Angus Steak House

The first thing that grabs you about Prime is its elegant modern décor, oversized tables and its wide open kitchen with an uninterrupted view of chefs hard at work. Attention to detail is a key element at ‘Prime’ evident by the house made bread and butter selection served to you the moment you plonk yourself down. Beef is a serious subject matter here with a selection of steaks from Australia, Japan, Argentina and US and what impressed me the most was the fact that you can order your steak based on cut, weight and number of days it’s been aged. For non-bovine eaters there’s also an extensive selection of appetizers, soups and salads with poultry and seafood dishes.

Opting for a mix of traditional steak restaurant fare, my partner and I ordered the apple wood smoked Norwegian salmon (RM45) and the truffle ravioli, mushroom fricassee (RM50). Of the two, the salmon dish stood out with the freshly smoked slices infused just right. The ravioli was a decent enough with pasta parcels packed with truffles and served with a creamy sauce. And then came the steaks.

Feeling slightly stuffed it was a wise move to order the 8oz selection of ribeye (RM95) and centre cut filet mignon (RM165). Both steaks were 200-day grain fed Black Angus and came with caramelised balsamic-shallot jus and cracked peppercorn sauces. The ribeye, which under the strict advice of the maître d’ was served medium rare was tender and grilled almost to perfection. The filet mignon was tender and full of flavour and juicy enough even though it was ordered medium well . Both steaks came with side orders of Truffle mashed potato, Wild green asparagus and Idaho steak fries (RM15 each) which complimented the meal quite well.

We left ‘Prime’ stuffed and satisfied and with total agreement that it was clearly head and shoulders above some of the other steak restaurants in the city. We do however have to stress that quality does come at a price and ‘Prime’ is clearly a place only fit for special occasions or if you have deep pockets. A full meal at ‘Prime’ for two can set you back up to RM400 which is high but certainly worth it, especially when it comes to quality steaks.



Contact:
Angus Steak House,
Lot 6.44 & 6.45, Level 6,
Pavilion KL,
Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL.
Tel: 03 2145 6015

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
11.30am-4.30pm & 5pm-10pm daily.

Cuisine:
Japanese

Kampachi

The signature restaurant of the Equatorial Hotel chain appears in five destinations in Malaysia, three of which fall into the catchment zone for these awards (KL, Bangi-Putrajaya and Pavilion KL). While voters didn’t make clear which they had voted for, the consistency of each outlet is such that it could have been any of them. Renowned as one of the very best Japanese outlets in the city, Kampachi flies in their sashimi from the famous Tsukiji market in Tokyo. Proof of the lengths they are willing to go to in the name of top class Japanese fare.

There really aren’t that many great (although plenty of decent/good) Japanese restaurants in KL, however, in the semi-recently opened ‘Kampachi’ in Pavilion KL can honestly claim to rival the likes of ‘Zipangu’ and ‘Iketeru.’

The restaurant shares a name, brand, menu and owners with the outlet in the Equatorial KL, however, to my taste buds, the one in Pavilion is superior. The staff are just as friendly but the food seems fresher — although I can’t see how that could be. Possibly the newness of the outlet played tricks on my mind.

We began with California rolls, which – hand on heart — are the best in KL. The filling of soft crabstick, carrot, cucumber, and roe were immaculately presented and once soy sauce was drizzled over the roll it was as fresh and flavoursome as you could ask for.

Moving on, and the soba and udon noodles were the undoubted highlight of the main course. They hand make them in the window of the restaurant allowing diners nearby and passing shoppers to see in as the dough-artists create their noodly work in their little heated room.

Art is without question a fair analogy for their creations once you allow them to pass your lips. The noodles really are excellent. And the soup they come in is rich and tasty, although could have been hotter. The rest of the meal was good without being great, the salad fresh if plain, as was the fruit.
Having tried some more traditional Japanese fare, I took a gamble with the curry cutlet meal. It was much better than it’s equivalents elsewhere in the city, with breaded chicken (It always strikes as strange that this is on so many Japanese menus as it hardly seems authentic) that contained genuine fillet meat rather than skin and a pleasingly thick curry sauce that contained hefty chunks of vegetables.

We left dessert and even deliberately spared ourselves the sake we would usually finish a Japanese meal with. Not because we didn’t have room. We just wanted an excuse to go back.



Contact:
Kampachi, Lot 6.09.00,
Level 6, Pavilion KL,
Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL.
Tel: 03 2148 9608

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Sun-Thu: 11.30am-9.30pm.
Fri-Sat: 11.30am-10pm.

Cuisine:
Japanese

Hard Rock Cafe Restaurant

My initial reaction was ‘Woah! How much? For a burger?’ but of course there’s more to Hard Rock than your average grill.

First credit comes for the portion sizes. Whether it was the tortilla chip nacho or the potato skins crammed with cheese and bacon starters or the strip steak or 10oz signature burger, our plates were fairly stacked. And, while hardly gourmet, the food was moorish enough that we cleared everything in next to no time. Which surprised us a little as we didn’t expect to enjoy a chain restaurant so much.

I really rated my burger (as did our reviewers who placed it amongst KL’s top 10 last month) and the steak was also cooked very well; moist and juicy. In the ‘cons’ column I would put the loud music but that would somewhat miss the point and also make me sound old, so we’ll forget that.

A sea of smiling faces stretched from wall to wall. It was strange to see a restaurant so full of people really, really enjoying themselves. And there were plenty of them. We went on a Friday night and we weren’t the only ones. We had to wait a short while for a table to become free but that turned into a blessing as we were able to enjoy a beer at the bar. Although we were less grateful when we read the bill and saw what they were charging for the draught lager. Really, RM30 is too much for two halves of beer.

The thing about Hard Rock Café is , although the prices seem do steep, you feel like you’re paying for the atmosphere — which if you’re into that sort of thing, you have to admit is great — but actually, the pleasing thing about the place is that when you tuck into your meal, you realise that what you’re actually paying for is very decent food.



Contact:
Hard Rock Café,
Ground Floor, Wisma Concorde,
Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL.
Tel: 03 2715 5555

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
11.30am-2.30am daily.

Cuisine:
Western

Baan 26

With plants and wrought iron furniture at the front veranda, ‘Baan 26’ looks good from the outside. The interior however doesn’t seem too appealing. Yes, it does look humble, like a typical Thai home, and truth is, I have seen neighbourhood restaurants like this in Bangkok and even Chiang Mai. So I guess there’s some authenticity there considering the fact that Baan 26 is after all a Thai restaurant.

There’s quite a variety in the menu — from salads and soups to fried rice, noodles and main dishes that cover chicken, beef and even duck. They even serve mieng kam, a DIY appetiser that you don’t usually find in other Thai restaurants in KL.

To start, I had the Thai fish cakes (even though the Thai mango salad with crispy catfish sounded delicious). I always believe that one of the ways to judge a Thai restaurant is through its tom yam. And so I ordered the clear tom yam chicken noodle, which was tasty. The soup is a good mixture of sour, limey, spicy and salty with a hint of sweetness. I chose glass noodle to go with the soup and the combination came out well. It was both light and appetising. The Thai green curry chicken tasted authentic as well with the right balance of spicy creaminess.

