World City Guide

Restaurants

The selected restaurants have been divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.

The dining scene in Kuala Lumpur represents the dynamic ethnic make-up of the city. Local specialities include Chinese, Nyonya, Malay and Indian cuisine.

In addition to a 5% sales tax, most restaurants add a 10% service charge. The prices quoted below are for a three-course meal and a bottle of house wine or equivalent. They include sales tax but not service charge.

Gastronomic

Mahsuri
The Caracosa Seri Negara’s signature restaurant, rated as one of the best restaurants in the country by Malaysian Tatler, serves up a winning combination of Asian and continental cuisine. Recommended dishes include Szechuan peppered goose liver, tandoori spiced king prawns and seared duck breast. Guests dine in the refined, air-conditioned dining room or outside on the veranda, which has views of the city skyline. After dinner, residents and diners alike retire to the colonial Titiwangsa Bar, with its cigar divans, ceiling fans and cane chairs. The Sunday curry tiffin, where dishes on offer include Tandoori lamb, prawn masala, Sri Lankan fish curry, assorted Indian sweets and papaya lassi, is superb value.

Taman Tasik Perdana, Persiaran Mahameru
Tel: (03) 2282 1888. Fax: (03) 2282 7888.
E-mail: carcosa@mol.net.my
Website: www.carcosa.com.my
Price: RM220. Wine: RM100.

Rama V
Housed in the former Papua New Guinea Embassy, this classy Thai restaurant is situated in a charming garden and overlooks a lake. The restaurant is tastefully decorated with Thai artefacts and the quality of both food and service is excellent. The extensive menu features Thai staples, such as green curry, steamed sotong (squid), snapper and delicious prawn tom yam (soup). Behind the main dining hall, which seats 120 people, are five Thai-style private dining huts.

5 Jalan U-Thant, Ampang
Tel: (03) 2143 2663.
Price: RM110. Wine: RM75.

Seri Angkasa
The bland and functional decor of this 220-seater restaurant is compensated for by its spectacular views from its lofty locale atop one of the world’s tallest towers. Located 282m (925ft) above ground level in the landmark Menara Tower, this revolving restaurant guarantees diners 360-degree panoramic vistas across the city. For both lunch and dinner visits, there is a choice of either a Malaysian buffet, including satay and nasi goreng (mixed fried rice), or a more Western orientated a la carte menu, with such offerings as steak and chips. The edibles may be nothing special, but no one comes here for the food.

Menara Tower, Jalan Punchak
Tel: (03) 2020 5055. Fax: (03) 2034 2422.
E-mail: enquiries@serimelayu.com
Website: www.menarakl.com.my
Price: RM90. Wine: RM85.

Seri Melayu
A big favourite with foreign visitors, Seri Melayu is unbeatable for traditional Malay cuisine and culture. Set in landscaped gardens, the restaurant can accommodate up to 500 people, with the nightly cultural show and buffet menu being the biggest attractions. Dining from the extensive buffet is a great way to sample traditional Chinese, Malay and Indian dishes including kari ayam (chicken curry), ikan bilis (fried anchovies), mee rebus (noodles in a rich sauce) and roti canai (tasty Indian bread). Those who like the restaurant enough can buy the T-shirt, literally, at the on-site souvenir shop.

1 Jalan Conlay
Tel: (03) 2145 1833. Fax: (03) 2145 1755.
E-mail: enquiries@serimelayu.com
Website: www.serimelayu.com
Price: RM75. Wine: RM75.

Taman Sari
Literally translated as ‘The Garden of Flowers’, Taman Sari is a first-rate Malaysian restaurant, based at the Istana Hotel. There are 199 covers but things never feel too crowded, with views out over a landscaped garden and a swimming pool. Local delights are cooked immaculately, with highlights including the beef rendang, nasi lemak (rice with coconut milk, boiled with pandan or screw pine leaves) and the koay teoy goreng (flat, white rice noodles). The decor is tasteful with batiks and wicker chairs echoing the Malaysian theme and the service is smooth.

73 Jalan Raja Chulan
Tel: (03) 2141 9988, ext. 3667. Fax (03) 2144 0111.
E-mail: istana.hik@meritus-hotels.com
Website: www.hotelistana.com.my
Price: RM100. Wine: RM80.

Business

Kampachi
Reservations are a must at this award-winning Japanese restaurant. The Kampachi, one of Hotel Equatorial’s signature restaurants, has been serving up staple Japanese dishes from Ginza for more than 25 years and also offers some more adventurous dishes like gindara (grilled codfish) and maki (soft-shelled crab). This traditionally decorated restaurant also has a wide selection of set dinners and an impressive Sunday buffet brunch, which features sushi, sashimi and tempura dishes and is priced from RM60. There are also two private tatami rooms.

Hotel Equatorial, Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2161 7777. Fax: (03) 2161 9020.
E-mail: info@kul.equatorial.com
Website: www.equatorial.com
Price: RM110. Wine: RM85.

Lafite
Lafite is the Shangri-La Hotel’s exclusive French restaurant. Having undergone a RM3.8million transformation in March 2002, it has cemented its position as one of the finest restaurants in KL (and indeed the whole of Malaysia). The standard of food and service is always high, making the restaurant a popular venue for business lunches and dinners. The chandeliers, the tall windows overlooking the garden, the fresh flowers and the impeccable silver service combine to give the restaurant a refined and classical atmosphere. The restaurant offers foie gras, excellent seafood dishes and ornate desserts, all imaginatively and expertly cooked. The lunch and dinner buffets, which offer a choice from at least six mains, are good value, while chef George Jardine’s multi-course tasting menu is stunning with first-class wines accompanying the myriad flavours and textures that are conjured up with the seemingly endless courses.

Shangri-La Hotel, 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2032 2388 or (03) 2074 3900. Fax: (03) 2070 1514.
E-mail: slkl@shangri-la.com
Website: www.shangri-la.com
Price: RM190. Wine: RM90.

Pacifica Grill and Bar
Opened in 1998, the signature restaurant of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel offers diners a cocktail of Asian flavours. The 116-seater restaurant is modern and stylish with an open kitchen. Guests can also book two smaller private dining rooms. Examples of the innovative dishes include lemongrass skewered scallops, black cod fish fillet and barbecue duck tortillas. There is also a trendy bar area with seating for 22 guests.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Tel: (03) 380 8888. Fax: (03) 2179 8659.
E-mail: mokul-reservations@mohg.com
Website: www.mandarin-oriental.com/kualalumpur
Price: RM110. Wine: RM85.

Toh Lee
This award-winning Chinese restaurant has around 50 varieties of dim sum on its lunch menu. Must-tries include the steamed har gaw (prawn dumplings), fried taro cake and glutinous rice in a lotus leaf. The chicken, vegetable and beef Szechuan and Cantonese specialities are also very popular. Master chef Loh Chon Hor also conjures up a wide variety of exotic fish specialities, including baked abalone with goose liver pâté. In addition to the spacious and welcoming main restaurant with its 208 seats, there are six private rooms available to diners.

Hotel Nikko, 165 Jalan Ampang
Tel: (03) 2161 1111. Fax: (03) 2161 1122.
E-mail: sales@hotelnikko.com.my or guest@hotelnikko.com.my
Website: www.hotelnikko.com.my
Price: RM85. Wine: RM75.

Villa Danieli
Set in the landscaped gardens alongside the outdoor pool at the Sheraton Imperial, the Villa Danieli is one of KL’s premier business restaurants. The Italian menu is fresh and creative, with starters the likes of octopus carpaccio or the more traditional tomato and mozzarella salad. The highlights on the main menu are the roasted sea bass fillet and the braised lobster with tomato, bell pepper, basil and chilli. The homemade tiramisu might well be the best in the city. The decor is unfussy and simple – perfect for a relaxed lunch or a more formal evening meal.

Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2717 9900. Fax: (03) 2717 9999.
Website: www.luxurycollection.com/kualalumpur
Price: RM140. Wine: RM70.

Trendy

Azur
Azur is a large, spacious and stylish Mediterranean restaurant with a wall of windows that provide stunning views over Malaysia’s new administrative capital, Putrajaya. This new restaurant space looks as good as the rest of this ultra stylish boutique-style hotel. Highlights on an appealing menu include warm lobster and shellfish salad with French beans, cherry tomatoes and black olives, Azur coast seafood casserole and Greek chicken supreme stuffed with baby spinach and raisins. The cooking is light and creative, perfect for a business lunch, but with enough substance to make for a fulfilling dinner also.

Taman Putra Perdana, Presint 1, 62000 Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya
Tel. (03) 8887 8888. Fax: (03) 8887 8889.
E-mail: slpt@shangri-la.com
Website: www.shangri-la.com
Price: RM95. Wine: RM80.

