Esca KL is A Chaotic Culinary Playground

—the good kind.

There is a controlled chaos in Chef Chong Yu Cheng’s mind. Outwardly, he is the same calm, composed, stoic person he always is, but the dishes he presents at Esca KL say otherwise. The concept here is that there is “no concept”, Chong boldly declared.

“Esca is a real-life experiment in breaking rules. We want to show how different cultures can come together beautifully on one plate. It might look like madness on the surface, but there’s a method behind it. The result? A menu that’s fun, bold, and, most importantly, delicious.”

This madness takes Chong back to his days of unrestrained love for cooking at Above Gastrobar in Ipoh, his very first dining outlet before he had to close it post-COVID. Since then, many have known of him thanks to his fine dining establishment, Terra Dining, which recently got listed as a Michelin select in the 2025 KL & Penang Michelin Awards. Esca—which means ‘food’ in Italian—is a bold and rule-breaking sister restaurant to Terra Dining.

And break the rules, Esca did.

Take the Lamb Baos (RM28), for instance. We asked Chong to describe it, and his words were: Chinese-Indian-Mediterranean-Frankenstein bao with lamb and Greek yoghurt sauce. Okay. Be ready to be fine with this mishmash because you’ll see it a lot on the menu. Not that it’s a bad thing. The baos were delicious, the heady flavours of lamb drizzled in a tart yoghurt sauce, enveloped in pillowy-soft buns. Then, there’s the Grilled Octopus (RM48) served with grilled devilled eggs, sambal matah, and potatoes. One would normally associate octopus with Mediterranean flavours, but seeing it here with sambal matah and devilled eggs just goes to show that we need to be less confined with how we think a particular ingredient should be cooked.

Not everything was created to be a mind-altering dish, however. Some dishes are just simply great by being…simple. The Prawn Toast (RM32) was one such dish and our personal favourite. Lightly breaded and extremely bouncy, this was a fun snack to have, with the pickled cornichon and shallots making the dish—and your appetite—moreish. On the menu is also a form of crudo—a staple in any small sharing plates restaurant these days. Esca’s version is the Barramundi Crudo (RM36), cured in a medley of fresh coconut water, lime, winged beans, green mango salad, and lychee. Refreshing and zesty.

Over to the mains, heartiness takes precedence with the Chicken Leg (RM48) that comes with biryani rice. The chicken is prepared in a green tandoori style; reverse-seared and finished over charcoal, combining the smoky char with the vibrance of coriander and mint. The biryani is also fried again before serving for that extra bit of wok hei, perfectly complementing the juicy chicken. Going back to that mash of culinary influences is the Red Snapper (RM68) dressed in Harissa beurre blanc, that combines the classic French butter sauce with Chinese Shaoxing wine and North African chilli pepper paste. It is served alongside Sichuan-inspired grilled cucumbers, which will definitely not take away any heat from this dish.

At only two items under the dessert section, here’s where we’d like to call out more small sharing plates restaurants to amp up their dessert section. After all, small plates are the perfect opportunity for experimental desserts in tiny form, allowing guests to sample a variety of sweets post-nosh. That said, Esca’s Coconut Pudding (RM32) and Textures of Yam (RM28) are not to be trifled with. The latter features the delightful starchy tuber in its flexible glory: as a cream, in the form of Taiwanese-style chewy yam balls, and deep-fried crisps, scattered over the dessert.

Like most other small sharing plates restaurants, Esca is also guilty of a gorgeous interior. Theirs is done by locally acclaimed interior design studio Wunderwall Design, known for a variety of other equally gorgeous spaces such as Peninsula House in George Town, Penang. In Esca, we see Wunderwall Design’s signature flowing fabric design features against a predominantly neutral palette, with splashes of Esca’s logo colours subtly reflected in the furniture, decorative items, and painted in the floors and ceiling beams. Tables are arranged in a variety of seating styles, perfect for if you want a cosy date or a boisterous friend outing.