The good thing about Baan 26 is that there’s nothing pretentious about the restaurant. The menu may not be inventive but it features all the Thai dishes that we are familiar with, like lime and chilli steam fish, Thai basil leaf spicy minced chicken and crispy duck in plum sauce, just to name a few.
The ambience is casual. In fact, it is one of the very few on Changkat Bukit Bintang that doesn’t bother with decking itself up to look chic, modern and funky. And perhaps this makes ‘Baan 26’ feel like a neighbourhood restaurant that you can go to anytime of the week and not just during special occasions.



Contact:
Baan26, 26 Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL.
Tel: 03 2142 8878

Website:
www.baan26.com

Operating Hours:
Mon-Sat: 12noon-3pm, 6pm-12.30am;
Sun & Public Holidays: 3pm-12.30am.

Cuisine:
Thai

Bar SaVanh and Cochine

The IndoChine tradition continues in Kuala Lumpur with the opening of CoChine Lounge and Restaurant & Bar SaVanh. Eight Cambodian sandstone sculptures mark the entrance to the latest addition to the IndoChine family. Upon entering, guests tread over a fish pond on their way to the main bar, so watch out if you've already had a few.

An atrium ceiling allows light to seep through onto the banyan tree that grows in the middle of the bar. A tranquil water feature engulfs the five senses with peace and serenity. The CoChine Lounge & Bar SaVanh adds layers of ambience with candles and incense, lit every evening as a prelude to an exciting and different night at Bar SaVanh.



Contact:
Asian Heritage Row,
Jalan Doraisamy,
50300 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2697 1180

Website:
www.asianheritagerow.com

Operating Hours:
CoChine Café Mon-Fri: 12pm - 10pm, Sat 5pm - 10pm;
Restaurant Mon-Sat: 6:30pm - 11pm Bar 5pm till late Happy Hours 5pm - 9pm (30% off House Pours & draught beers)

Cuisine:
Thai

The Magnificent Fish & Chip Shop

For the past two years, the Magnificent Fish & Chip Shop has stood proudly (and busily) as one of the main attractions on Changkat Bukit Bintang. But, for anyone who is still yet to check out the city’s only dedicated authentic (they wrap them in newspaper and everything) fish and chips, what are you missing?

Well, first off: high prices. While elsewhere in the world, fish and chips are often seen as a cheap and cheerful meal, here you have to pay between 20 and 45 ringgit for a single piece of battered fish. However, that only tells part of the story. In fact, the fish is of very high quality. And it is cooked well. The prices genuinely reflect this and there can be no argument that you don’t get what you pay for.

Furthermore, the shop doesn’t try to be ‘cheap and cheerful.’ Actually, it is a cool, stylish and mid-to-high end establishment, turning into something of a happening nightspot after the typical dinner crowd have turned in. The warm wooden furniture and strong ambience are part of what (along with the amiable staff) keeps the punters coming back time and again; I know more than a few people who come more than once a week.

Or possibly it is down to the magnificent (sorry) tartare sauce, as good as you’ll taste and a brilliant accompaniment to the delicious fish, such as dory, parrot fish, barramundi, grouper, or salmon, listed on huge blackboards than adorn the walls.

These menus/boards offers much more than ‘just’ fish. There are pies, sausages, fish cakes, curry sauce, mushy peas, and a huge ‘chippy’ breakfast on a Sunday morning. And lest we forget the ‘Guinness and Oysters’ special.

Whether they’re in KL, California, Cairns or Cardiff, the secret to good fish and chips is being close enough to the sea to get the freshest, best fish. For that reason, Magnificent will never be able to compete with some of the world’s best. But for KL it’s fantastic and we’re lucky to have it.



Contact:
28 Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 2142 7021

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Mon-Fri, 8.00am-1am.
Sat & Sun 10am-late.

Cuisine:
Western

Asam Laksa Stall

Madras Lane, the dark, dank walkway that cuts through the middle of Chinatown’s wet market, boasts two stalls selling asam laksa. I eat there regularly but have yet to sample the version dished up by the middle stall. Why? Because I can never nudge myself past the divine hot, sour, and fishy fugue rising from a furiously boiling pot at the end stall. Not for me, grass-is-always-greener promiscuity. I’ve found a good salve for my asam laksa cravings and I’m sticking to it.

Now, I know just what you’re wondering. No, this asam laksa isn’t as good as what you’ll find in Penang. But we’re not in Penang, are we? Let’s face it, every time we eat a KL version of a Penang hawker dish we know we’re settling for second- (or third- or fourth-) best. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do just to get through.

Arrive at this when they open at 8:30am and your request for an order will be met with a sharp rebuke: ‘Not ready!’ The second generation running this forty-plus-year-old business takes his asam soup seriously. Better to wait till late morning anyway; by then the fire-red potage has had time to reduce and thicken, its heat and tartness mellowing and melding in the process. A serving includes the usual garnishes (fresh mint leaves, shredded cucumber and pineapple, sliced shallot) as well as two meaty canned sardine fillets, added right before broth is poured over.

Blasphemy! some may cry, but the oily, profoundly piscine sardine marries wonderfully with the soup’s forceful spicy sourness. Adding sambal belacan and kalamansi (which, if you don’t look Malaysian, you’ll have to ask for) to this already heady brew may be gilding the lily, but I’ve never been one to run away from moreish more.

On Madras Lane seating is notoriously territorial, so don’t sit down at one of this stall’s tables unless at least one in your party orders from its menu. The stall also serves curry laksa and pork ball noodle soup. Both dishes look awfully tempting but, like I said, I just can’t get past that asam laksa.



Contact:
Asam Laksa stall, last stall on Madras Lane (inside Petaling Street Wet Market), Chinatown.
Tel: N/A

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
8.30am-3pm. Closed Mon

Cuisine:
Asian

The Canteen Room

In terms of value for money you can’t ask for more than you receive at this café-cum-restaurant. The portions are generous, the service is great and the price remains low. No wonder The Canteen Room is always packed.

There may be better eateries with more glamourous dishes around the town but I struggle to think of many with such consistency and reliability. And when it comes to lunchtime, especially, I think most people are like me: we’d rather not take a risk in what we order. If we know something is going to taste good, be served quickly and there’s plenty of it, we’ll go for that over an unknown quantity every time.

The best of The Canteen Room is evidenced in their huge, spicy Penang char kway teow, packed with tasty treats. Or, depending on who you listen to, their speciality, the asam laksa nyonya. Other dishes worth ‘honourable mentions’ include the prawn mee and chicken curry. While the latter doesn’t use the best quality chicken, the divine gravy more than makes up for it, and what do you expect for less than ten ringgit?

The Canteen Room earns its three stars as much for its value as its quality. Oh, and the attentive, fast and helpful staff who are almost worth a star on their own.



Contact:
A-0-2, Wisma HB, Megan Phileo Avenue 2, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, KL.
Tel: 03 2166 2160

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
N/A

Cuisine:
Asian

Sassorosso

If Sassorosso isn’t the best Italian restaurant in KL, it isn’t far off. Tucked away a bit, the steady stream of lunchtime and evening diners would testify that the food on offer ranks as some of the best anywhere in the city.

The a la carte menu is simple, with more than enough choices to suit, and if you’re looking for value, then there is also a buffet on offer during the day from 12noon until 3pm.

