Song Lim Restaurant

Song Lim Restaurant is a Chinese kitchen with an extensive menu and a reputation built on its creamy butter loh shi fun. The room splits into an air-conditioned section and an open-air one — the regulars tend to sit outside.

Worth being straight about: the dish it is known for is the one that disappoints.

What to Order at Song Lim

Skip the creamy butter loh shi fun (RM19, small). The gravy arrives watery rather than golden, with a curry-powder aftertaste and a strong dried-shrimp note doing more work than the butter — not the decadence the name promises.

Order the creamy butter chicken (RM34, small) instead. Same idea, executed properly: the gravy thick and fragrant with curry leaves, the chicken still crisp under it.

The special sauce steamed tilapia (RM8 per 100g) is the other one to get — fresh fish in a garlicky, savoury gravy with a light heat off bird's eye chilli. Threadfin and garoupa can be cooked the same way if you would rather not have tilapia.

For steamed fish or butter chicken in a classic Chinese restaurant, Song Lim is worth the trip — just not for the dish it is famous for.