Bangsar Venicia

Bangsar Venicia is a Chinese restaurant tucked inside Bangsar Puteri Condominium, and finding it is part of the experience — the signage is minimal, so look for the entrance marked Lobby, or ask the guard to point you. It has run long enough to be a regulars' place, the sort of room Bangsar residents have been bringing family to for over a decade.

What to Order at Bangsar Venicia

The Nyonya pucuk paku (RM16, small) is the one to order first: rich with coconut milk, carrying real depth from the belacan, lemongrass and spices, and the fern kept tender rather than fibrous. Sambal petai prawn (RM38) is good enough to convert people who avoid petai — the beans crunchy and tender with barely any odour, the prawns plump, the sambal aromatic and spice-forward.

The curry fish head is the crowd order, and you can see it on half the tables; the flavours build gradually rather than arriving all at once. Jiang Nam prawn rounds out the signatures.

For a curry fish head in Bangsar or Chinese food in Bangsar Puteri, this is the neighbourhood institution hiding behind an unmarked lobby door.