Citrus Rouge
The sister restaurant to Scalini’s (see below) is this recently renovated and trendy café, Citrus Rouge, which serves up contemporary European and Asian fare in a funky red, gold and gauzy white dining area. The decor looks more like a James Bond set than a restaurant. Dishes on offer include oysters, sushi rolls, steamed lobster and fantastic salads. Live jazz, the bustling dance floor, fabulous cocktails and the cigar divan also serve to make Citrus Rouge a popular choice for an evening’s entertainment.

19 Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2142 5188. Fax: (03) 2148 9323.
Price: RM70. Wine: RM70.

Q*doz
Bangsar Baru’s most stylish restaurant and wine bar can seat up to 70 diners and specialises in Oriental and Western fusion food. Recommended dishes served up in the spacious mottled aqua and green dining area include panna cotta of strawberries lightly spiced with green peppercorn, ostrich fillet or lobster and mango salad. The service is impeccable, the food excellent and the wine list extensive, facts that are reflected in the high prices charged by this classy restaurant.

57-59 Jalan Telawi Tiga, Bangsar Baru
Tel: (03) 284 3699. Fax: (03) 283 3391.
Price: RM100. Wine: RM85.

Scalini’s La Piccola Italia
Reservations for this contemporary Italian restaurant are essential. Housed in a colonial-style bungalow on a hill overlooking the Golden Triangle, Scalini’s has been transformed into a minimalist restaurant with three distinct dining spaces, ambient lighting and an open pizza kitchen. The stunning decor is by New York design guru Tony Chi. Ever popular are the excellent wood-fired pizzas, home-cooked soups and pastas. Other tempting dishes include foie gras, pan-fried scallops, beef carpaccio and honey-glazed duck breast.

19 Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2145 3211.
Price: RM60. Wine: RM65.

Shook
Shook is a fashionable fusion restaurant, located in the basement of the Starhill Shopping Centre, serving grill, Italian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Clean lines, open-plan kitchens set up as counters, unpolished stone walls and a glass-fronted walk-in wine cellar, with more than 3,000 bottles, distinguish this stylish restaurant. The mellow ambience and fine food are complemented by live jazz and flawless service. Grill mains include steak and lamb shank. The Italian counter offers the perfect pizza margherita and the Chinese and Japanese counters serve up delicious fried rice and tempura.

Lower Ground Floor, Starhill Shopping Centre, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Tel: (03) 2716 8535.
Price: RM90. Wine: RM75.

Budget

Chow Kit Market
During the day, the large and buzzing Chow Kit Market, located at the northern end of Jalan TAR, is Kuala Lumpur’s biggest food market, selling fruit, vegetables, tofu, spices, meat and fish, as well as live worms, crabs and lobsters. The hawker stalls dish up tasty roti canai and nasi campur (rice served with an array of meat, fish and vegetable dishes). As the day market transforms into a bustling night market, the assortment of food still on offer includes the ever-popular nasi lemak (coconut rice with fried anchovies, peanuts and curry sauce).

Jalan Sultan
Price: RM6. Unlicensed.

Jalan Alor
Jalan Alor is a lively street, running parallel to Jalan Bukit Bintang in the heart of the Golden Triangle. It comes alive every night with the sights and smells of hawker cooking and pavement cafés. This is a one-stop street for Cantonese and Parakan food. Dishes to look out for include won ton mee (shredded chicken or braised beef noodle soup), nasi lemak (coconut rice with fried anchovies, peanuts and curry sauce) and delicious chicken satay. Main courses can be washed down with a large cold beer or some exotic fresh fruit juice. If the proprietor does not sell the dish or drink ordered, he will often go and purchase it from another hawker.

Jalan Alor
Price: RM6. Beer: RM5.

Jalan Masjid India
Jalan Masjid India, or Little India, is at the heart of a thriving neighbourhood built up around the district’s mosque. During the day, the hawker stalls along this colourful and vibrant street offer tasty Indian snacks, like samosa, ghulab jamun (sweet dumpling-like dessert) and vadai (a snack made with yellow slit peas, ginger, curry leaves, onions and masala), which can be washed down with the black cincau (grass jelly drink) or pink air bandung (syrup drink). For those wanting a sitdown meal, the numerous budget cafés dish up delicious roti canai (tasty Indian bread), biriyani (rice and curry dish) and dhal (curried lentils).

