Climbing the stairs and sailing into 2ND Floor Kitchen & Bar, the first thing to catch my eye was the proud peacock mural. With an interior dressed in aquas, teals, patterned tiles, and bright tropical colours, TTDI’s latest eatery’s balances kitschy and homely.
Similarly, its dinner menu is no stranger to being bold with a myriad of Asian twists and European influences. One of its signatures is the 2NDFLR Salad, starring a perfectly poached egg sitting on a bed of crunchy Romaine lettuce with a generous drizzle of housemade honey mustard, a dash of vinegar, and topped with crispy bacon and croutons. The smoky crispy bacon sealed the deal for me, as I found myself constantly reaching for seconds and thirds. For a Thai-inspired twist, the Crab Beignet ticks all of the boxes. The juicy crabcake fritter is wrapped in shredded kataifi pastry, deep fried, and served with dollops of zesty citrus chilli jam and a side of greens. The Seared Canadian Scallops is another favourite: plump, warm scallops sitting on a bed of roasted cauliflower sprinkled in pangrattata. Aside from the delicious tart flavour from the wine, diners will notice another distinct familiar taste—torch ginger flower, or more commonly known as bunga kantan used in our local dish assam laksa.
When it comes to the mains and meat, 2ND Floor takes pride in its star dish, the Grilled Iberico Pork. Seared and cooked to juicy perfection with a high marble count and rich flavours, the Spanish meat cut is known far and wide as the best pork meat—simply put, it is the wagyu of pork. This was served with a side of delightfully caramelised apple, horseradish, and potatoes. Coming quite close to second is the Rack of Lamb. A pair of lamb cutlets presented medium rare, perfectly pink in the middle; paired with barley risotto, mushrooms, bell peppers, and rocket, it makes a good sharing plate if you are inclined.
And of course there is always room for dessert. I highly recommend picking these two: Passionfruit & Coconut and Chocolate & Coffee. The former is a bright mix of passion fruit and coconut, presented in mousse and marshmallow cubes, sprinkled with dried coconut chips, sitting in a pool of coconut anglaise The latter reminds me of a deconstructed tiramisu, with a base layer of almond sponge, salty chocolate cremeux, dollops of dark chocolate and whipped coffee ganache. Together, the zesty notes of the passion fruit and the sinfully heavy dark creamy chocolate present the perfect dessert combination.
2ND FLOOR Kitchen & Bar, 46A Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur