KL's food scene,
curated for you
Discover where KL is eating, drinking, and exploring - updated from top local blogs and publications.
Sept, Seventeen Mall
Sept is a Japanese cafe-bistro in Seventeen Mall, from the team behind N.I.C.E. Bistronome, THB Bistronome and Mala Bistronome — a group that has been quietly filling Petaling Jaya with small restaurants for years. It works in two registers: simple by day, a little more composed in the evening. What to Order at Sept Daytime is sandos and stir-fried udon — straightforward, bright-room food. From late afternoon the sushi rolls and rice bowls come out. The dish that shows what the kitchen can do is the beef hamburg: thick and tenderly meaty, topped with an onsen egg and finished with a beef jus that gives it a French edge. The unagi chawanmushi is the other one to order — satiny, custardy, and genuinely comforting. For Japanese food in Seventeen Mall or a bistro in Petaling Jaya that changes character through the day, Sept is the newest from a group that knows how to run one.
Thai In-Law, Taman Paramount
Thai In-Law is a Thai stall in Taman Paramount, operating out of O&S Restaurant. It is run by a Thai-Malaysian couple who spent years working together as airline crew before landing here, which is where the name and the flight jokes come from. What to Order at Thai In-Law The dry tom yam noodles are the signature: springy sen lek in a savoury-tangy seasoning, piled with minced pork, roasted peanuts, a runny egg, baby prawns and bean sprouts. For heat, order the tom yam mama zaab — instant noodles in a herb-simmered broth with pork balls, lime, egg and chillies, across six spice levels, so calibrate honestly. Desserts are made properly rather than bought in. The sangkaya is prepared fresh each morning with no preservatives, perfumed with pandan and heavy on Thai tea flavour, served with grilled toast or buns. The khao niao dam is warm, thick black glutinous rice under salted coconut cream and coconut ice cream. For Thai food in Taman Paramount or dry tom yam noodles in PJ, this is a two-person operation cooking well above its stall.
Homemade Ramen Muginae, Sin Chew Kee Road
Homemade Ramen Muginae is the Malaysian outpost of a well-regarded Tokyo shoyu specialist, on Sin Chew Kee Road in Kuala Lumpur. The broth is the whole argument: a chicken-and-seafood stock seasoned with shoyu tare, aiming for clarity and composure rather than the heavy richness most ramen shops chase. Springy, firm noodles run through it, topped with smoky sliced pork and beef. What to Order at Muginae Order the shoyu ramen first — it is what the Tokyo original built its name on, and the reason the branch exists. Where the KL branch differs is scale. The Tokyo shop is famously an intimate ramen-only counter; here there is a 16-seat counter, private rooms, and a full izakaya menu alongside. That runs from Faroe Islands salmon belly sashimi to yakitori working the unusual cuts — chicken neck, knee cartilage, Achilles tendon. For ramen in Kuala Lumpur or shoyu done with restraint, Muginae is the closest KL has to the Tokyo version of this.
Vincenzo's Pizzeria, Menara AmpleWest
Vincenzo's is a Neapolitan pizzeria in Menara AmpleWest, Kuala Lumpur. The dough is the argument: high-hydration, made with Caputo 00 flour and fermented for three days before it sees an oven. What to Order at Vincenzo's Start with the pizza blanketed in burrata, fior di latte, San Marzano tomatoes and basil — creamy and generous, and the clearest demonstration of what three days of fermentation buys you in the base. For Neapolitan pizza in Kuala Lumpur or somewhere to eat near Menara AmpleWest, Vincenzo's is the newest kitchen in town making dough the slow way.
Aliyaa, Bukit Damansara: The Sri Lankan Crab Table
Aliyaa is a Sri Lankan restaurant in Bukit Damansara, and its Sri Lankan Crab Table is a hands-on set meal built for sharing — Ceylonese tradition handled with contemporary technique. The crab is the reason it works. Live crabs are flown in from Sri Lanka twice weekly, which is what gets you the larger, sweeter, juicier animal, then slow-cooked in your choice of curry. What to Order at Aliyaa The Sri Lankan Crab Table runs RM188++ per person, minimum two people. Around the Signature Crab Curry centrepiece it brings Lankan Crab Cakes — pan-seared golden and spiced with Sri Lankan chilli powder, curry powder and black pepper — plus Crab-Infused Nandu Satti Sorru, Kadai Paan, Spring Onion Varai and Eggplant Moju. Dessert is a choice of Classic Lankan Biscuit Pudding or Sweet Appam. Add a wine pairing for RM135++ per person, or drink cocktails instead — the Highland Herbs and the Murungga, both built on Sri Lanka's Colombo Gin. For crab in Bukit Damansara or Sri Lankan food in Kuala Lumpur, this is the set to book a table around.
Major Tom Coffee, Cyberjaya
Major Tom Coffee is a coffee and chocolate bar at Tamarind Suites, Cyberjaya, poured by a husband-and-wife team. The name is for their cat, Tom — with a nod to Bowie. What to Order at Major Tom Coffee The pour-over selection changes monthly, and the current run spans Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Peru and Panama, so it is worth asking what has just landed rather than ordering from memory. The more unusual half of the counter is chocolate. Three single-origin Malaysian varieties are on offer, including Perak's Bagan Datoh 70% Dark — light and florally clean with a warm hint of spice, and a useful reminder that this country grows cacao as well as coffee. Address: FR-02-05, Tamarind Suites, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya, Selangor. For specialty coffee in Cyberjaya or Malaysian single-origin chocolate, Major Tom is the small operation doing both properly.