The décor is also uncomplicated and stylish, with clean white walls in the quiet indoor area and a more vibrant, happening outdoors, complete with wood-fired kiln oven for their excellent pizzas.

I have a feeling they recently tinkered with some of their recipes as it was while chewing on their Quattro stagioni on my last visit that I thought that it was even cheesier and tastier than usual. The blanched peppers, tender artichokes, turkey ham, and delicious tomato sauce finishing off this fine pie. While this is my favourite, to be fair all the pizzas are excellent. And enormous.

As a good Italian place, Sassorosso also offers separate appetisers (the buffalo mozzarella is great, mushroom soup excellent, the scallops very good and the beef bresaola defies superlatives), pasta, meat and seafood dishes. And don’t shout about it, but Sassorosso also boast an extensive wine menu with no end of charming, complimentary European wines.

Those that are must-tries would have included the lamb shank but that was dry and fatty on my last visit, so unless they’ve re-sourced their lamb, I’d go for the gnocchi, risotto, rib-eye steak, braised veal, seared tuna, oh, I could go on, but haven’t the words, so I’ll let you discover the dishes for yourself. Buon appetito.



Contact:
9 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng, KL.
Tel: 03 2166 6428

Website:
www.sassorosso.com.my

Operating Hours:
12noon-11.45pm. Daily.

Cuisine:
Italian

Wasabi Bistro

The Wasabi Bistro has never had the most elegant of entrances. On exiting the elevator one often thinks one has stumbled wrongly into the Mandarin car park but beckoning staff are more often than not there to put you right. The decor is a sombre and uninspired affair made no better by no natural light. Nowadays with so many well designed modern Japanese restaurants based on starkness with style Wasabi excels with the former but comes unstuck with the latter.

However, I have been here many times so there must be a reason for my loyalty other than the fact it’s only yards from my workplace. Looking over the menu I notice there are a few new additions of a more modern take. Wasabi in the past for me was a straightforward, no nonsense, run-of-the-mill Japanese. Never excelling but always dependable.

I opt for tuna carpaccio in a yuzu lime pepper dressing which is pretty good, reminding me of Nobu’s famous yellowtail with jalapeno. Delicate and tasty but with a sting in the tail. I’m impressed. I finished my homage to health, guilt-free seaweed salad, which was as good as lettuce and seaweed can get I guess, but let’s face it, is never going to match the delights of a combination of bubbling boiling oil and chicken, is it?

The tori-tatsuta-age (marinated deep fried chicken) was piping hot, crisp and succulent. Feeling a little more daring with the pepper still lingering on my tongue from the tuna carpaccio dressing I chanced upon the dynamite roll. To be honest I forget the contents because they didn’t matter. The important thing was the dynamite or indeed the spice.

Cagily I had opted for heat level 10 in the 1 to 19 scale of mouth furnace options. Going by the wonderful fieriness of the six cut pieces I had narrowly missed out on a lobotomy by spice by not venturing into the teens but will soldier on to 11 or 12 on my next visit.

Being a degenerate curry eater and loving the mildness and flavoursome Japanese variety I ordered the vegetable Japanese Curry. Alas! It was no longer on the menu. However, no sooner had I drowned my sorrows in more hot sake the chef had whipped one up off menu and within minutes. It was excellent. All in all the food is very good at Wasabi probably nearly on par with Iketeru at the Hilton or Zipangu at the Shangri-La but the decor lets the overall experience down. However with a chef that clearly has ambitions, excellent service and maybe a face lift in the near future Wasabi is still a commendable establishment.



Contact:
Mandarin Oriental,
Kuala Lumpur City Centre, KL.
Tel: 03 2163 0968

Website:
www.mandarinoriental.com

Operating Hours:
Lunch 12noon-2.30pm,
Dinner 6pm-10.30pm. Daily

Cuisine:
Japanese

Iketeru

Iketeru’s signature style combines traditional elements of Japanese cuisine with the latest Tokyo nouveau, so don't be surprised to taste hints of red wine or balsamico in the well-prepared dishes.

Japanese restaurant Iketeru may be a regular on the prestigious TOKL Food 40 list but when they announced that they were organising a Weekend Champagne Brunch promotion, we just had to venture on for another look. Located in the Hilton KL, Iketeru is renowned for its Japanese fare but with by putting in a ChampagneBrunch spin on it now, Iketeru has just found an added hook to reel in diners to its establishment. Just like other hotel restaurant outlets in the city that offer this bubbly affair during weekends, Iketeru also boasts a never ending supply of Gosset Champagne ever readily topped up and served at your table.

The menu however priced at RM198 ++ (RM98++ for food only without champagne) may seem steep but it’s a small price to pay considering the array of Japanese fare on offer together with a never ending supply of Gosset. Also unlike other establishments in the city that offer ‘Bubbly Brunch’, the Japanese restaurant allows you to enjoy your tipple and the ambience in a relaxing atmosphere by offering over 100 items available via ala carte.

The tailor made menu consists of contemporary and traditional Japanese fare with an array of sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, tempura as well as desserts which can be ordered as much to your heart, or should we say stomachs’ content, up to five items at one time per table of course. Iketeru’s Master chef Ricky-san’s menu emphasises a lot on freshness and its none more evident by the delectable salmon, white tuna sashimi, sushi rolls and soft shell crab which we chose to start our meal with.

Subsequent dishes made up of prawn teppanyaki and tempura bared similar hallmarks of Iketeru’s signature style of combining traditional elements of Japanese cuisine with the latest Tokyo nouveau. And having a serving of that with corpus amounts of champers is just too good to be true, especially on a weekend.



Contact:
Jalan Stesen Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur Sentral, KL.
Tel: 03 2264 2264

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
11.30am-11pm daily.
Cuisine:
Japanese

Prego @ The Westin

Fun is at the heart of everything Prego does. There’s a buzz as you enter and are greeted by the team who rank among KL’s friendliest and most eager to please. The open kitchen is stunning and the food of excellent calibre, with the showcase experience being Prego’s high-spirited ‘Bubbly Brunch’ on a Sunday where the amount of entertaining gimmicks is only outnumbered by the vast array of outstanding dishes on offer, including handmade pasta, wood-oven baked pizzas, succulent meat and decadent desserts.

Prego is a must if you like quality Italian food. You might find superior pizzas in KL - although not many - but the pasta is without equal. Especially the risotto. The restaurant itself, on the ground floor of the centrally-located Westin hotel, has an open kitchen and screams modern style.



Contact:
199, Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL
Tel: 03 2731 8333

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
12.00noon - 1.00am daily.

Cuisine:
N/A

The Yogitree

Brilliant health-conscious and nourishing food find in The Gardens at Mid Valley. We’ve already worked our way through half the massive menu (some local, some western) and everything has been completely and utterly brilliant, with extra-special mention to the spaghetti carbonara, organic pumpkin soup and cooked breakfast.

We can’t wait to work our way through the other half. Also, great for kids and for you. And even more impressive, all the food, even the pasta, is freshly made on site.



Contact:
Lot F-237B, 1st Floor,
Gardens Mid Valley
Tel: 03 2282 6163

Website:
www.yogitree.com

Operating Hours:
10am-10pm daily.

