Brasserie Enfin

The original Brasserie Enfin opened at Oasis Square, Ara Damansara — Petaling Jaya, in the western suburbs of Kuala Lumpur — on 2 June 2014, and held the room for roughly two years before relocating to Menara Hap Seng in early 2016 as Enfin by James Won. The format was bistro-French. On opening night, the Krug Representative visited the room to ascertain whether Brasserie Enfin could be appointed a Krug Ambassade; six weeks later, on 14 July 2014, the inaugural Krug Ambassade was officially announced and celebrated.

During the same period, I also operated Bad Boy Cooks — the American-format diner — alongside Brasserie Enfin at Oasis Square. The two-format work, fine-dining and casual-comfort held in parallel, was an early prefiguration of what would later land at MeatMore in 2023.

What distinguishes the room from a typical first-restaurant story is that it was, from its founding night, a Krug Ambassade — the first in Malaysia.

The Krug Ambassade — origin (2014)

Brasserie Enfin is the beginning of Krug history in Malaysia. It was through the strong relationship and trust between MHDM and Maison Krug that the maison believed in Brasserie Enfin as the home of the first Krug Ambassade — the room to carry the love of Krug Champagne to lovers of fine cuisine. The work was, in part, a demystification: the tale that champagne could only be an aperitif or a celebration liquid, not the equal of a great meal. The complexity of Krug gave me the opportunity to expand my repertoire — the quest of marrying Asian ingredients with European technique. It was the beginning of my journey to French-Borneo cuisine.

Brasserie Enfin opened on 2 June 2014. On opening night, Julien Pepin Lehalleur, Krug Representative, visited the room. The visit was an ascertainment — to assess whether Brasserie Enfin could be appointed and recognised as a Krug Ambassade. The opening-night dinner was a four-course Krug Degustation, prepared as the test. The room earned the appointment.

The opening-night four-course Krug Degustation — 2 June 2014

A four-course Krug Degustation, designed as the test of the room. Julien tasted; the room earned its appointment.

The inaugural Krug Ambassade — announced 14 July 2014

Six weeks after opening, on 14 July 2014, the inaugural Krug Ambassade was officially announced and celebrated. A five-course Krug Ambassade menu was designed for the evening — an amuse plus four courses — paired against Krug Grande Cuvée and the maison’s seasonal expressions.

The brigade and the portrait

The brigade had been built around the menu. The Bonnie Yap portrait announced the Ambassade on the public record.

The earliest press (2014)

The Star’s Krug Champagne — A Touch of Majesty (13 December 2014) was the first Krug feature on me in a major outlet, confirming on the public record the Ambassade work already in motion since 2 June 2014. The Star’s New Year Feast for Friends followed two weeks later — the year-end work at Brasserie Enfin signalling the room’s confidence with luxury-leaning fare.

Krug Champagne — A Touch of Majesty.

The Star · 13 December 2014

Hennessy at Brasserie Enfin (2014 – 2015)

In November 2014, Hennessy’s Appreciation Grows programme came to Kuala Lumpur, and I was paired with 1-Star Michelin Chef Accursio Craparo from Sicily — two chefs from two traditions meeting over the maison’s cognac.

Tatler Asia, Rebecca Saw, and The Star (8 November 2014) carried the work — The Star’s framing Two Chefs and a Famous Cognac Create a Cuisine for Gourmands placed me alongside European Michelin company from the very beginning of my public work with the maison.

In June – July 2015, Hennessy returned for the Hennessy 250 Collector Blend tasting and pairing dinner. Two years before the formal Ambassade. Three years before the Hennessy Salon at Menara Hap Seng.

Aromatic tones ranging from herbal […] balance of subtlety and complexity.

FoodMsia · July 2015

Glenmorangie at Brasserie Enfin — August 2014

Esquire Malaysia online (4 August 2014) captured Whisky for Dinner — a four-course Glenmorangie degustation pairing three expressions (The Original, 18 Years Old, Signet) against an Asian-French menu. Glenmorangie alongside Krug and Hennessy made three spirits-and-champagne maisons engaging me in the founding year — operational, course by course, in a bistro at Oasis Square in 2014.

Five plates from the wider room

Beyond the Krug menu, the bistro held a wider repertoire.

Critical reception and the closing room

By early 2016, the Malaysian press was treating Brasserie Enfin as a venue worthy of named attention. Oriental Daily’s Chinese-language coverage (26 February 2016) and The Star’s Brasserie Enfin Is A New Won-derland (10 April 2016) marked the moment the relocation to Menara Hap Seng was being signalled.

In early 2016, I relocated to Menara Hap Seng. The new room would carry the name Enfin by James Won and the formal fine-dining format. The Krug Chef’s Table opened in April 2016, building on the Ambassade work established at Brasserie Enfin in 2014. The Hennessy Salon at Menara Hap Seng followed in November 2016.

The fine-dining flagship was earned at the bistro before it was earned at the tower.

The maisons came to a small bistro before they came to the fine-dining room — because the work had already earned the right to host them.

Closing reflection — the founding room

The Archive — alternative frames

A small gallery for the secondary frames that did not earn a place in the main narrative — kept here for the food-porn record, and for any guest who wants to look longer at the room before leaving the page.