Modu (The Exchange TRX)

The proprietors of Modu (모두) recently started their second branch outside of Singapore's busy Orchard Road. In Kuala Lumpur's The Exchange TRX, there is always a sizable crowd gathering at all hours. People are waiting for their main offering of samgyetang, a Korean ginseng chicken soup, and all the rage for it seems palpable.

The atmosphere for the restaurant was cozy yet open. With plenty of bar counter seats and a myriad of table for those with a party of three and above, the white ambiance of the place was inviting. Decorated with modernist decors around the restaurant, the wooden tables and chairs brought back humble times akin to a Korean inn-style restaurant. If you were lucky to be seated at the counter like myself, you were treated to a feast for the eyes: busy chefs working in tandem to bring out snacks and their samgyetang. In front of me, I saw the fry cook whipping up some Korean pancakes. Batch after batch, I saw the chef scoop a generous portion of his potato and carrot mixture, sliding it into his frying mold contraption.

 

I ordered a perilla seed samgyetang. I love being peppered with a bit of stronger flavors because samgyetang, for some, can be a bit one-dimensional. However, even though I ordered a samgyetang that should have some strong flavors, it still felt a bit bland. I will expound on that a bit later.

 

 

For now, let's touch on some of the highlights of this samgyetang.

The chicken was well-cooked and you can tell that it was stewed for a long time. At times the bones, if you were to bite into them, melted in your mouth. It was not gritty or sandy. There were no bone shards as they just dissolved into your mouth, giving you the purest essence of chicken. The meat was tender to the touch yet firm to be grasped by chopsticks. The chicken was truly the highlight of the dish.

The glutinous rice that was stuffed with the chicken was also steeped in the rich chicken essence. It felt more like a hearty congee when I slurped the rice together with the soup and chicken. The flavor mingled well together.

Then, there was the ginseng, ginkgo, and red dates which accented the dish. While not as prominent, it lent their flavor to the samgyetang. While I do not subscribe to the idea that these herbal elements would enhance one's vitality, it did give the dish a tinge of earthiness and sweetness where it counted.

And that is where my compliments for this place falls a bit short. While it was a very well-done chicken soup, I felt that the boldness of a samgyetang came from a single element that needed to stand out: ginseng. I had to bite into the ginseng to make myself feel the so-called 'heat'. The essence of ginseng should be felt at every stage of the soup. I did not feel the ginseng and it left me utterly confused throughout the meal, waiting in anticipation for the moment to kick in. That never happened until the very end when I bit into the ginseng which I purposefully left for the end.

Should I have eaten the ginseng together with the soup, slurp by slurp, with a sneaky bite in between? In hindsight, I should have. However, samgyetang still requires its ginseng to be a major part of its broth without outside intervention. I had help with the gochujang spicy sauce on the side to make the chicken spicier or its salt mixture to make it brinier. But the soup felt lacking without the ginseng flavor from the get-go. It felt like an afterthought as the ginseng piece was small.

Modu serves a thoughtfully prepared samgyetang, with tender chicken and a broth shaped by care. But for me, the experience ultimately hinged on the ginseng and that was where the bowl fell short. Without that unmistakable heat and depth running through the broth, the dish felt incomplete, almost muted.

It’s a place with strong foundations, and many diners will still enjoy the samgyetang. I simply left hoping that future bowls might embrace bolder ginseng, so the dish can stand with the confidence it deserves.

Modu Samgyetang Specialty Restaurant

Address: Lot L2T.04.0 & L2T.05.0, Level 2, The Exchange TRX, Persiaran TRX, Imbi, 55188 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Phone Number: +6011-7575 8000

Website: https://www.instagram.com/modu.trx/

Reservation: Walk-in only

Parking: Park at The Exchange TRX Mall

Directions: (Google) / (Waze)

Les Bouchons Kuala Lumpur (Jalan Mayang)

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur overlooking the Petronas Twin Towers lies Les Bouchons Kuala Lumpur. First founded in 2002, the restaurant had its beginnings in the state of Johor. Founded by a French expat chef, they brought the quintessential parts of French bistro culture to Malaysia.

The locale itself is tucked away in a quieter street of KLCC, a waft of smoke from the nearby clubs would turn away the most meek. Once you head on up through the elevators to the first floor, everything changes.

Neatly decorated to feel like an intimate Parisian bistro, the red banquette stands out amongst the mirrors and redbrick that covers the wall of the restaurant. Tables for two were intimately lit with a candle. As Christmas was fast approaching, the restaurant seemed prepared for the upcoming Yuletide.