Cuisine:
Western

Enak, KL

Beginning to establish itself as the high-end Malay restaurant par excellence in the city, Enak sits unpretentiously in the lower ground floor of Starhill Gallery.

But despite this snazzy location, the food is fairly priced and more importantly, rich, tasty and authentic.

From the subtle to the intense, to spicy, sweet or savoury, every Enak KL dish dish is unique. This may not be to everybody's palate though. The seafood is unquestionably the best way to begin exploring the menu but it’s worth a few visits before settling on your favourites.



Contact:
LG2, Feast Floor,
Starhill Gallery,
188 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2141 8973

Website:
www.enakkl.com

Operating Hours:
12noon-1am daily

Cuisine:
Malay

Ghazal

Not that Ghazal isn’t good. It just doesn’t compare to the quality of the bvgm Moghul House.

Some dishes do inspire. The hyderbadi chicken briyani is exceptional. The rice cooked beautifully and the vegetables and meat through it make it a filling, fragrant and fantastically satisfying dish. You’ll want a vegetable gravy
to go with that, of course. Eschew the creamy and incongruent mix offered by the Kashmiri navaratan korma in favour of the dhal mahkani; a simple yet dreamy butter gravy, less oily than most of their others. Otherwise, if you
want something a little spicier and more authentically prepared, take the masala dhal.

Other dishes that warrant inspection include the murgh lajawab (tandoori chicken in their signature mahkani gravy) and the prawn shaslik (marinated king prawns grilled with tomato and onion). However, don’t go overboard
ordering naan; the bread is thin, chewy and not nearly light enough. They also seem to just not ‘get’ certain classic dishes; their interpretations of butter chicken, vindaloo and tikka masala just not hitting the right spot.

I’m perhaps being harsh on Ghazal. It still offers a very high standard of North Indian cuisine. If I hadn’t known (and loved. Dear me, how I loved it) New Moghul House perhaps I would be kinder.

I admit that Ghazal do better than many of their peers. And several among their staff are great. I even grudgingly admit that I actually prefer the quaint atmosphere and decoration. But, the poor naan and way they can’t quite get the old favourites right means they don’t deserve any more than three stars. With trial and error you’ll be richly rewarded at Ghazal.



Contact:
34, Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL.
Tel: 03 2144 7778

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
5pm till late. Daily.

Cuisine:
Indian

Prime

The first thing that grabs you about Prime is its elegant modern décor, oversized tables and its wide open kitchen with an uninterrupted view of chefs hard at work. Attention to detail is a key element at ‘Prime’ evident by the house made bread and butter selection served to you the moment you plonk yourself down. Beef is a serious subject matter here with a selection of steaks from Australia, Japan, Argentina and US and what impressed me the most was the fact that you can order your steak based on cut, weight and number of days it’s been aged. For non-bovine eaters there’s also an extensive selection of appetizers, soups and salads with poultry and seafood dishes.

Opting for a mix of traditional steak restaurant fare, my partner and I ordered the apple wood smoked Norwegian salmon (RM45) and the truffle ravioli, mushroom fricassee (RM50). Of the two, the salmon dish stood out with the freshly smoked slices infused just right. The ravioli was a decent enough with pasta parcels packed with truffles and served with a creamy sauce. And then came the steaks.

Feeling slightly stuffed it was a wise move to order the 8oz selection of ribeye (RM95) and centre cut filet mignon (RM165). Both steaks were 200-day grain fed Black Angus and came with caramelised balsamic-shallot jus and cracked peppercorn sauces. The ribeye, which under the strict advice of the maître d’ was served medium rare was tender and grilled almost to perfection. The filet mignon was tender and full of flavour and juicy enough even though it was ordered medium well . Both steaks came with side orders of Truffle mashed potato, Wild green asparagus and Idaho steak fries (RM15 each) which complimented the meal quite well.

We left ‘Prime’ stuffed and satisfied and with total agreement that it was clearly head and shoulders above some of the other steak restaurants in the city. We do however have to stress that quality does come at a price and ‘Prime’ is clearly a place only fit for special occasions or if you have deep pockets. A full meal at ‘Prime’ for two can set you back up to RM400 which is high but certainly worth it, especially when it comes to quality steaks.



Contact:
Prime, Level 5,
Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur,
2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, KL.
Tel: 03 2263 7555

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
12.30pm-2.30pm;
6.30pm-11pm daily.

Cuisine:
Western

Fatimah Selera Kampung

They say Malaysia’s best Malay food is found in private kitchens. Consider Fatimah Selera Kampung your entrée to ‘mom-style’ Malay cuisine. Every dish on offer comes out of a home kitchen; the very casual, open-air restaurant is, after all, built onto the side of a private Kampung Baru home. Pakcik Nordin, Fatimah’s amiable proprietor, is happy to explain what’s on offer, but a point-and-shoot approach at the buffet-like display works well too.

It’s all good, but the fish dishes are Fatimah Selera’s brightest stars. Ikan kembung, a smallish fish with oily flesh that takes wonderfully to the grill, might on one day be served plain and crispy-skinned, with a dipping sauce of kecap Nikkomanis and chopped chilies on the side, or stuffed with a fragrant combination of grated coconut, turmeric, chilies, and lemongrass the next. For assam fish meaty chunks of a firm, white-fleshed variety stew in a sweet-and-sour, not too spicy chili gravy. Ikan bilis show up in a wonderful house ‘relish’ that changes daily; on our last visit it consisted of a mixture of fresh mild chilies, caramelised onions, and chopped fresh and pickled mustard greens.

The restaurant’s homey chicken curry sells out quickly for a reason, and the classic beef rendang is extravagantly spiced and wonderfully savoury, if a bit tough. Pecel jawa (blanched leafy greens, long beans, bean sprouts, cabbage, and nubs of deep-fried tofu topped with a peanut sauce made spicy or not, to order) makes for an excellent light lunch or a fine addition to a gluttonous repast, and mashed spuds fans won’t want to miss out on the pergedel, fat potato cakes dipped in egg and deep-fried.

Sweets lovers will want to save room for Fatimah Selera’s air jagung, a tower of shaved ice topped with corn and doused with condensed milk that forever changed my perception of that lowly vegetable as a never-for-dessert food.



Contact:
Fatimah Selera Kampung,
5, Jalan Haji Yahya Sheikh Ahmad,
Kampung Baru, KL.
Tel: 03 2692 1073

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Times vary.

Cuisine:
Malay

The Pink Sage Diner and Pantry

My initial thought that the restaurant was going to be one of those over the top places with posh décor only to be let down with rubbish food. But I was in for a pleasant surprise. By the corner of Jalan Dang Wangi, first timers may have a little difficulty finding the restaurant as it’s somewhat hidden by the corner. Décor of the place is intriguing, with the vibrant match of white leather couch fitted with brown table tops fitted with a small bar and two huge mirrors along the right wall with written messages from patrons who have swung by. It reminded me of those 50s and 60s diners in films.

The Pink Sage specialty is they offer breakfast all day for food lovers during the weekend which is great for those who like to have breakfast at their own leisure. Breakfast menu is rather straightforward, buttermilk pancakes (RM12.50), mushroom omelet (RM8.50), and bagel breakfast roll (RM11.50). There are several other choices which makes variety a good thing but you’ll be spoilt for choice (easy on the tummy, not so on the mind). For those big hitters there is the stacked breakfast (RM14.50) which includes two eggs (scrambled or sunny side up), a choice of beef/chicken sausage accompanied with mushrooms, potatoes, beans and beef bacon. I came in the morning feeling rather famished; I decided to have a go. It is presented well, with combination of perfect seasoning and cooked perfectly gave an all round satisfaction.

