REBUNG
4-2 LORONG MAAROF
BANGSAR PARK
KL 59000
TEL : 22832119

Vivid colour combinations and contrasts, contemporary furniture and a modest collection of traditional Malay household utensils and accessories are the basic ingredients of celebrity chef Ismail Ahmad's latest creation – a restaurant simply called "Rebung" (the Malay word for bamboo shoots).

Chef Ismail (right) and Sheikh Muszaphar in front of the ‘Malam Pop Yeh Yeh' signboard.

A piece of songket hanging on one wall, sets of tepak sireh (betelnut container) on shelves and tabletops, silver trays (dulang) and incense holders (perasap kemenyan) from a bygone era inject some old-fashioned Malay charm to the otherwise modern-looking interior.

The centrepiece of some dining tables is the stone pestle and mortar (lesung batu) which are a must-have in any Malay kitchen.

Some nooks in the restaurant also sport polished old woks (kuali), moulds for making traditional kueh and quaint kopitiam-type teapots -apt décor pieces for an establishment owned by a chef.

The restaurant, which opened before Hari Raya Puasa last year, occupies a 1960s-style single-storey bungalow in Bangsar's older residential area.

It is blessed with a lush garden and chef Ismail and his business partner, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Al-Masrie, have taken advantage of the property's green assets by providing more space for the outdoor dining area which can accommodate 150 diners compared with 100 inside its dining hall.

The garden's foliage also plays a role in the restaurant's decor. Each vase on every dining table contains a single leaf instead of the conventional single stalk of flower.

Malay desserts laid out on the serving area of mosaic tiles.

The outdoor dining furniture and the buffet table occupy the front porch of the bungalow together with two serving carts.

At the far end of the porch is a makeshift stage where Ghazal performances are held every night from 9pm to midnight.

Diners who enjoy retro Malay music should make it a point to have dinner at Rebung on Saturday nights which has been designated Malam Pop Yeh-yeh where 60s tunes are played by a kugiran (music band).

Glass panels allow a good view of the interior of the restaurant.

Inside, the rectangular-shaped dining hall is laid out in a straightforward fashion which, chef Ismail said was to facilitate easy rearranging of the hall to suit his clients' needs when they held private functions such as launches at the Rebung.

"We are creative and accommodating and have even held functions with bizarre themes such as 'Hantu' where the décor is spooky and our waiters are dressed up as pontianak, toyol or even hantu tetek!" said the bubbly chef who is a regular face on cooking shows on local television.

In the course of exploring the restaurant, we discovered its lounge area set within frameless glass panels furnished with a cosy green sofa set and a coffeetable elegantly decorated with a small potted lidah ular plant, a tepak sireh and other traditional Malay brass utensils.

The shelves on the orange walls are also crammed with brass and silver pieces of Malay heritage.

The surprise came when we peeped into the adjoining space which is a cigar display room – something you would hardly expect to find in a Malay cuisine restaurant.

The cigar room is definitely a unique feature for an authentic Malay cuisine restaurant.

Cigar lovers out there should now know where to go if they crave for authentic Malay food and a puff of good cigar.

Chef Ismail said he and Sheikh Muszaphar had already been business partners for two years before they decided to set up Rebung.

The success of their company, Food Parcel Sdn Bhd, prompted them to open an authentic Malay cuisine restaurant and what better place than Bangsar which bristles with upmarket restaurants and pubs.

"This restaurant is to fulfil the wish of our die-hard fans and regular clients," he said, adding that their clientele included royalty, ministers, and celebrities.

And, by the way, rebung dishes are available every day at the restaurant.

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