The Public House, Bangsar South KL

July 09, 2019

The Public House, Bangsar South KL

Brick by brick, bottle by bottle, dish by dish, The Public House has taken many months to build, framed over a foundation of love for food and wine. In its dining hall, patrons feast on Greek olives, U.S. pork chops and Chinese char siu sliders; in a nearby lounge, others unwind beside ceiling-high wine shelves that sprawl across the wall, with a ladder leaning toward the timbered top. Outside, convivial conversations resonate through a leafy courtyard, making this house feel closer to a home.

The Public House is the latest restaurant by the founders of the Vintry Group, Stoked in Medan Damansara, Proof in Bangsar and Mont Kiara, and Grano Pasta Bar in Bangsar - some of our favourite eateries in KL, known for passionate craftsmanship in their cooking, turning everything from Hokkien Mee to Umbrian Black Truffle Pizza into a meal to remember.

The Public House's chefs Desmond and Jace are young Malaysian talents who've earned their stewardship of this kitchen following a culinary trial by fire around the ovens of Stoked. The responsibility demands skilled versatility - The Public House's menu leaps from Europe to Asia within a single page, embracing every ingredient from Italian anchovies to Korean japchae. The team churns out complete meals, stamping an impressive mark on what might otherwise sound like familiar offerings.

The starters shine, perfectly constructed for sharing - soft-shell crabs come beautifully battered, balanced with basil, cauliflower puree and a house-made hot sauce that each play a role to ramp up this recipe (RM26); baby octopus are gently grilled with Shaoxing wine and sesame seeds, their bouncy chew remaining intact, jazzed up with juicy orange segments (RM18); sliced cecina with shaved manchego form a lusty, full-bodied marriage of Spanish air-dried beef and cheese (RM33); daikon is lightly pickled in a lovely salad that accentuates the winter radish's invigorating crunch without a too-pronounced piquancy (RM22).

Public houses, or pubs, have historically been places where people come together, bonding over the food and drinks they love. While The Public House might not be perceived as a pub in the current tavern-and-taproom sense of the term, the sensibility of communal fare with down-to-earth roots still fuels this restaurant, refined for 2019's modern-minded market.

Young or old, nearly everyone has a soft spot for something like fried chicken, buttermilk-brined here for a natural, fleshy moistness in that classic southern American style, its crisp breading sprinkled with thyme and honey for a subtly herbaceous sweetness, with grilled corn on the side to keep Georgia on our mind (RM18).

Though the recipe for beef bourguignon was first published in the early 1900s, its origins can be traced back centuries earlier, as a countryside preparation to soften less-coveted cuts of meat through lengthy cooking. The Public House's rendition preserves that tradition, ensuring each chunk of the beef cheeks bears the fork-tender results of a red-wine slow-braise, cushioned with a soothing potato mash, brightened with wide ribbons of carrot (RM36).

Vintry fans who live or work in Kerinchi will be happy to hear that several Vintry staples are also available here, from the aforementioned Hokkien Mee to Claypot 'Mousetails,' a hot-and-hearty heap of loh shu noodles with pork and prawns in superior dark soy sauce, rounded out with a rich, runny duck egg that shimmers seductively from the surface, made extra-debauched with a scattering of pork lard croutons (RM26), to roast pork belly that tweaks the five-spice ratio of Vintry's original but remains a crackling gold standard for siu yok (RM12 for 100 grams).

Ultimately, The Public House's repertoire boils down to comfort food in its various shapes and guises, be it pastas, pizzas or burgers, done to a delicious attention to detail. The Linguine Rendang is a should-try, its minced beef spiced sumptuously with subtleties that might evoke the regional rendang of states like Perak or Negeri Sembilan (RM28); the thin-crusted, thick-topped pizza is the epitome of a crowd-rouser, layered with luscious bacon and egg over creamy mozzarella (RM25); the TPH Burger is no mere whopper, packing a house-made beef patty and barbecue sauce, with the meat displaying a depth of flavour that's meant to recall dry-aged beef, plus the final flourish of another duck egg draped over the princely patty (RM28).

It's easy to get stuffed silly with The Public House's savoury sensations, but the sweet temptations merit a mention too. While the French Toast with ice cream is worth the calories, with its pleasurably warm-cold, crunchy-creamy contrasts (RM15), our dessert allegiance belongs to the drop-dead-delectable Chocolate Chip Brownie, slightly salted, made with 70 percent dark chocolate for intense, melt-in-the-mouth opulence, a hybrid of a brownie and a lava cake - we could eat 365 different brownies over the course of a full year and only one of them might taste this terrific (RM15, with vanilla ice cream and berry compote).

The Vintry Group's reputation as an ambassador for wine has been steadily nurtured for more than a dozen years, so it's no surprise that The Public House so prominently showcases a myriad of vintages spanning two full walls (with a smattering of whiskies and sake too). The selection of house pours should be an attraction for drinkers seeking to explore new horizons, including an evolving list of at least two wines by the glass and six by the carafe. Expect engaging, character-rich choices like an Angheli that's as assertive as the Sicilians who cultivated this Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend. Satisfactory cocktails are also available, with an emphasis on a handful of classics, ensuring that the night won't end too young at The Public House.

Many thanks to the team here for this high-spirited house-warming.