The lunch menu which is served until 7pm offers some variations of food that I may find in other restaurants and new delights that I find interesting to try out. For you burger junkies, there is the classic Cheeseburger (RM18), Veggie Burger (RM17) and other choices which are accompanied with chips and coleslaw. The other choices on the menu whether you like it grilled or have a craving sensation for some pasta. The choices given are tough to make with temptations such as Sausage Fettuccini Carbonara (RM18), and Grilled Ribeye with asparagus (RM32.50) to name a few. With such variety, I went old fashion and ordered myself a good old’ cheeseburger. As it was time to dig in, presented with a burger half wrap (easy to munch without getting too dirty) with chips and coleslaw on the side. The burger was cooked brilliantly with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cheese melts. The succulent juices from every bite just left a satisfying feeling to my palate.

With a pleasant setting and reasonable prices, I would recommend it whether you’re working in the city and looking for a quick bite or you have a few hours to spare to laze around during the weekends.



Contact:
Ground Floor, Wisma RA,
12, Jalan Dang Wangi, KL.
Tel: 03 2693 5002

Website:
www.thepinksage.com

Operating Hours:
Tue-Sun: 8am-7pm.
Mon closed.

Cuisine:
Fusion

Shanghai Delight

I’ve decided that the best way to judge Shanghai Delight is to see it in the context of the takeaways you find on high streets in the UK, US or Australia. The food is not a patch on the best hawker fare found just around the corner on Jalan Alor or the higher-end restaurants all over the city, but then (and I hope I’m not being naïve here) that isn’t their target market.

The location on Changkat Bukit Bintang certainly implies that they are hoping to entice the resident expatriates who, it must be said, largely feel more comfortable with familiar cuisine and flavours. And, having sampled more than my fair share of ‘English’ Chinese takeaways, I can tell you that Shanghai Delights at least ranks favourably against those abominations.

The rice may be a bit gluggy and the chicken more rubbery than is ideal but the portions are very generous and overall it tastes pretty good. The spring rolls were too oily and the stir-fried vegetables a little bland but an expatriate audience unprepared to brave the experience of roadside dining and used to a Chinese restaurant in the West is unlikely to be disappointed. Although, with this in mind, it is slightly baffling that they have chosen to be halal.

They deliver the food in those fold-up cartons that they use in Manhattan-based movies/tv programs, allowing the imaginative diner to pretend they are an extra on ‘Friends’ or something. A cute touch that means you can save leftovers for the following day when, strangely, the food seemed to taste better.

In many respects, the genius of trying to compete against outlets some 7,000 miles away is to be applauded. It remains to be seen if the cool boxes and convenience of getting your chicken and black bean sauce or beef chow mein delivered to your door is going to hold its own in a city like KL, however, the food has been progressively better the two subsequent times (I’m a sucker for a cute box) I have ordered from Shanghai Delight.



Contact:
Shanghai Delight,
18-1 Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL.
Tel: 03 2142 1245

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Mon-Thur, 12noon-10.30pm;
Fri-Sat, 12noon-2pm;
Sun closed.

Cuisine:
Chinese

Sentidos Tapas

Before the food arrived this was down as a ‘2 star’ review. But that soon changed.

The décor is ‘authentically Spanish’. As long as by ‘authentically Spanish’ you mean ‘walls are painted orange and a handful of bull-fighting posters are dotted aimlessly around’. The furniture barely fits the theme, likewise the white tablecloths (asking for trouble in a tapas bar where food is meant to be shared and spilt). However, that soon slips from your mind when the dishes start turning up.

A word of caution: if you’re not into garlic, choose carefully. Most dishes would make even a Frenchman reach for the breath fresheners. But, as long as you aren’t dining with someone whose mouth you intend kissing then all should be fine. Fortunately, I was with my wife.

Sticking with the (not-very) ‘authentic’ Tapas feel, the food all arrives together, brought by a hugely friendly waitress and waiter, who continually outdid each other on the helpful and friendliness stakes. And what they brought was excellent. The bread rapidly mopped up with a divine crushed olive oil, then the mushrooms (a delicious mix of at least three varieties) gobbled, the shrimps sucked clean, the meatballs devoured and, most outstanding of all, the tiny pieces of lamb in mint sauce were polished off, too. We also shared some Sangria, which although was reasonable, it lacked a little of the head-smacking power of other Sangrias I’ve tasted.
The only disappointing part of the meal was the ‘tortilla’.

Perhaps, having travelled through Spain and virtually lived off this magnificent culinary invention for several weeks, I’ve been somewhat spoiled when it comes to mixing eggs and potatoes. The one at Sentidos was no more than a poor man’s omelette. Still, to be fair, the plate it came on was still cleared.

Tapas doesn’t have to be about a dark, busy bar, where you count up the number of toothpicks on your plate before passing grubby banknotes to an obese barman with a ropey moustache. I don’t think, however, it works as a fine dining concept, which makes Sentidos’s location in Starhill a little incongruous. However, it doesn’t really matter where it is. What matters is the food. And on that score, Sentidos fully deserves its four stars.



Contact:
Sentidos Tapas,
Starhill Gallery,
Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL.
Tel: 03 2145 3385

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Mon-Sun, 12noon-1am.

Cuisine:
Spanish

Bijan

Bijan used to be my favourite restaurant, so it was one of the first on my list to review for Time Out KL. However, it pains me to report that since their renovation late last year the quality of the food has really dropped. It is still unquestionably one of KL’s top high-end Malay restaurants and some of the dishes are excellent. However, others have suddenly become either annoyingly inconsistent or just downright mediocre.

I went with visiting friends and it proved one of the most frustrating places to review, as some in the group were raving about their fantastic meals while others could hardly get more than a few mouthfuls in. On the plus side, the fish was all excellent. The best meal of the night, by some way, was the Ikan Siakap Masak Asam Pedas (sea bass simmered in a tangy chilli and tamarind gravy, served with okra and aubergines), although the chicken in spicy curry was also very good. Onto the negatives and the biggest let-down was the Daging Rendang.

A dish perfected long ago and served up in countless eateries in KL, but since last year, the beef rendang at Bijan has been over-cooked, dry and tough. This put two of our group off the whole evening so that no matter how enthusiastic our friends were about their chicken and fish, the night had to be considered a disappointment. And that was before the Durian Cheesecake. This dessert was even more divisive than the main course. Durian, the ultimate acquired taste, has been taken by the Bijanistas and put into this unique cake. Fluffy, light, with a beautiful biscuit base, these positive features fade into insignificance due to the overpowering stench and taste of the ‘King of fruits’.

In my opinion this was just too much and ruined another delightful dessert. However, before I could even cover my mouth with a napkin to stop the odour burning a greater hole in my nostrils, no less than three of the party said ‘Aren’t you having yours?’ and looked at the pudding with hopeful eyes. The menu at Bijan often changes, so I hope that before long, the restaurant gets rid of the poorer dishes and replaces them with food to match the best that they produce.