Our servers were very polite and well-trained. They knew the menu (and wine menu) front and back, recommending my dining partner and I to several choices that we could have gone for.

For my dining partner, they stuck to a set menu that provided the following: Soupes Aux Champignons Maison, Huile D'Olive à La Truffe (homemade mixed forest mushroom soup with truffle olive oil), Bœuf Bourguignon Black Angus « MAISON » (homemade Burgundy-style Black Angus MBS-3 beef red wine stew), and Fondant Aux Deux Chocolat (homemade double Valrhona chocolate (66% and 45%) lava cake and vanilla ice cream).

For myself, I ordered Entrecôte de Bœuf Grillée, Black Angus, MS 2 (250gm) (grilled Australian Black Angus beef rib eye, “Vigneron Butter”, 150 Days Grain Fed, MS 2 (250gm)).

To share, I also ordered 3 oysters (origin: Hyogo prefecture, Japan) accompanied by a mignonette and lemon, and a Os à Moelle, Crème de Cèpes (beef bone marrow, Porcini mushroom cream and toast).

 

The oysters were sweet yet briny. The sour/sweet mignonette heightened the oysters. The oysters just brought me back to Japan for such a fleeting moment. Japanese oysters, because they are in season, has that natural sweetness that comes from the pristine waters off the Seto Inland Sea.

The mushroom soup was deep and hearty. The mix of forest mushrooms (mainly Chanterelle mushrooms taking up the front notes of the flavor) made it a perfect warm dish on a cold rainy evening. The truffle oil accented to give it a pungent note, as most truffle oils do. That accompaniment with the mushroom soup made it fancy yet homey.

The bone marrow dish was superfluous. With bits of marrow and the cream of Porcini mushrooms to dull the marrow's heaviness, the dish still felt quite rich and decadent. In addition, some flakes of sea salt was given on the side. With a sprinkle of the salt, it transformed the dish giving it a hint of sea brine on the gooey innards of a land mammal.

Then came the steak and the beef bourguignon as our entrees.

Let me begin with the steak. The chargrilled marks on the steak was well-seared. When I cut into the steak, it was tender to the point. As I asked for medium rare, it was reddish-pink. Throughout my entree, the entire steak was of the same doneness which surprised me. Some steakhouses struggle with consistent doneness, but not here. For this place, it was done exceptionally well at every cut and bite.

 

Perhaps the best thing of the night was the beef bourguignon. Tender at every bite of the meat, it was a well-crafted beef stew. You can tell they took the time to cook this for more hours than they should. The meat literally melted in your mouth. Then, there were the vegetables that are daintily cut and added to the stew. Just like the meat, the vegetables were not overcooked as they had a bit of a bite to them. The celery, the carrots, the onions, the mushrooms - they played a part in making the stew hearty. The sauce was also on another level. Perhaps they added high quality red wine to cook the stew. It felt that every bite of the meat and vegetable had been soaked thoroughly with the red wine. You can feel the red wine in the sauce, but it did not overwhelm.

Also, did I mention that there were fries? Steak frites is a dish contested between the French and the Belgians, with each claiming it as their own. It’s akin to the rendang debate between Indonesia and Malaysia, the nasi lemak debate between Indonesia and Malaysia, or the roti canai/prata debate between Malaysia and Singapore. The frites (or fries) were crispy and perfectly fried. They were well-salted, and I felt they were cut in-house. Even as our meals got colder, the fries stayed at roughly the same temperature and maintained their crispiness throughout.

Finally, to end the meal, we shared the lava cake. Decadent and moist, the cake was paired very well with the dainty whipped cream and vanilla ice cream that accompanied it. The versatility of Valrhona chocolate allowed its bittersweet compounds to co-mingle with the vanilla ice cream's simpler woodier notes. A delightful and whismical end to a perfect dinner.

As we stepped back out into the quiet street below, the hum of KL returned, but a small part of Paris lingered with us—a memory of good wine, tender beef, warm light, and conversations unhurried. Les Bouchons Kuala Lumpur may be far from France, but for one evening, it felt close enough.

 

Les Bouchons Kuala Lumpur

Address: First Floor, Lot 183, Jalan Mayang, Off, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, Kampung Baru, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

Phone Number: +603-2181 2228

Website: https://www.lesbouchonsmalaysia.com/

Reservation: Walk-In, but better to reserve

How to Reserve: via their phone number or via TableCheck

Parking: Valet Parking available; otherwise, please park at KLCC or Avenue K and walk from there to Jalan Mayang

Directions: (Google) / (Waze)