Auntie Omakase Took Over Picaro For Five Delicious Nights

She won hearts on Culinary Class Wars with food that spoke louder than hype. For her first-ever overseas collaboration, Auntie Omakase brought her signature cooking to KL.

You’ve seen her on Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars. Chef Kim Mi-ryeong—better known as Auntie Omakase—has made her first-ever overseas collaboration with Picaro. The Korean chef was in KL for just five nights, launching the restaurant’s Off-Menu Limited Edition Vol. 1, the inaugural chapter of the restaurant’s new seasonal collaboration series.

The debut edition celebrated Korean culinary heritage, brought to life in Picaro’s lively open-kitchen setting. As Korean culture continues to captivate audiences across Southeast Asia, interest in the country’s food has grown well beyond K-dramas and K-pop. Diners today are increasingly curious about regional dishes, family recipes, and the stories behind them.

Auntie Omakase’s cooking discipline

Auntie Omakase is known for her calm, methodical approach in the kitchen, where precision is her hallmark. Yet what truly won audiences over and set her apart from Michelin-starred competitors wasn’t technical skill alone but something far more personal: her cooking, which embodies the Korean idea of sonmat, often described as the ‘taste of the hands’—food shaped by years of practice, instinct, and genuine care.

Also, that warmth extended beyond the plate. Throughout dinner, she moved from table to table, personally feeding guests bites of her own cooking, turning the evening into something that felt more like a family gathering than a chef collaboration.

Picaro: food, cocktails and a little chaos

Hidden inside Nam Kok Hotel at Wisma Lim Foo Yong, Picaro has earned a reputation as one of KL’s most entertaining dining destinations. Chefs cook in full view while the dining room gradually transforms into something closer to a party than a conventional dinner service.

Servers dance atop the bar, challenge guests to drinking countdowns, and before long, may have unsuspecting patrons joining them on tabletops. It’s loud, energetic, and entirely unapologetic.

Rather than simply refreshing its menu, Picaro has chosen to bring in guest chefs from abroad, creating experiences that are both limited and impossible to replicate once they’re gone. In a city constantly chasing the next exciting reservation, the format feels like a natural fit. However, that leaves one question: how does Auntie Omakase fit into all this chaos?

Against all odds

On paper, the pairing seemed unlikely. Picaro is bold and larger than life. Auntie Omakase, meanwhile, built her reputation on quiet confidence and understated cooking. Yet within minutes of service, any doubts disappeared.

The chef many knew from television left her composed screen persona at the door and emerged with a soju shot in one hand and a bell in the other, enthusiastically encouraging the room to drink along with her. Suddenly, a different side of her appeared: playful, spirited, and surprisingly mischievous.

Between feeding guests and downing shots, she danced around the kitchen to blasting K-pop while ringing the bell she had been carrying all evening. There were cheers, laughter, more dancing, and naturally, more soju. It was then that the collaboration made perfect sense.

Picaro’s Off-Menu Limited Edition Vol. 1 series

The menu featured some of Auntie Omakase’s signature dishes, including Sesame-Grilled Shiitake, Andong Cabbage Jeon, Andong Noodle Soup, and a Korean Sweet Platter featuring dried persimmon rolls, grilled rice cakes drizzled with grain syrup, and iced Sikhye (a traditional non-alcoholic Korean sweet rice drink).

The standout, however, was the Slow-Braised Beef Shank, served with fresh kimchi, salted shrimp sauce, and citrus fish sauce. Equally memorable was the Jeyuk-Style Red Snapper, coated in Gochujang and Perilla for a balance of spice, sweetness, and fragrance.

Spicing up KL’s dining scene

While permanent menus help restaurants build loyal followings, occasional collaborations like this inject a welcome sense of surprise. They offer something diners rarely get: a chance to experience a chef, a cuisine, and a moment that won’t be repeated once the final service ends.

KL’s appetite for new experiences shows no signs of slowing down. Food lovers are increasingly willing to seek out limited-run events, especially when they bring together different cultures, personalities, and styles of cooking under one roof.

If Off-Menu Limited Edition Vol. 1 is any indication, Picaro may be onto something. The only question now is who will be next. And more importantly, will they feed us too?

Photo courtesy of Picaro.