Two Hands Restaurant, Qliq Hotel Empire Damansara
When we heard that Chef Vic had left Manja KL and Vin’s to start his own restaurant, we knew immediately that we would be in for one of the best meals for the year. And we were right.
Two Hands Restaurant at Qliq Hotel is Chef Vic’s very own baby. Together with his partner, Melinder, they have set the bar for good dinner meals very high. I hope to see Two Hands thrive as it is well deserved.
Chef Vic prepared some of their best dishes for tasting. We sampled 4 starters and 3 mains as well as a dessert and their four signature cocktails. We started off with their calamari (RM26). This gluten free version is surprisingly fluffy and marinated so well that you don’t even need to dip it into the sauce. But you should try the homemade citrus dip anyway, because it is incredibly fresh and gives a nice tangy finish to pair the perfectly cooked squid with.
The beef short ribs and pumpkin mash sliders (RM28) is an interesting appetiser. I love the brioche buns that are so crispy and buttery. The gravy will ooze out of these sliders, so have a napkin ready!
One of my favourite dishes for the evening was their hummus three ways (RM28). You might think it odd that it is served with croissants, but it works. Indulge in the croissants with or without the hummus, it’s really good as it’s freshly baked by Chef Vic. The hummus three ways are pumpkin, beetroot and original flavours - each had their unique blends. My favourite was the beetroot, surprisingly, as beetroot typically isn’t a flavour I enjoy. But that’s just a testament (or should I say “tastement”) to how good it is.
Another impressive dish we tried was the smoky albondigas and cinnamon rolls (RM31). The lamb meatballs are delicious. There was a little gamey taste to it but it is well shadowed by the sauce. However, the cinnamon rolls blew everyone’s minds. (Order extra, trust me.)
When we finally got to our mains, we were already so impressed with our meal we didn’t think it could get better. But our first main, the 4-hour beef short ribs (RM112 - to be shared by 2), left us speechless. I have this face that I make, a look of utter bliss and amazement. It’s been about a year since I’ve made this face and I really miss that feeling. I made that face with this dish. With every spoonful, the look got more intense. The meat is so soft, if the dish came with the bone still attached, we’re positive the meat would melt off the bone. The garlic mash that makes the base for the dish is so rich and smooth, we couldn’t get enough of it.
The next main we had, in my opinion, was slightly less impressive than the beef. The grouper fillet and lumpfish roe (RM77) was Tim’s favourite dish of the night. But because I’m more of a red meat person, nothing could outshine the beef. The fish was, to Chef Vic’s credit, perfectly cooked. And we absolutely loved the asparagus hat it came with. However, my tastebuds were still reeling from the beef and I couldn’t get over it.
The last main dish for the evening was a grilled Portuguese chicken with dirty rice (RM58 - to be shared by two). The portion was HUGE and we definitely couldn’t finish it. It’s fair to say that the portions here at Two Hands are sizeable from the starters to the mains. It’s more for sharing than for solo plates.
For dessert, we had their vegan chocolate fudge cake (RM14). The cake was really dense and we felt that it should have been served with some ice cream since it is served warm anyway. But otherwise it was quite delicious. I haven’t had many vegan cakes to compare this with, but if all of them taste like this, I wouldn’t mind giving them a try.
For drinks at Two Hands, I would most definitely recommend their signature cocktails. Named after famous fashion designers, these cocktails are Chef Vic’s personal creations based on his expert understanding on how different ingredients work with each other. I’m going to start with my absolute favourite cocktail. The Coffee Chanel (RM31). I cannot even express how beautiful this drink is. The coffee flavour is so pleasant and you can’t even feel the alcohol in this, making it quite a dangerous drink to have. But it’s the perfect blend of milk and coffee and alcohol all in one.
The Cucumber Chloé (RM37) was my second favourite cocktail of the evening. It has elderflower liqueur, which should tell you why it was an easy favourite.
The Coconut Coach (RM32) is a lovely tropical drink to have on a sunny afternoon. Made with Malibu as a base and coconut milk and coconut oil, this made for a very rich drink.
Finally, we had the Jack Jean Paul which is a blend of London dry gin, Russian vodka, hazelnut liqueur and jackfruit purée. We liked the local flavour to it and it was a nice starter drink to have.
This bowl of chilli oil was served to us when our mains arrived. Chef Vic makes his own blend of the oil in house and we loved how fragrant it was. They also sell it by the bottle here.
It is safe to say that we will be returning to Two Hands again very soon. We are confident that Chef Vic has the expertise in executing his dishes flawlessly and we look forward to tasting the rest of the dishes on the menu. Two Hands Restaurant Qliq Hotel Empire Damansara Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana 47820 Petaling Jaya Open daily from 7AM - 11:30PM