Angus House – Japanese Charcoal Steak at Starhill Kuala Lumpur

Remember our list of Top 8 steak joints in KL?

Well, we were truly gutted when Angus Steakhouse (No.5 on our list) closed down, at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. But we weren’t too distraught as we knew that they would be opening again soon at Starhill Kuala Lumpur. Well here we are at Starhill and steak is on the agenda.

the swanky interior

Fair warning to anyone repulsed by succulent sirloin, robust rib-eye, primal porterhouse and tender T-bone.. Avert your eyes. The following report is definitely not your meat. Over the past months, flavorful Black Angus beef from a far off land, has been served up at an alarming rate and with obscene deliciousness at Starhill, Kuala Lumpur. Angus Steakhouse is back with a vengeance.

The dining area is open and spacious, with a functioning open concept grill. There is a well stacked wine chiller area that you will pass on your way in to dinner. We noticed a few private enclaves for a quiet business lunch in the middle of the restaurant, but since the lighting was a little too dim and I forgot my external flash (shock horror!) we chose to sit closer to the entrance. We were given the menu and we decided that the appetizers of fried, baked or fresh oyster, a salmon carpaccio and a ‘fritto caramari’ just sounded too filling that night (we had just picked at finger-food and gotten sloshed on martinis, a mere half hour ago) so we decided to cut to the chase and dig straight into the red meat.

After a quick look at the menu, we ordered our mains. Again there were set meals but we were still full from pre-dinner tipples, so we decided to just take the ala carte steaks. I had the rib eye (200gm RM109) and my buddy had the tenderloin (200gm RM119) – bouth medium-rare and bloody as hell. To ensure the diners get their steaks at grill temperature, Angus House uses brass plates to serve the cooked meat. Apparently these custom-made brass plates from Japan help retain the temperature of meat or seafood items which are charcoal-grilled. Also, if the sound of your beef making a loud sizzle turns you on then, be happy to know that here at Angus House, the steak that comes off the grill and is served on this brass plate, is loud as hell. The dramatic sizzle is part of the anticipation of a great steak, I suppose..

So why Japanese? Well, whilst steak is decidedly western, all the beef served here, as well as the seafood and salads are complemented by Japanese flavours whereby some salads are laced with Japanese wafu dressing. The unconventional steak sauce has Japanese soya sauce, Fuji apple, radish and mirin to create a tangy sweet taste .. rather addictive I must say. If this sort of Asian-Western is not your thing, then there is always the more conventional mushroom and black pepper sauces on stand by.

So what did we think of the steaks? Well, after all these years and even though they moved from Pavilion.. still a friggin’ amazing piece of steak! Happy to say that at Angus House, they have maintained their high standards – the steaks are delicious, and at these premium prices, they better be. Sometimes I even forget I am having an Angus ribeye, as it’s so succulent it could pass off as Wagyu. You should only eat your steaks here medium rare, or rare, because any more well done, and you would be doing the quality of the beef a huge injustice.

their signature bread rolls- crispy on the outside, soft on the inside!

salud!

sizzling steak – not a bad size

custom-made brass plates from Japan help retain the temperature of meat or seafood items which are charcoal-grilled

these steaks are so good, they taste like wagyu!

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