Gastro Bar, Pan-seared sous-vide chicken similarly takes its cues from both West & East, partnered not only with pancetta & pumpkin puree but recast with a creamy-starchy risotto of black glutinous rice & a reduction of black chicken & traditional Chinese herbs (RM38).

Gastro Bar wine list merits investigating too, with most bottles of red clocking in between RM122 & RM230. All in all, this revamped direction for Gastro Bar is very promising, & the restaurant has some intriguing plans still to come.

Even if you're not in Petaling Jaya, this is a destination that feels worth the effort to travel to. We're likely to be back soon - many thanks to Gastro Bar for having us.

Gastro Bar bruleed caramelised banana tart is compellingly coupled with banana-pandan compote & bourbon ice cream (RM28), while a watermelon, calamansi & yuzu granita with glazed ciku, gula Melaka & dragon fruit (RM16) is as rejuvenating as its sounds. Our only lament is that the cocktail repertoire has been truncated, though you'll still find sufficient temptations with a twist or two, like a Mai Tai with banana-infused rum or Gin & Tonic with jasmine-infused gin (RM38 each).

Pastas & poultry illuminate Gastro Bar forte: Each of its nearly thirty current recipes is discernibly distinctive, weaving together global gastronomic threads into a tapestry of flavours & textures shaded with Asian/Malaysian sensibilities. A flattened mound of orzo rice-shaped pasta is buoyed by brown sugar-glazed bacon crisps, duck liver sausage & horseradish cream (RM30), tasting like a sweet-savoury cross between a Tuscan summer salad & Hong Kong lap mei fan.

Gastro Bar, shallow fried mantao is stuffed with masala beet hash instead of meat patties, making for mouthfuls of vegan-friendly pleasure with caramelised orange segments, wilted spinach & cilantro with kabayaki sauce & miso hollandaise (RM24). And what initially looks like a plate of scallops turns out to be eryngii transformed into truffled doppelgangers of the molluscs with a firmer bite, bolstered with blackened kailan, roasted soy baby corn & watercress, & decadent arugula-laced butter (RM32).

Illustrating the scope of Gastro Bar capabilities, vegetarians are capably taken care of. Tortellini is folded over rice wine-cooked shiitake & eryngii, with the mushroom theme completed by mushroom jam & a reduced shiitake-tea consomme (RM26).

Gastro Bar, Japanese tonkatsu donburi is reassembled & revitalised as marinated panko-breaded pork katsu with brown butter garlic rice, water chestnuts, snow peas & lemon bacon sauerkraut (RM38) & a chunky pork belly stew emerges brazenly rich with lap cheong, smoked cheese, pickled fennel & pear in lamb reduction with jalapeno hot sauce & ricotta herb baguette toast slices (RM36).

This incarnation of Gastro Bar evolves from small plates to heartier fare, but maintains the robust complexities that have been the restaurant's hallmark since its inception. A six-hour-braised beef short rib conveys notes of smoked miso in a chrysanthemum-&-honey reduction, matched with yellow squash, Yukon Gold potatoes & purple spinach (RM48),

Gastro Bar reliance on top-flight fresh produce & insistence on house-prepared complements. Smoked salmon is draped around charcoal-glazed scallops with a sprightly fuji-basil puree, carbonised leeks, purple carrots & miso spinach compote (RM48), while line-caught pomfret surfaces moist & fleshy, accompanied by garlic-chilli confit shimeji mushrooms, sauteed nai pak choy, crispy capers & Shaoxing butter sauce (RM32).