PETALING JAYA, July 30 — What might be the best dish you’ll eat in months is so lavish, so luscious, you’ll scarcely be able to believe that you’re eating it in a restaurant next to a Kumon centre in the middle of Ara Damansara.
Gyu-tan Stew (RM138) is nothing less than an indulgence incarnate: Beefy medallions of braised ox tongue are blanketed by a rich, silky demi-glace sauce so dark and thick it resembles melted chocolate.
Flecks of cream marble the sauce, and every bite is an ethereal mix of beef and gravy that’ll have you speaking in tongues.
It’s hard not to pinch yourself after licking the plate clean, trying to snap yourself out of a state of bliss.
Now, it’s easy to dismiss this as hyperbole, but a number of dishes at Sion Dining can indeed evoke such enthusiasm.
Located on the first floor of a shoplot in Dataran Ara Damansara, the restaurant serves up yōshoku, a style of Western-influenced Japanese cooking, in an intimate but immensely refined setting.
The interior is dominated by various shades of grey, with atmospheric lighting and partitions that seemed to encourage hushed conversations at other tables, most of which were in Japanese.
Marilyn Monroe and Salvador Dali also make appearances on the walls, and the menu opens with a rather bemusing assertion that "young people under the age of 20 are not allowed to enter.”
Stay home, kids!
Venture deeper in the menu and you’ll find influences from all over Europe aren’t limited to just the name (Sion is a Swiss town): Escargots de bourgogne, Spanish-style tapas and their signature Hamburg steak all feature.
Starting the meal with something off the monthly menu, the Tortilla and Mentaiko Dip (RM8) is a dish so good, so simple, you’ll wonder why it’s not more common.
Creamy, spicy and a little sweet, the dip is perfect for the neutral flavour of tortilla chips.
Menchi Katsu (RM32) and Anchovy Potato (RM28) also stood out, the former being a breaded and fried cutlet of pork and beef; the latter a series of perfectly composed bites: butter roasted potatoes, salty anchovy fillets, garlic chips and slivers of basil bringing out big flavour from the diminutive fish.
But perhaps the second best dish of the night was Suna Zuri with bread (RM36), listed among the hot tapas.
A shallow bowl of sauteed chicken gizzards arrived, bathed in an herb butter where basil and parsley play a starring role, topped with bits of garlic and blistered cherry tomatoes.
Whole pink peppercorns kiss each spoonful of offal and butter with a fruity, piquant quality, and the gizzards carry no hint of metallic taste.
It’s so good, it needs no bread.
Considered a classic of haute cuisine by Escoffier, the Hamburg steak made from ground beef, has since evolved to become incredibly popular in Japanese cuisine.
Listed as a signature here, the Teppan Hamburger Steak (RM42 for 170 grams) at Sion is a tender patty of Australian beef and pork, served atop a sizzling pan and adorned with onions, bell peppers and mushrooms.
It arrives with a trio of sauces: Grated daikon and ponzu, something sweet and gingery resembling applesauce and a gravy boat of demi-glace, though this one wasn’t nearly as rich and wine-laden as in the Gyu-tan.
Still, each bite of ground meat had a satisfying springiness to it, and was perfectly complemented by all three sauces.
With beef proving something of a mastered area at Sion, it should come as no surprise that the steak was nothing short of excellent.
Its Japanese Ichibo A5 Wagyu (RM140 per 100 grams), also known as top sirloin cap, served a perfect edge-to-edge medium rare.
The meat is thinly sliced, melt-in-your-mouth tender and has the perfect set of flavour boosting accoutrements in the form of yuzu koshō, grain mustard, salt and two housemade dips: a spicy and tart chilli dip and the same sweet, gingery applesauce from the hamburger steak.
Served with a wedge of lime on the side, this dish shatters the illusion that good steak can only be found in a steakhouse.
Wine is a big part of dining here, made apparent by numerous displays of bottles previously enjoyed here, with heavyweights like Opus One, Sassicaia and Pétrus all making appearances.
A corkage fee of RM80 per bottle is nothing to scoff at, perhaps incentivising choosing something from the cellar.
Instead of a wine list, you get to navigate the chef’s personally curated selection, which also includes a sparkling section.
While they are all helpfully labelled and categorised by varietal and country, you will probably still require some guidance from the staff unless you’re fluent in Japanese.
Sion Dining and Bar puts the "gem" in hidden gem, taking pride in applying serious precision and technical expertise in dishes on both ends of the price spectrum, in spite of their unassuming location.
My multiple visits here have spanned more than half a decade, and I still get the feeling that it flies very much under the radar.
I suggest making a reservation before the secret’s out.
Sion Dining & Bar
B-1-16 Block B, 1, Jalan PJU 1a/20a, Dataran Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Open Monday to Saturday, 6:30-11pm
Tel: 03-7840 0632 (Reservations are required)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sion_ara_damansara/
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