Old-fashioned cuisine in a colonial bungalow. That's what the chefs serve best at Top Hat Restaurant, writes TAN BEE HONG

LAST March, Top Hat Restaurant moved to a double-storey bungalow with whitewashed walls and shades of a colonial past.

Parking space, albeit limited, is available on the premises. Inside, the chic decor, with the flourish of carved wood furniture, is at once warm and inviting, and accented by paintings on the walls, heavy curtains and soft lighting. Tall glass doors allow diners to gaze on the luxuriant garden.

But it's food that draws diners to Top Hat, in particular its choice of nyonya, Portuguese and traditional European cuisine from starters to dessert. The walk-in wine chiller stocks wines from the new and old worlds. The menu changes every three months but signature dishes like nyonya Laksa, Top Hat, Nasi Lemak, Chicken Pie, Oxtail Stew and Roast Rack Of Lamb are staples, from the day Top Hat opened in Jalan Kia Peng.

We start with signature appetisers of Top Hat (RM10 for six) and Chicken Satay (RM18 for six). Also known as pie tee, these nyonya pastries are an excellent choice of starter here. Top Hat Restaurant is probably the only establishment that actually makes the pastry casings in the shape of a top hat, with the broad rim and all. These are filled with shredded yambean and carrot and served with a homemade sweet and sour chili sauce. On satay skewers are fingers of lean chicken meat, well marinated with lovely spices and served with compressed rice, cucumber, onions and peanut sauce.

Top Hat Restaurant, open from noon to midnight, offers both local and western cuisine, so we mix and match. Our Portobello Mushroom Soup (RM30), with a drizzle of white truffle oil, is bursting with earthy flavours of mushroom. Great texture too and not too creamy.

We pick a Chargrilled Lamb Rack (RM75) and Top Hat's Signature Chicken And Mushroom Pie (RM30). The flaky pie pastry is delicious, buttery, light and crispy. The filling of chicken and button mushrooms is moist and dreamy. This is served with mashed potatoes and a stunning salad of greens with strawberries and blueberries.

The rack of lamb has three thick chops of two ribs each. Unfortunately, it is a little too well-done for my liking. But the accompanying mashed sweet potato and mushroom ragout are divine. It's served with a drizzle of redcurrant sauce.

Vegetarians will love the Linguine Aglio Olio (RM30). The pasta is tossed with lots of roasted garlic, sliced mushrooms, capsicum and carrots. A generous sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese cheerfully rounds up the flavours on a delicious note.

To explore the local options, we zoom in on a Traditional Eurasian Platter (RM49) and Nyonya Laksa (RM28).

The laksa is flavoursome but it's very rich from the generous use of santan. It would be a little too rich to finish a whole bowl by myself and I'm thankful we are sharing. But there is a good balance of herbs and spices used and, when shared, the gravy's slurpilicious to the last drop. There is a choice of fresh yellow noodles or rice vermicelli with beansprouts, prawns and sliced chicken.

The Eurasian Platter is a complete meal in itself. There's cashew-nut buttered rice with fragrant onions to go with deepfried whitebait, devil chicken curry, dry lamb semur with sliced potatoes, seafood satay, stirfried vegetables and acar.

The whitebait is crisp and lovely with the guava sambal. I love the seafood satay where spicy minced seafood is wrapped around a stick of sugarcane for grilling. Dip this in the sweet sambal for added zing. The lamb is tender and the chicken curry fragrant though it's not as spicy as I would have preferred.

Dessert is also a choice of local and western. There's cendol, sago gula melaka and black glutinous rice with santan. But we've got our eye on the western items. Sadly the Tiramisu Cake (RM16) does not quite measure up to a traditional tiramisu. Somehow, the cake portion tastes a little flat.

But the Peach & Banana Crumble (RM16) is delightful to the last crumb. Served with cream and vanilla ice cream, this is one dessert that does not leave you with a guilty aftertaste. The combination of banana and peach works well.

Warm Chocolate Pudding (RM16) oozes with a molten heart and the topping of orange ice cream cuts through the richness of the chocolate so you won't have a jelak feeling.

Top Hat has a five-course Valentine set dinner menu, with Tiger Prawn Yee Sang Salad, for Feb 14 at RM288 per couple. A three-course meal of starter, main course and dessert is RM250 per couple.

[Pictures by KHOO SU TING]