Jalan Masjid India
Price: RM4. Unlicensed.

Jalan Petaling
Delicious hawker food is served all day in the area around Chinatown’s Jalan Petaling. Early risers can feast on steamed dumplings or porridge. By midday, the early-morning hawkers are joined by those selling duck rice and fish ball noodles. In the evening, the streets close to cars and the night market begins. Tables and chairs pour out onto the streets as cafés and hawker stalls cook up grilled satay, fried vegetable noodles and roast chicken, which can be washed down with soya bean milk or cold beer purchased from one of the street cafés.

Jalan Petaling
Price: RM6. Beer: RM5.

Wei Kee Restoran
The speciality in this budget restaurant is roast goose, which they claim to import from China; the roast duck is also delicious. The Wei Kee also serves up typical Cantonese dishes and cured foods. The biggest drawback for some in this basic, no-nonsense restaurant may be the absence of air conditioning. For large parties or those wishing to take away, a whole goose can be purchased.

50 Lorong Yap Hin
Tel: (03) 221 8428.
Price: RM14. Unlicensed.

Personal Recommendations

Bon Ton
One of the city’s eating institutions since it opened in 1987, Bon Ton is housed in an old Chinese bungalow and has been renovated with ethnic furnishings. The high ceilings and large windows make this light dining venue the perfect space to indulge in a cuisine that typically combines international and Malacca Straits Chinese or Nyonya flavours. Highly recommended are the Asian antipasti, pan-fried sole fillet, Nyonya laksa (yellow noodles in a thick curry sauce with coconut, prawns, fish cake, quails egg and fried bean curd, spiced with ginger and garlic) and the constantly changing local set menu. Other attractions in this relaxed and welcoming restaurant are the impressive views of the Petronas Towers and the frequent exhibitions of local art.

6 Jalan Stonor, off Jalan Kia Peng
Tel: (03) 2141 2988 or 2141 3848.
Fax: (03) 2142 0633.
Price: RM100. Wine: RM80.

Celestial Court
One of the city’s best upmarket Chinese restaurants, Celestial Court offers a wide range of mainly Cantonese dishes, served up in a smart room, which incorporates aspects of traditional Chinese architecture into a bright modern space. Crispy duck and Szechuan chicken are done well, although adventurous diners may want to delve into the delights of shark fin soup, octopus with jelly fish and boiled bird’s nest. Tables are well spread out and an air of calm pervades, making this the perfect venue for entertaining clients with serious business in mind.

Sheraton Imperial, Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2717 9900. Fax: (03) 2717 9999.
Price: RM150. Wine: RM70.

Chalet
Approaching its 30th year, the Hotel Equatorial’s Swiss restaurant has firmly established itself on the Kuala Lumpur dining circuit. The chef conjures up culinary delights such as grilled fillet of cod and pan-fried veal that are served up in tasteful and traditional wooden surrounds. The wine list is as impressive as the menu with quality French, European and New World wines.

Hotel Equatorial, Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2161 7777. Fax: (03) 2161 9020.
E-mail: info@kul.equatorial.com
Website: www.equatorial.com
Price: RM100. Wine: RM80.

Eden Village Restaurant
This award-winning seafood restaurant is located on the edge of the Golden Triangle. Built in the style of a Malay house, it is famous for its shark’s fin dishes. Other favourites, served by waitresses wearing traditional dress, include kingdom of the sea (half a lobster baked with prawns, crab and cuttlefish), steak, and Western-style seafood dishes like Niçoise salad and New Zealand mussels. The sizeable wine list features mainly French, Italian and Australian wines. Tables on the terrace are particularly sought after.

Lot 260, Jalan Raja Chulan
Tel: (03) 2141 4027. Fax: (03) 2141 3408.
Price: RM80. Wine: RM75.

Tai Zi Heen
Although it has only been open for two years, the Tai Zi Heen has already established itself as one of the city’s best upmarket Chinese restaurants. The restaurant’s name translates as ‘prince’s court’, and this elegant and contemporary dining space does the name justice with gentle beige and cream hues, smooth wood, marble and glass surfaces. Dishes with a mainly Cantonese influence offered by Master Chef Chan Kong Tung include seafood fried rice with cod, abalone and shark’s fin and fresh scallops with beef and aubergine.

Prince Hotel & Residence, 4 Jalan Conlay
Tel: (03) 2170 8888 Fax: (03) 2170 8999.
Price: RM160. Wine: RM90.