost per person was RM200…and we didn’t have any alcoholic drink to begin with, only plain water. Again, thanks to Agnes (and her gift certificate) for the wonderful dinner!
Shook!
Feast level (LG), Starhill Gallery,
181, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Kuala Lumpur
03-2719 8330