The new menu that at Bar Trigona at the Four Season Kuala Lumpur has slightly shifted focus from their previous honey-centric menu, this time paying homage to local leaves and herbs. The menu takes inspiration from four greens – the pandan (screwpine), pegaga (centella asiatica), bunga kantan (torch ginger) and lemongrass, all found throughout Malaysian cuisine.
Bar Trigona New Menu: Local Herbs Reimagined
The new menu was the collaborative work of the whole team as led by former Bar Manager Ashish Sharma (who has moved to Four Seasons Miami), but has been left in the good hands of Julian Benjamin Brigget, has reinterpreted flavours commonly found in Malaysian cuisine, which is believed to have health benefits. What is interesting is that each of the four herbs have a distinct flavour, with the pandan being fragrant, pegaga bitter, bunga kantan floral and lemongrass citrusy, which have all been expressed well in the new menu.
“Our current menu is focused on our daily used herbs that is very common in our Malaysian cooking which we see through our daily lives. It focuses on 4 different herbs that are Pandan, Lemongrass, Pegaga & Bunga Kantan. We are trying to showcase that even with these everyday herbs we can turn it into an experience of drinking.” — Julian Benjamin Brigget, Assistant Bar Manager, Bar Trigona.
Honey Bloom
White rum, bunga kantan honey, lemon juice, elderflower, dry vermouth, ginger ale
One of the lighter drink under the bunga kantan section, this long drink is a take on the dark ‘n’ stormy, and did not disappoint. The fresh spice from the ginger and citrusy fragrance from the torch ginger really makes this a great first drink.
Hi-Tea
Sherry, pandan infused vodka, yellow chartreuse, lemon juice, pineapple juice, trigona honey, gula melaka
One of the more fragrant cocktails, the fruity cocktail is sweet but packs quite the flavourful and spirit forward punch. With pronounced flavours of yellow chartreuse and the unmistakable fragrance of pandan, this cocktail is a good second drink.
“Hi-Tea is a pandan infused vodka that gives you the oils from the pandan a fruity and refreshing drink, can have it anytime of the day.”
Serenity
Aged rum, overproof dark rum, candlenut osmanthus orgeat, lime juice, lemongrass falernum
Although named serenity, there is nothing serene about this cocktail. Whiffs of lemongrass is noticeable while the overproof rum’s familiar scent reminds you how strong this cocktail is. Definitely not for light drinkers.
“Serenity is a strong and refreshing drink, with lemongrass to give the spiciness to the drink, on top of that we are working closely with Flor de Cana for this drink as it uses the rum.”
“Drink Your Greens”
Pegaga infused gin, elderflower, trigona honey, lemon, milk, bak kut teh, cacao bitters
This cocktail was easily one of the tastiest, especially if you like spirit forward and bitter drinks. The layers of complexity is there, with an umami heavy punch. The scent of bak kut teh adds a bit to the experience, but not as much as the sourness from the lemon and clarified milk punch. Definitely a must try.
“Drink Your Greens is a drink with so much flavours and hits the right spot if you love strong drinks.”
Pegaga Sour
Pegaga cooked wine, trigona honey, citric acid, bitters, egg white
The menu has also spared no expense to ensure teetotallers have a good time, and this is done with the Pegaga Sour, which uses pegaga cooked wine. The alcohol is complete evaporated so there is actually no alcohol in this zero proof cocktail. Simple yet tasty, you won’t believe there’s no alcohol in it.
“The fun part of this menu is that we are moving towards a closed loop cycle which now all herbs that you see we are using in the menu is grown either in the Trigona farm or we can harvest them from our own pool bar which we have our miniature garden that grows all these herbs for us to use. The focus of Bar Trigona now is to have a closed loop cycle for us to challenge our teams creativity. This menu is all focused all on flavours of Malaysia you get strong flavours of all ingredients used in our drinks. Also, 2 of the drinks on this list will help us to donate RM5 to our farmer who does our tree-volution program which are the Hi-Tea & Serenity.
Bar Trigona
Level 6
Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur
145, Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur
+603 2382 8888
| PHOTOGRAPHY: NICHOLAS NG & BAR TRIGONA | WEBSITE: BAR TRIGONA |