Review : YU by Ruyi @ Gardens KL

There's a new kid on the block at Gardens mall : Yu. Taking over the space left by Han Room which has now shifted to the upper floors, Yu is a modern fine-dining Chinese restaurant operated by the same group behind Ruyi & Lyn at BSC. The 2 restaurants differ vastly in terms of ambience. While Ruyi & Lyn gives off the speakeasy / high end disco bar vibe and is dark and noisy, Yu is the total opposite. It has warm bright lighting with an elegant quiet setting, perfect for that business meeting or family meal. This restaurant is pork free but not halal because they serve alcohol.

As can be seen from the picture above, the layout of the restaurant is like a circle with the tables arranged around the bar. There are private rooms available for booking should you require them.

Each table is given this tray of sauces which is refillable. All 4 sauces except the green one vary in terms of spiciness as they all have different amounts of chili present. The green sauce is garlic lime. I must say they are all delicious and goes well with the food.  

What's this called : Crabby Corn

What's in it : Crab and sweet corn potpourri coated with salted egg yolk.

Chubsquared thoughts : This was a starter dish. Anything with corn tends to draw my attention hence this ended up on our table. It was decent but there wasn't much corn. Very crispy popiah-like skin wrapping though with fragrant salted egg crab popcorn, a nice dish to start with. However we were dubious about those red/mung beans. Used to give the effect of a plant dish which is clever, we weren't sure of its cleanliness and if it was going to be reused. 

What's this called : Dancing Crabs

What's in it : Sweet chili and white pepper crabs in toasted mantou buns.

Chubsquared thoughts : Another starter dish which drew my attention by it being mantous 😁. The description, however, is a little confusing. We were under the impression that the filling consisted of BOTH sweet chili AND white pepper crab. But after my filling was white in color and my companion's was red, we realised that they are 2 separate buns and you are given 2 of each flavor. You can differentiate the buns by a red dot atop the sweet chili crab buns. With this said, the sweet chili variation is definitely more delicious and tasty and that was my preference. The white pepper crab, in my opinion, lacked taste and was not something I reached for seconds. 

What's this called : Chick-U-Teh

What's in it : Chicken herbal soup with crispy mushrooms and petite jasmine rice

Chubsquared thoughts : This is Yu's chicken version of bak-kut-teh. Those who know me will be familiar with the fact that I am NOT a fan of bak-kut-teh. In other words, I hate it and avoid it at all costs. But this, ladies and gentlemen, may have converted me. Not to bak-kut-teh, but chick-u-teh. This was absolutely delicious! Comfort food at its best I would say, and very deserving of its "award-winning" status as mentioned in the menu though I am not sure what award. The herbal soup is refillable, feel free to refill it as much as you want. However, as with all fine-dining places, do not expect a bowl of rice with this dish. All you get are those 2 mini towers beneath those braised mushrooms which are so delicious (tastes like chicken rice) you'd wish you had a full bowl instead. This dish is very intricately put together with all the pieces (herbal soup, fried mushroom, chicken rice minis, herbal quail egg) blending together perfectly.

 What's this called : Flower Pillow

What's in it : Matcha infused tofu with caviar, salmon roe, and fragant oats.

Chubsquared thoughts : One of Yu's signature dishes; the very colorful and pretty-looking tofu. Look at all those toppings! Did they go well with the tofu though? Yes! Tofu is usually tasteless, even with this addition of matcha. What made it so delicious was pairing it together with a combination of those toppings (roasted walnuts, tobiko, caviar, oats, flowers). It went deliciously with the sauce which provided a salty flavor to the whole dish. Another recommended dish which you can't get elsewhere in Malaysia. 

What's this called : Pekingnese Princess

What's in it : Crispy duck skin with caviar and foie gras mousse.

Chubsquared thoughts : This was the most expensive dish of the night (RM88), most likely due to the generous serving of foie gras. There are more expensive items on the menu like the seafood which can go all the way to RM368 for lobster. We took this because we are huge fans of foie gras and peking duck. This is Yu's version of peking duck, starting with the pancake base lined with a slice of cucumber followed by the fois gras mousse and duck skin topped with caviar and specks of gold leaf. This is a cold dish that we felt should have been served earlier on after the appetizers before the warm food but it came last. Nevertheless, it was delicious and the different ingredients went well together. Definitely something different from your usual peking duck.   

What's this called : Beauty Birds

What's in it : Bird's nest lemongrass infusion with basil seeds and mixed fruits

Chubsquared thoughts : Firstly, let me apologise for the absolutely terrible picture above. That was what's left of my dessert as I completely forgot to take a picture until it was halfway finished 😅. Let me share with you why I ordered this dessert : all the desserts except for a glutinous peanut pastry which is much cheaper, was priced the same. In such a scenario, it only makes sense to order the one that gives you the most value for your money. In this case, the clearly logical choice was this bird's nest option. With that said though, after eating all that food, this is a perfect way to end a dinner because this dessert was such a good palate cleanser : utterly refreshing with a generous serving of bird's nest. 


Overall Chubsquared-tified : 2/3 Food was good and acceptable. I will return to try other items on the menu but won't be doing so in a hurry due to the prices. Be prepared to spend a minimum of RM100-150 per person if you wish to try several items. Take note everything in this blog post was sufficient for 2 pax only.