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Junda Khoo’s cooking is almost musical. That’s partly because Malaysian cuisine harmoniously balances the trinity of sweet-salty-sour, but also because the chef creates space to play.

Khoo attributes his love of food to his grandma, and while the Strathfield and Haymarket outposts of Ho Jiak pay tribute to that Nyonya foundation, Town Hall extends on the traditional. Spoon-tender beef rendang fills a roti-topped pot pie, comforting Indomie goreng noodles are embellished with duck-egg floss, and coconut laksa is the generous dipping sauce for prawn and chicken dumplings.

That holy flavour trinity, though, is best exemplified by the asam barramundi topped with fragrant ginger flower, lemongrass and tamarind curry. Hunks of tomatoes and okra dot the aromatic sauce. Finish with smoked-tea ganache with youtiao for dipping and Khoo’s opus comes to a satisfying close.