Burnin' Pit, Desa Sri Hartamas: 2019 / 2020 Menu

BBQ that puts fire in our belly and smoulders in our memory: Twenty months after our first visit to Burnin' Pit, the recurring call of the briskets and ribs proved wildly impossible to resist much longer. This time, we skipped breakfast and sought to feast on a week's worth of beef for lunch - though we still scarcely scratched the surface of Burnin' Pit's belt-busting menu, we left with our cravings smoked and satiated.

Take a table by the stacks of wood from local fruit trees, including durian, jackfruit, mango and rambutan, that fuel the custom-built smoker outside, where Southern American-influenced low-and-slow barbecuing brings out the succulent best in fleshy, fatty cuts of beef, lamb and chicken. Pitmaster Kok Fung and his team have buttressed their efforts through-and-through with thoughtful choices - the varieties of wood are meant to infuse a sultry sweetness into the meat, while everything else from timings to temperatures, marinades and rubs to basting sauces, has also been painstakingly fine-tuned.

The result, after more than 12 hours of heat, is BBQ that thrives for both taste and texture: To feel the burn in full force, we sampled a smorgasbord of beef brisket (RM22 for 100g, minimum order 200g - the ideal introduction to sink the teeth into, for a tender bite and savoury chew) and premium wagyu beef brisket (RM80 for 100g; discernibly, more lusciously full-bodied, with extra depth and punch), plus non-bovine temptations of pulled lamb (RM22 for 100g; rich and robust but not overbearingly gamy) and Jamaican-inspired jerk chicken (RM28 for an allspice-seasoned dark-meat quarter; poultry at its sumptuous prime).

Burnin' Pit offers sides and salads galore to balance out the meat - we carb-loaded with nicely charred corn grilled with coconut milk and mashed potatoes with beef bacon bits, but other options include mac-and-cheese, slaw, grilled vegetables with balsamic reduction, house-cooked beans, and even a Malaysian-inflected salad with ulam raja and fresh mango.

While Burnin' Pit is best for sharing, it's possible for one person with a mammoth appetite to order the beef rib (RM35 for 100g, minimum 500g) for a Paleolithic-worthy slab of carnivorous mightiness, perfectly illustrating what makes the meat here notable, with an opulent caramelisation, brawny juiciness and heady potency of beefy flavour, enhanced only with kosher salt and black pepper (though a gula Melaka sauce laced with bone marrow broth and a mild peach sauce are also available on each table).

Mercifully, Burnin' Pit isn't lacking in wine, so a suitable, silky South African Pinotage (RM130) can be paired with the meal.

While protein alone can power the Burnin' Pit experience, there's much more to explore.

Sandwiches and wraps showcase some playful wit; we kept the cow-crazed streak alive by ordering the NYC Sandwich, brioche layered with thick cuts of beef brisket, made tangy with sauerkraut (RM19), but other possibilities abound - Philly cheesesteaks, Mexican tortilla wraps, and even Asian-tinged po boys stuffed with salted egg squid, cili padi and curry leaves.

Speaking of Asian flourishes, customers who want rice instead of bread aren't left out - the brisket fried rice with sambal belacan brings together Texas and Taiping, an East-meets-West nasi goreng that'll probably please both worlds (RM26).

Not a beef-eater? You can still make a full meal out of other intriguing offerings like the deep-fried plantain chips heaped with shredded chicken (RM30), as well as Malaysian-spiked nachos with chicken percik sauce, Southern-fried chicken, breaded jalapeno peppers, and even vegetarian aglio olio pasta for the herbivorous.

Many thanks to Burnin' Pit for meeting our meat expectations.