The Best Dishes Eater SF Editors Ate This Week: April 8 - Eater SF
"On a warm Sunday night, vibrant jazz soaked the air inside Church Street’s Damansara, one of the city’s only landmarks for Malaysian cuisine. The meatless rendang plate — with saucy and spicy semi-dry jackfruit as the protein — is well worth the price, as was everything I gobbled down that evening. The dish is made with 24 spices, and the complex yet inviting flavor profile demonstrates intention and preparation, with a few scintillating high notes but an accessible, indulgent taste running through the plate. The mushroom sambal is a mellow complement, as is the fluffy coconut rice crowned with tomato and flanked by crisp, firm cucumber, both important textural balances to the at-times chewiness and sauciness of the rice and jackfruit. Missing out on the rest of the menu, though, would be a mistake. The loaded taro cake is a righteous, clever take on the timeless snacky dessert or dessert-y snack, with a deep barbecue-like richness and crackling fried shallots draped atop. The chendol ice plays somewhere in the realm of halo halo, arroz con leche, and shave ice. It’s a multi-textural sugary delight. Taking a bit of that musicality with me as I left, I can see why the Chronicle’s Soleil Ho described chef Tracy Goh’s food here as “the real deal.” With just a sampling of her cooking, I thought it a shame my stomach didn’t have room for an encore: I could’ve listened to that music all night." - Lauren Saria