If they do that, they will reclaim the heights they managed when winning various tourism and culinary awards a few short years ago. And if they manage that, I’ll even forgive them the Durian Cheesecake.



Contact:
Bijan, 3 Jalan Ceylon, KL.
Tel: 03 2031 3575

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Mon-Sat, 11am-2.30pm; 6pm-11pm;
Sun 3pm-11pm.

Cuisine:
Malay

Kohinoor

The entire review of Kohinoor’s could be summed up in a single word: good. Each dish is good, the service is good, the atmosphere also good. However, nothing seems to really exceed this level. Just as nothing is ‘average’ or ‘below par’, so nothing could be fairly called ‘very good’ and certainly not ‘excellent’.

The décor and faded exterior are probably the ropiest part but then it is a North Indian restaurant, an institution hardly renowned for their decorating prowess. However, otherwise, everything is, well, good. And that’s really nothing to be ashamed of. The majority of restaurants have at least one area that lets them down and Kohinoor’s all-round reliability is to be commended.

We ate a variety of dishes and the quality was very consistent in each. The mutton biryani boasted light, fragrant rice and reasonable meat. The tikka masala was a rich red and coated the tender chicken well. Our side dishes of palak paneer and sag aloo were also very tasty and by the time we had eaten the fresh garlic naan and spicy poppadums, the meal had totally filled us up.

The meal was served by several members of their very smiley and helpful team. The location on sweaty, dusty Jalan Yap Kwan Seng is hardly the most atmospheric in the city, however, it, like everything was still perfectly acceptable for a good, honest, North Indian meal.



Contact:
Lot- F31, F32 & F33, First Floor,
CapSquare Centre,
No.7, Persiaran CapSquare,
Capital Square,
50100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 2691 2036

Website:
www.kohinoor.com.my

Operating Hours:
Mon-Sun
11.30am-2.30pm;
6.30pm-10.30pm.

Cuisine:
Indian

Pakistani Stall

Fifteen Pakistanis can’t be wrong, or so I thought to myself as my dining companion and I snagged the only empty seats among the three tables fronting a less-than-nondescript stall at the end of Lorong Bunus Dua, off Jalan Masjid Jamek. And indeed, they weren’t.

Lahore native Osman and his brother Efan, who opened their simple kitchen in 2006, turn out KL’s fluffiest hot-from-the-tandoor naan and supple, wheaty chapatis, to eat with a variety of dishes, many of which change by the day. In Lahore, Osman trained as a cook and here, in his rustic back-alley kitchen, he excels at, well, just about everything, including keema, a ‘dry’ minced meat ‘curry’ dotted with peas; okra (slime-free and pleasantly toothsome) stewed with onions and a complex mix of spices; and fiery curried mutton tender enough to render chewing practically unnecessary.

Daily specials are the mark of a cook too dedicated to use short-cuts with laborious, time-consuming dishes. Here they include nihari, beef stewed with fragrant cardamom garnished with fresh ginger matchsticks (Sundays), haleem, a porridge made with beef, rice, and three types of pulses that Osman cooks for three hours (Wednesdays), and zarda, milky rice porridge (Fridays). Early risers can breakfast on the brothers’ living obscenely (
but delightfully) ghee-laden paratha accompanied by an omelette and a cup of hot Pakistani tea.

This certainly isn’t the place to take a first date, unless your date’s more interested in food than in you; the surroundings are basic at best and, on a hot day, the waves of heat rising from the tandoor bring the temperature up to something approaching that of Hades. That said, the service here is friendly, the welcome genuinely warm, and Osman, a shy but affable man, obviously derives great pleasure from seeing patrons enjoy their victuals. With Pakistani fare of this calibre, obliging him isn’t a problem.



Contact:
Pakistani stall,
Lorong Bunus Dua,
Off Jalan Masjid Jamek.
(look for the tandoor oven and the hanging pink hand-written menu).
Tel: N/A

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
7.30am-7pm daily.

Cuisine:
Asian

Chakri Palace

There’s no excuse for not being able to find Chakri Palace. It’s right where the escalators drop you off on the top floor of KLCC. With such a world of choice on that level, you could be forgiven if you haven’t made it into Chakri Palace yet. But I urge you to put that right.

The chirrups of ‘Sawadee-kup’ from the helpful staff as you enter the restaurant immediately put a smile on your face. And you know you’ll never have to wait long for service as the restaurant has a buzzer on your table encouraging you to press a button for service, or make a specific request for water or the bill.

Chakri Palace has to compete against several Thai places in the two KLCC food courts, as well as dozens of other restaurants in the mall, so they have done the right thing by making portion sizes large and kept prices relatively low. Our meal for two, plus drinks, came to RM60.

The green curry had a lovely kick to it. The spices especially crammed into the vegetables, which had clearly been marinated for some time to produce such a fabulous flavour. The sauce was a little too runny for me though, which is an unusual thing to say as normally I like to have something to mop up.

To accompany the curry I went for the pineapple rice. Served in a hollowed out half-pineapple, it contained various vegetables, juicy pineapple chunks and four small, tasteless prawns. The disappointing seafood aside, the rice was terrific and I loved the combination of the sweet pineapple and spicy curry when I mixed them.

My partner’s dish was also perfectly cooked and very tasty. She had glass noodles with chicken, which also had mushrooms cooked through it. A simple meal but even though it was an enormous portion, it was so moorish that it was quickly devoured.

The rest of the menu was extensive and there will certainly be something for everyone. Although, perhaps someone should tell them that chicken is not actually a vegetarian option.

Overall, the meal was very good and I would recommend Chakri Palace to any visitor to KLCC who appreciates good Thai food and wants a step-up from the food court.



Contact:
417B, (Level 4), Suria KLCC,
50088, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 2382 7788

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
10am - 10pm

Cuisine:
Thai

New Moghul House

New Moghul House (as the sign calls it, although their website is www.mogulhouse.com, the missing ‘h’ causing a few headaches when I’ve subsequently tried to research my takeaway order) serves very good food and the staff are lovely, but they never seem overly busy.

The staff hover outside beckoning you as they do at several other eateries on Changkat Bukit Bintang, and perhaps having another North Indian (Ghazal) next door doesn’t help, but anyone who has eaten at Mogul/Moghul House will be surprised that such a decent restaurant doesn’t have more regular business.

When I went recently, I was guided to try out a couple of the house specialities; a sheesh kebab starter and a side of palak paneer. To be honest, I wouldn’t agree that they were necessarily the dishes to be most proud of. I’m not the biggest spinach fan anyway but while I did wolf it all down, I have had better.

However, my friend thought they were very good, and I shared his enthusiasm for the other dishes we ordered. My chicken jalfrezi was outstanding, with a sharp, rich sauce and appropriate amount of spices and chillies that coated the meat and vegetables ideally. His mutton dopiaza was also perfectly prepared and cooked, while my wife was very complimentary about her butter chicken (slightly spicier than she expected but it worked). My friend’s wife was the least satisfied of the group, her chicken pasanda appearing to contain a less high quality meat than the other chicken dishes, although the gravy tasted fine.

