MOTO Restaurant & Bar Is Setia Alam’s Latest Culinary Gem [Review]

MOTO Restaurant & Bar is great for a boozy lunch with friends and amazing dinners for parties with loved ones.

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MOTO Restaurant & Bar is the newest dining place at Setia Alam near Setia Eco Park. Headed by Chef William, the menu features delicious European offerings with Japanese discipline at its root.

Upon stepping into the restaurant, it feels cosy and inviting due to the dark wooden panels along the walls with pops of dark green from the curtains. The open kitchen featured a similar colour palette; its green tiled walls took a sleek centre stage.

Here’s the five-course meal we got to try during our visit:

Starter

Jamon Serrano

Main

Mushroom risotto

Roman carbonara

Sharing platter

Iberico pork

Sides

Pomme puree

Dessert

Crepe Suzette

Drinks

Highball
Chuhai
Mint Lemonade
London Iced Tea

The Taste Test

For starters, we had Jamon Serrano which was premium Spanish jamon ham served on a bed of fresh melon and rockets and garnished with spring onion oil for colour. The thinly sliced jamon ham was nicely salted while the melons and rockets provided a refreshing balance to the dish.

Clockwise from top right: Roman carbonara, mushroom risotto, and jamon serrano. Image: Adeline Leong/TRP

The Roman carbonara is different from the usual we get here. This is because the sauce is made using egg yolk mixed with pork fat, resulting in a creamy and cheesy spaghetti dish that’s topped with guanciale (pork cheek cubes). The guanciale was deliciously crispy and well-salted. This dish can be paired with white wine to help cut through the dish’s richness without affecting taste.

Meanwhile, the mushroom risotto was a hearty meal. The rice was cooked properly al dente and the creamy mushroom sauce with mushroom chunks made it another enjoyable dish.

Clockwise from top right: Iberico pork, pomme puree, and crepe suzette. Image: Adeline Leong/TRP

For those who love their meats, the Iberico pork is a must-have. The pork slices were sliced thin and were crispy outside but juicy inside. It’s served with a side of garlic crème and zesty chimichurri to play with flavours.

If you’re still feeling peckish, the pomme puree aka mashed potatoes is a good add-on. The potatoes were mashed smooth and creamy. While I prefer my mashed potatoes to be a bit thicker, the pomme puree was a good balance after all the savoury dishes I had.

For dessert, we had the crepe suzette which was homemade crepes cooked over Cointreau orange liquor and orange zest. The crepes were topped with homemade vanilla ice cream. The orange liquor and zest gave the crepes a fragrant touch and the orangey flavours were amazing, like tasting a well-made orange cake. The smooth homemade vanilla ice cream provided a milder sweet touch to the dish.

Mint Lemonade and London Iced Tea. Image: Adeline Leong/TRP

In line with the menu’s Japanese influence, the Highball and Chuhai served as complimentary drinks to go with the meal. Between the two, I preferred the Chuhai as I wasn’t fond of the strong alcohol taste in the Highball.

The Mint Lemonade and London Iced Tea were refreshing non-alcoholic drink options if you don’t plan on having alcohol during your meal.

The Verdict

Overall, dining at MOTO Restaurant & Bar was an enjoyable experience and it was fun to watch our delicious food being prepared from the open kitchen.

It’s hard to pick our favourite dishes because everything tastes good. The standout dishes were the Jamon Serrano, Roman carbonara, Iberico pork, and crepe suzette.

The restaurant has private rooms for parties, making it perfect for family or group gatherings and celebrations. It’s also a good spot for romantic gastronomic adventures.

Private rooms for parties and celebrations. Image: Adeline Leong/TRP

Get to know Chef William

Chef William’s foray into the kitchen was accidental. He had to look for a job after finishing high school and landed on a waitressing gig. He didn’t enjoy it after sticking to it for a month but chanced upon a vacancy in the kitchen and applied. He discovered he liked working in the kitchen and was inspired to pursue culinary arts at KDU College.

He worked in local and international gourmet and fine dining restaurants, where he further honed his craft. He has also worked as part of the team catering for large sports events such as the Japanese Rugby World Cup, serving more than 3000 people per week. William described the experience as tiring but rewarding and enjoyed every minute.

Chef William in the kitchen with his team. Image: MOTO Restaurant & Bar

Aside from cooking in restaurant kitchens, he occasionally takes on the role of a private chef to VIPS and celebrities abroad.

The pandemic was a bad time for everyone but he managed to stick to his culinary roots by working for Kitchen Inc., a company dealing with high-performance kitchen design and kitchenware. Here, he learned kitchen design and the other side of the culinary industry.

However, his first passion has always been cooking and the opportunity arose again when a client was looking to open a restaurant and hire a chef. William had the chance to head the kitchen of MOTO Restaurant & Bar and put his new knowledge to use by designing the kitchen himself.

MOTO Restaurant & Bar

Address: Lot 2 & 3, Ground Floor, Jalan Setia Nusantara U13/17 Seksyen U13/17, Setia Alam, 40179 Shah Alam, Selangor. (Beside Toriten)

Opening hours:
Closed on Tuesdays
Wednesday to Mondays: 12pm-3pm, 5.30pm-1am

For reservations: Call +6014-343 4091

Social media: Instagram

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