KL's food scene,
curated for you
Discover where KL is eating, drinking, and exploring - updated from top local blogs and publications.
Baofoods, Subang Jaya
Lèk by Lala Chong, Ara Damansara
Lèk by Lala Chong is a seafood restaurant in Ara Damansara — clams, crabs, cuttlefish — and the next-generation offshoot of Lala Chong, the long-running PJ institution. What to Order at Lèk The LaLa Kuey Teow is the dish that justifies the spin-off: a wat tan hor treatment of the fried mee hoon with lala that made the original famous. It arrives steaming in a gravy of ginger, spring onions and silky egg, loaded with fresh clams. The crab meat fried rice is a Lèk exclusive, not available at the parent restaurant. For lala in Ara Damansara or seafood in Petaling Jaya, this is the younger branch of a name people have trusted for years.
Bukchon Street, The Row
Bukchon Street is a Korean cafe at The Row, Kuala Lumpur, named for Seoul's Bukchon Hanok Village and built to echo its alleyways. What to Order at Bukchon Street The dak-kkochi — grilled chicken and scallion skewers — are the savoury order. The hotteok are pan-fried to order, which matters with a filled doughnut like this: choose the classic brown sugar with honey, or the Malaysian pandan version. The soymilk bingsu is the reason to stay. It comes as a full bowl with misugaru, Jeju yuza, almonds and pumpkin injeolmi, or in takeout cups with matcha and red bean if you are walking on. For Korean snacks in Kuala Lumpur or bingsu at The Row, Bukchon Street is the alleyway version rather than the mall one.
Meat Feds, Petaling Jaya
Meat Feds is a non-halal steakhouse in Petaling Jaya built around the cuts most Klang Valley steakhouses ignore. While almost everyone else works the same three premium cuts — striploin, tenderloin, rib eye — chefs Yenni Law and Shelly Saw went the other way, and now hold a Malaysia Book of Records entry for the highest number of secondary cuts of steak on a restaurant menu: 20 of them. That is not a marketing line so much as a workload. Law began studying secondary cuts in 2017, and the kitchen still puts ten man-hours a week into butchery — processing the cuts, portioning them into single steaks, vacuum-packing them for the menu. What to Order at Meat Feds Order something you have not heard of. The premium three are the easy default anywhere in KL; the reason to come here is the other seventeen, and the fact that someone has spent seven years working out how to cook them. For a steakhouse in Petaling Jaya, or secondary cuts of beef in PJ, Meat Feds is the only kitchen in the country making this its whole argument.
Nasi Kerabu Tumis, Putrajaya
Fragrant blue rice meets wok-fired perfection in Putrajaya's beloved Malay comfort food destination.
D'Anjung, Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club
Discover authentic Malaysian home cooking elevated to fine dining at this heartland buffet concept.
Yang Yang Hong, Sitiawan
Flock, W Kuala Lumpur
Dolly Dim Sum
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.
Video: Ari X Gato Tea & Dining Bar, Damansara Perdana
Discover where contemporary tea culture meets elevated dining in Damansara Perdana's trendiest hotspot.