To accompany those we sampled a few different types of rice, the biryani being their best, and shared some naan. The aforementioned palak paneer topped off a very filling meal that had started with gorgeous roasted spicy poppadums served with two powerful, delicious chutneys, one a minty green and the other a deeper red sauce. With such rich flavours and spices so early on, we were soon ordering plenty of Tiger beer to keep our mouths cool. However, even after a few lagers, the food was good enough to stick in the memory.



Contact:
No. 32, Changkat Bukit Bintang,
50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 2141 5211

Website:
www.mogulhouse.com

Operating Hours:
11.30am - 2.30pm;
5.30pm - 11.30pm daily.

Cuisine:
Indian

Rain Nudle House

Ever left a restaurant and found that for the rest of the day your throat was dry and you needed to drink gallon after gallon of water? Well, that’s what happened to us after eating at Rain.

We phoned them to ask if they use MSG and they confirmed “just a little”.

While not actually harmful, the salt is sprinkled into your food and, as with us, makes you very thirsty. Most modern restaurants have stopped using MSG but not Rain.

Which is a real shame as the food really was worth writing home about. We loved the green curry, which stood up against any in town. Even those at high-end Thai restaurants. We also shared a couple of noodle dishes which were packed with flavour and impeccably cooked.

Credit must also go to them, because my wife can’t eat seafood and so not only did they remove any trace of seafood from the noodles she ordered but they even gave us a complimentary serving of chicken and vegetables to compensate for the lack of prawns in her noodles.

They’ve done very well with the décor and ambience, too. You can easily forget that you are sat right next to the bustling mania of the Pavilion food court, so while some of the piped music choices are a little strange (Spice Girls? In a Thai restaurant? Really?), it works.

The price is also exceptionally reasonable (4 main courses, drinks and side orders of fish cakes for less than RM65). I’d go so far as to say that Rain Nudle House is the best value Thai food in KL. So, lose the MSG, guys. You owe it to yourselves.



Contact:
Lot 1.188, Level 1, Pavilion KL,
Jalan Raja Chulan,
50200, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 2141 8708

Website:
www.seacuisine.com.my

Operating Hours:
10am - 10pm

Cuisine:
Thai

Little Penang Kafe

The lack of empty tables at the Little Penang Kafe tells its own story. This is a popular eaterie. Although you wouldn’t know that from the number of diners remarking that the food in Penang is so much better.

And you know what? The food in Penang is so much better. But we’re not in Penang and it is fair to say that this is the next best thing. Little Penang Kafe’s meals are good, served quickly, and reasonably priced at RM9.80 (set lunches are a little more). At those prices, it is hard to find fault with it.

My friend failed to finish his Hokkien Mee, although that was mainly to do with the huge portion size. My Penang-style beef curry set lunch was nice—very spicy and full of flavour. Although the accompanying lor bak (made with chicken—LPK is fully halal) was a little oily for my taste. The Char Kway Teow was particularly good. My eating companion remarked that it is the best she has had outside of Penang. Which is no light recommendation.

The atmosphere is light and the quick turnaround in service makes this a good spot for lunch, whether you’re at The Curve, Mid Valley or KLCC. Nyonya food may be better in Penang, but that’s a mighty long drive when you’re out shopping in KL.



Contact:
Lot 409-411, 4th Floor,
Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur City Centre,
50088 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 2163 0215

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
11.30am - 9.30pm

Cuisine:
Chinese

Karl's Beisl

Celebrated for its delectable roasted pork knuckles, roasted suckling pig, homemade sausages and apple strudels, Austrian restaurant Karl’s Beisl is a haven to all pork lovers. The restaurant serves hearty Austrian home-cooked cuisine paired with imported European beers and wines to comfort homesick Europeans and those who want a taste of Europe. The small cosy restaurant provides an intimate dining experience and the old-school European bar with classic wooden furniture is well received by those who want to kick back with a pint or two after work.

Karl's Beisl is a finalist in the Time Out KL Food Awards 2009 Best European Restaurant category. The Time Out KL's food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL. This way, we guarantee that popularity and consistent performance is rewarded.



Contact:
Solaris Mont Kiara
Tel: 03 6204 0628

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
N/A

Cuisine:
European

Restaurant Mama’s Kitchen

This popular shop steps from Devi’s Corner in TTDI is absolutely packed on weekends and does a pretty brisk business at lunch and dinner during the week as well. The friend who sent me here for the claypot loh she fun did so with a warning: ‘Don’t go really hungry, because your wait will probably be way looooong.’ One way around the long wait is to go at an off hour; at 2:30pm on a Thursday the resto had few patrons.

I’m going to be frank and admit that I have an immediate dislike for any place where the waiter takes one look at my white face and then presumes to suggest what I would or wouldn’t like to eat. Potato leaf with fermented bean curd, please. ‘Really? Do you know what that is? Do you really think you can take that?’ I do, and I do.

Quibbles aside, the service here is fairly prompt, if a bit befuddled. Potato leaf appeared on the table in the form of kangkong, which I sent back. The server returned with the kangkong to ask if I really wanted to send it back. Well yes, since I ordered potato leaf, I would. Happily, an order of Mama’s famous loh she fun turned up just that, and it didn’t disappoint. When it arrived the dish was burping heat bubbles through the layer of semi-crisped chopped pork that capped the dish of noodles. On top, a sunny-yolked raw egg sat waiting to be stirred in. Chopped meat is augmented with slices threaded through the noodles, which are predictably chewy in that semi-gluten-ish rice flour sort of way. For me the whole dish was a bit underseasoned, but that’s easily remedied with a bit of soy from the bottle on the table.

As for those potato leaves, they did finally arrive, bathed in a creamy, slightly tartish fermented bean curd sauce and crowned with a mound of browned sliced shallots. Baby gailan was cooked to that clichéd but much appreciated crisp-tender stage, its vegetal greenness balanced by the sharp saltiness of super cruncy ikan bilis.

Mama’s menu is extensive, covering a range of standard stir-fries, soups, and rice and noodle dishes. While not exactly upscale, the décor is a cut above your average open-air restaurant. Judging from the claypot loh she fun, further exploration might be warranted.



Contact:
Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, TTDI
Tel: 03 7729 3030

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
N/A

Cuisine:
Chinese

Marmalade

Western. This is a homely, family oriented café that specialises in wholesome comfort food. Most of them healthy too! The salads and gourmet sandwiches are casual, refreshingly inventive and almost summery. Marmalade will probably remind you of Nigella Lawson. And not because the waiting staff all have big bottoms.

The Time Out Food 40 is our regular definitive guide on where to eat in the Klang Valley. Establishments will only appear in the TOKL Food 40 if they rank amongst the best and most satisfying dining experiences according to our team of independent, honest and experienced food critics.



Contact:
E-0-1, Ground Floor,
Block E, Plaza Mont Kiara.
No. 2, Jalan Kiara,
Mont Kiara.
Tel: 03 6201 1743

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
8.30am-9.30pm daily.

Cuisine:
Western

Pride of India

Pride of India serves up colourful and aromatic dishes that are mostly of North Indian origin, as such most dishes are mild, but there are some that’s based off the South Indian fare, which means they’re really spicy, so you should think twice before jumping straight in with the spoon. Spicy dishes or not, you’re definitely spoilt for choices here. Decorations are minimal, but arranged neatly, giving the impression of a really spacious room.