Day For It, Cyberjaya
Day For It is a Cyberjaya coffee bar run by Malik and Intan, a Malaysian husband-and-wife team who came home after years working in Ireland — Malik at Dublin's 3fe Coffee, which is where the bean list comes from. What to Order at Day For It The espresso currently runs 3fe-roasted El Salvador La Ilusión, punchy and silky with red apple and date, which is the one to take as a latte. 3fe's Nicaragua El Limoncillo is the recommendation for long blacks. Both are limited runs, so the list moves. The house single-origin is a Brazil Norte Pioneiro roasted by Subang's Simple Matter Coffee Co — boldly nutty with a caramelised chocolate depth, and the constant behind the rotating imports. To eat, the madeleines are home-baked to Malik and Intan's own batter recipe: feathery, fluffy and fragrant. For coffee in Cyberjaya or Irish-roasted beans in the Klang Valley, Day For It is the most direct line between Dublin and Selangor you will find.
nadodi kl launches new six-course tasting menu through tamil nadu, kerala and sri lanka
Nadodi is a South Indian and Sri Lankan fine-dining restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, run by the Cinnamon Group, and it now offers a six-course tasting menu alongside its longer nine-course format — a more compact way into the same cooking. Executive chef Yavhin Siriwardhana draws on his Sri Lankan and Malayali heritage, working classics of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka through fermentation, curing, charcoal and careful temperature control. What to Expect at Nadodi The opening tidbit reworks thosai as two slender crisp cones with sambar and coconut chutney, piped with potato masala churned into a savoury, stretchy ice cream — served with a welcome drink of watermelon, tamarind and chilli. The Three Regions follows as the first formal course. Further in: scallops with Momotaro tomato sorbet and chilled rasam dashi, warm ama ebi custard deepened with aged vadagam, and saffron biryani with blue crab curry. Menus change, so treat these as the register rather than a fixed list. For a tasting menu in Kuala Lumpur or modern South Indian fine dining in KL, Nadodi is the one that rewards the full sitting.
Smooft, Petaling Jaya
Smooft is a soy dessert counter in Section 17, Petaling Jaya — everything built on soy rather than dairy. What to Order at Smooft The soy soft serve is the whole menu in one order, and the toppings are where you make it your own: taro paste, water chestnut chewy balls, osmanthus crystal boba, grass jelly, longan. There is also a cocoa tiramisu-inspired version of the soft serve for anyone wanting something closer to a dessert than a snack. For soy desserts in Section 17 or dairy-free soft serve in Petaling Jaya, Smooft is the specialist rather than the sideline.
K Fry Urban Korean
Discover authentic Korean dishes meant for gathering and feasting together.
Stefania Osteria brings casual Italian cuisine to Republik Damansara Heights
Stefania Osteria is a casual Italian restaurant at Republik, Damansara Heights — wisteria over a teal awning and timber arches, styled as a terraced garden rather than a dining room. It is the relaxed sister to Stefania Ristorante Italiano at NAZA Tower, which runs a more elevated menu; the sourcing standard is shared, the formality is not. What to Order at Stefania Osteria For lunch the pastas are the anchor: spaghetti cacio e pepe, gnocchi al tartufo, rigatoni alla carbonara. Dinner shifts heavier — burrata-crowned pizzas, skirt steak, lamb rack — and the sharing plates work across both. There is also a hidden room. Stefania Lounge sits tucked inside the restaurant, speakeasy-style, for an aperitif before eating or cocktails and cigars after. Ask a member of staff to point you at it; that is rather the intention. For Italian in Damansara Heights or a hidden bar in Republik, Stefania Osteria is the approachable half of a two-restaurant family.
Fari & Ali's Kitchen widens culinary horizons with latest Persian & Mediterranean menu
Fari & Ali's Kitchen is a Persian and Mediterranean cafe in Bukit Damansara, run by cousins Athirah and Samira and named for their grandparents, whose photographs hang on the walls. The carpets, ornamental windows, paintings and ceramics all came back from family trips to Iran. It opens at 8am and serves the neighbourhood through the day; from Thursday to Saturday night the same room becomes Nooshe Jan, Leily Amini's Persian dinner kitchen. What to Order at Fari & Ali's Kitchen The latest menu adds pasta for the first time — a garlic-forward aglio olio and a herbaceous house-blended pesto. The salads lean on the founders' Persian heritage, laced with saffron chicken and creamy Iranian goat's milk cheese. For brunch there are Turkish-inspired eggs with herb yoghurt and chilli oil, and avocado toast with charred tomatoes and Iranian cheese. Finish with the Persian love cake and a Persian rosewater latte. For a Persian cafe in Bukit Damansara or breakfast in Damansara Heights with something behind it, Fari & Ali's is a family kitchen in the literal sense.