Dancing Fish, Bangsar
1 Oct 2011
Opened some months ago to replace The House of Sundanese Cuisine, Dancing Fish has evolved into one of the more popular dining venues at BSC, thanks in no small part to an entrancing setting that is simultaneously accessible and inviting, fairly consistent Indonesian-centric food, and some of the more competitive price points within BSC.
The ‘complimentary’ starter prepares one well for the meal to come, superbly bittersweet emping melinjo crackers made from crushed nuts are accompanied by the alluringly moreish sambal terasi. Resist the urge however, to overindulge, difficult though that may be, as there are many gems within the menu that you would be remiss not to try. One of those is the eponymous dancing fish or nila goreng. A whole fish, deep-fried to crispy, fragrant perfection, is served with a variety of accompaniments ranging from mango kerabu to masam kedondong pedas. One fish, as I have often found while dining there, may just not be enough.
The other jewel is the gulai pucuk paku, an example of a simple dish perfectly executed. The pucuk paku has been, until recently, horrifically underutilised, but of late it has been popping up in menus at reputable restaurants around town, leading one to believe encouragingly that chefs are finally cottoning on to the myriad merits of this humble forest fern. At Fish, the visually exquisite paku is served with a light coconut broth that is reminiscent of an elevated version of the sayur masak lodeh and is unremittingly delicious.
Unfortunately for Fish, there are some dishes that still elude the chefs’ grasp of being consistently well prepared. The oxtail in the sup buntut still hasn’t managed to be quite as tender as it rightfully should be, and the Balinese crispy duck sometimes requires an inordinate amount of masticating. Nevertheless, more often than not, the experience that Dancing Fish yields is on the whole pleasant, and if you know what to order, gastronomically exceedingly pleasurable. If the management of Fish can fine-tune the little quirks in the food they serve and their sometimes patchy service at peak mealtimes, then they should reasonably be worthy of laying claim to being among the brightest gems in BSC’s F&B crown.
Details
Address: Third Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
Telephone: 03 2095 6663