Pride of India is a finalist in the Time Out KL Food Awards 2009 Best Indian Restaurant category. The Time Out KL's food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL. This way, we guarantee that popularity and consistent performance is rewarded.



Contact:
7G Jalan 22A/70A,
Wisma CKL,
Desa Sri Hartamas
Tel: 03 6201 4477

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
N/A

Cuisine:
Indian

Izakaya Ichiban

Traditional izakayas were once the stomping ground of the weary Japanese businessman, out for drinks after slaving away at work. These days, it seems the izakaya attracts a larger circle of clientele – Izakaya Ichiban, for one, was patronised by diners ranging from couples to families when we made our trip there.

Amidst snug surroundings (warm yellow lighting, earthy décor) we started with the cool, chilly kai sen salad. Lettuce and cucumber were tossed with raw scallops, sweet shrimp and a smattering of tobiko (flying fish caviar) before being drizzled with wasabi dressing and mayonnaise. The scallops and shrimp were sweet and fresh; however, the wasabi dressing barely made a blip. It’s not that I enjoy ingesting large quantities of the piquant paste, but slightly more wasabi would have added a zingy kick.

The una tama toji (eel cooked with eggs, onions and mushrooms) was great comfort food, and it would have been even better if the eel hadn’t been quite so riddled with bones – there seemed to be more than usual. Nevertheless, the clear consommé the eel had been cooked in was eagerly slurped up by all.

The chicken teriyaki wasn’t a very adventurous choice, but we were pleasantly surprised at how well the sticky-sweet teriyaki sauce went with the nicely browned chicken. The slightly more exciting sounding tofu gratin, on the other hand, was a letdown: beneath the blanket of cheese lay a gluey sludge that tasted how we imagine melted plastic would. Thankfully Ichiban’s new Hawaiian maki, just one of the many innovative makis on offer, came next. The compact maki were topped with slices of smooth, pearly pink salmon, and a novel touch came in the form of apple mayonnaise and apple-flavoured masako (capelin roe) daubed on top. Refreshing and zesty, it made a successful, if slightly strange, combination.

Food might have been a little inconsistent, but service was prompt, with spillage being cleaned up in a jiffy. A tip: if you’re having trouble combing through the very extensive menu, get recommendations from the head waitress – as we mulled over ordering yaki udon, she told us smilingly, ‘We don’t do that so well here.’ Top marks for honesty, at the very least.



Contact:
Lot P, 3-M Plaza,
Ground floor,
Hartamas Shopping Centre,
60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
Tel: 03 6201 5905

Website:
www.izakayaichiban.com

Operating Hours:
Mon-Sat, 12noon-3pm; 6-11pm;
Sun & public holidays, 12noon-3.30pm; 5.30-10.30pm.

Cuisine:
Japanese

Rakuzen

Situated in one of the quieter shopping malls in town, Rakuzen is home to some of the better Japanese food in KL. A popular restaurant, you’ll be lucky if you are immediately seated without a reservation, especially during dinner when the restaurant is packed. I waited 35 minutes for a table but it was worth it.

The restaurant is tastefully decorated with bamboo, giving it a relaxing and tranquil feeling. It is divided into a sushi bar section and the rest of the restaurant is divvied up into rooms with private booths of various sizes. Some of the booths have sliding doors which allow them to become private dining rooms, sealed off from the rest of the restaurant. There are often Japanese diners in the various booths on business dinners which speaks volumes for the quality of the food.

One thing that you will notice in Rakuzen is the extensive menu, with a variety of speciality dishes. What Rakuzen is known for, however, are their dragon rolls which are made with tiger prawns, fried tempura style and then wrapped in sashimi rice together with mayonnaise, topped up with roe and thinly-sliced avocado.Though you can find them in other Japanese restaurants in town, Rakuzen’s are on a different level altogether. As soon as the pieces touch your tongue, you taste the freshness of the ingredients and the soft yield of the rice and avocado slices, before tasting the crispy tempura batter and the sweet flesh of the prawn. A visit here is simply incomplete without ordering this.

Also, a personal favourite of mine is the chawamushi. Not a fan of this dish elsewhere, I do like the Rakuzen version which is fresh and creamy without the slight fishy smell you find elsewhere. Once again, the freshness of the dish is impressive, a theme that repeats throughout the menu. From the tepanyaki and teriyaki, to the gyudon and soba, you will be hard-pressed to find fault with the dishes served. The service is also excellent, with the wait staff blending into the background, appearing only when you need them. Though the price is slightly on the pricier side, the quality of the food makes up for it tenfold.



Contact:
Lot P17, Plaza ground floor,
Hartamas Shopping Centre,
60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1,
Sri Hartamas
Tel: 03 6201 2060

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
Mon-Thur, 11.30am-3pm & 6-11pm.
Fri-Sun & public holidays, 12noon-11pm.

Cuisine:
Asian

Daorae Garden

Korean isn’t quite spur-of-the-moment food; diving into all that garlic and chilli requires a bit of advance planning. And whomever you plan to spend the rest of the post-meal day with had better partake with you, because you know what they say about garlic breath (it’s best shared). But issues such as these needn’t be considered if you’re pondering a visit to Dorae Garden. Let’s call it the perfect restaurant for those who want to eat Korean but don’t want to smell like it for the rest of the day.

Don’t be misled by the kickoff complimentary soup. Clear of broth and richly meaty, it’s spicy enough to clear sinuses and set lips abuzz, but these sensations were not once repeated over the course of our recent lunch. Kimchi jigae, a flame-red stew packed with pork, chunks of kimchi, and soft bean curd was tasty, comforting, and certainly filling but left us waiting, in vain, for the fiery punch that Korean food is known for. In Korea, barbecue is where it’s at, and Dorae does a good job prepping its meats for the grill. The restaurant’s in-table ‘cues don’t get quite hot enough (or are not allowed to preheat long enough) to properly char the meat, but despite their necessarily long turn over the (fake) coals both bulgogi (sliced sirloin) and go chu jan sam kyb sal (thinly sliced pork) tasted fine, hinting at soy and sugar marinade, and were exceptionally tender. Extra salad leaves for wrapping are available on request and at no extra charge, and whole garlic cloves are heated in a bit of oil at the side of the barbecue to mellow (but not obliterate) their intensity. Unfortunately, however, the accompanying bean paste tasted mostly of salt and was curiously flat, devoid (again) of that characteristic Korean kick.

Perhaps the biggest ‘eh’ moment of our meal came when the panch’an (small dishes) were delivered. Kimchi and ggakdugi (cubed daidon given the kimchi chilli treatment) were fine, if on the mild side, and it’s hard to go wrong with kong namul (cool blanched bean sprouts dressed with sesame oil), but fern shoots were mushy, pajeon (thin pancake of green onion) greasy and flabby, and the heavily mayonnaise-dressed macaroni salad just plain perplexing. Service is attentive, management obviously makes every effort to take care of its customers, and the restaurant’s light-filled upstairs dining room is a pleasant spot in which to kick back (shoeless). But Dorae Garden serves Korean lite, fare that hints at the real deal but pulls back at the last minute. Perfect for the delicate palate, but a bit of a disappointment



Contact:
27-29 Jalan 23/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas,
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 6203 2616

Website:
N/A

Operating Hours:
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Cuisine:
Asian