This is quality fusion Nyonya food, elevated.
Wood & Grill brings back traditional Baba & Nyonya cooking techniques but makes them better with modern technology. This upscale fusion Peranakan restaurant at Paradigm Mall is especially proud of its use of Keruing wood chips from Pahang, which not only enhances the flavour of its dishes, but also guests’ olfactory experience when eating here. It’s noteworthy how much Wood & Grill cares about their food. Whereas the other restaurants have short paragraphs on their Paradigm Mall store page, Wood & Grill has an article-length deep dive into its origins and vision.
Ambience & Amenities
Wood & Grill’s dining room is a classy L-shaped space. Nyonya patterned tablecloths bring a splash of colour to the matte black walls. There is a patio at the back with more tables that look out onto the Escape Challenge Park.
There is no toilet inside the restaurant, so guests have to use the public mall washrooms. The nearest facilities are across the corridor inside the mall. If you’re on the patio, there’s a toilet on the right side of the A&W that is across from the restaurant.
Menu
Wood & Grill’s menu is mostly Peranakan favourites like satay and ayam goreng with some really interesting east-meets-west fusion dishes like the rendang burger and spicy Nyonya spaghetti. The menu is pork-free and alcohol-free. It’s not listed, but filtered water costs RM1 per glass, which you can get at whatever temperature you like.
Food
The Lemak Pucuk Paku (RM19.90) are fiddleheads sauteed in a mild coconut curry sauce and finished with some dried fish on top. The sauce tastes like the yellow curry that every Malaysian has eaten a hundred times, but this dish added some vegetables to our meal in a non-boring way.
The Nyonya Beef Satay (RM32.90) comes with all the trimmings and a generous helping of peanut sauce. Many places overcook their satay, so I was relieved when these ones were tender and bursting with flavour. The satays had that signature char on the outside, but the meat wasn’t tough and leathery.
The Octopus Nyonya Grill (RM33.90) is a whole production. It arrived at our table with a glass dome over it. The server, whose passion for the food makes me think he’s the owner, asked me to patiently wait so he could “tell me more about the octopus.” White smoke flowed from the plate as he removed the dome with a swirling flourish. He went on to talk about the grilling and smoking process, which uses Keruing wood locally sourced from Kuala Lipis in Pahang.
The octopus was incredibly well-cooked. It was chewy but not rubbery, with the smoky flavour dancing in the background in every bite. This dish came with three sauces, and I chose the lemon butter cream sauce, goreng chilli and sambal ikan bilis cream. The sambal ikan bilis cream was the best and most unique sauce, but I was regularly dipping into the other two. I also chose the Nyonya grilled broccoli and chilli garam spaghetti as sides.
Saturday Worthy?
This place might seem similar to the popular Serai, which is only steps away and also claims to be an east-meets-west fusion restaurant. Honestly, Serai is just Malaysian and international food – there’s nothing fusion about it. The dishes at Wood & Grill are simply more interesting in their preparation and combinations.
Dining at Wood & Grill is a pricey endeavour, but everything we ordered was delicious and with large portion sizes. The grilled octopus was a standout. If we came here again, we would both likely order something from the Nyonya Grill section. Although, I am tempted by the shockingly priced RM60 beef rendang.
Price for 2 Pax: RM97.55
Lemak Pucuk Paku: RM19.90
Nyonya Beef Satay: RM32.90
Nyonya Grill – Octopus: RM33.90
Filtered Water x 2: RM2.00
10% Service: RM8.87
Rounding: (RM0.02)
Wood & Grill
Address: Lot GF-10 & 11 & GB-13 (Ground Floor), Paradigm Mall, No. 1, Jalan SS 7/26a, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening Hours: Daily, 11am – 10pm
Alcohol Served: No
