KL's food scene,
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Round Pizza Napoletana

Modern Neapolitan pizza in the heart of Section 17. Their 48-hour fermented dough results in a 'leopard-spotted' crust that is remarkably light and airy. The 'Hot Honey' pepperoni is their signature. It retains a community feel, often packed with Section 17 residents and students from nearby universities.

Kani Kawa, Avenue K

Kani Kawa is a Japanese seafood and wagyu buffet at Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur, built around crab specialities and an extensive spread that changes with the season. Lunch and dinner run different menus, so it is worth checking which one you are booking. What to Expect at Kani Kawa Crab is the house speciality and the reason most people book. Beyond it, the buffet leans on seasonal ingredients and the wagyu selection, which is what has earned it a following among people who take their seafood seriously. The restaurant also takes part in a rotating bluefin tuna-cutting series shared among twelve partner restaurants across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang — a demonstration in which chefs break down a fish weighing over 100kg, with the fresh cuts going straight to buffet diners. It moves between venues month to month, so check whether Kani Kawa is hosting before planning a visit around it. For a Japanese buffet in KL or crab and wagyu at Avenue K, this is the address for it.

Merdeka Grill, Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur

Merdeka Grill is the sky-high dining room at Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, and its Champagne Brunch runs on the last Sunday of every month — a standing fixture rather than a one-off. What to Expect at the Champagne Brunch The draw is the seafood, and the range is genuinely unusual for KL: giant rock lobster, king crab, large prawns, and three varieties of fresh oysters sourced from Australia and the United States. Premium Japanese sashimi runs alongside — hamachi, salmon, tuna — with an Arctic shrimp tower, several kinds of smoked salmon, cold cuts, and cheese brought in from across the globe. It is priced and pitched as an indulgence rather than a casual Sunday lunch, so go on an empty stomach and treat it as the meal for the day. For a champagne brunch in Kuala Lumpur or a seafood buffet with a view, this is the monthly one to plan around. Check current pricing with the hotel before booking.

Irene, Shah Alam

Irene is a new cafe in Shah Alam with a deliberately shadowy, art-led room — closer to a considered interior than the usual bright neighbourhood coffee shop. The kitchen goes further than most cafes of its kind: it can put out a full meal, not just something to sit beside a flat white. What to Order at Irene The garlic shio pan is the bake to start with — crisp to the bite, buttery-soft through the middle, and aromatic with garlic, parsley and cheese. For something more substantial there is mushroom soup with sliced baguette, or a tempeh chickpea salad dressed in roasted sesame sauce. On a day when none of that appeals, the crunchy chicken burger with an iced dark chocolate — sweetened to your preference — is the indulgent pairing the kitchen suggests. For a cafe in Shah Alam or shio pan in Selangor, Irene is the one to sit in rather than take away.

SkyBar, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur

SkyBar sits on Level 33 of Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and the reason to go is the window: a straight-on view of the PETRONAS Twin Towers and the KL skyline. A recent refit added a vertical garden on the way in and softened the room toward something cosier than the usual rooftop. The pool sits in the middle of it and stays open to hotel guests until 7pm, at which point the deck turns over to the evening. What to Expect at SkyBar Music is the other half of the pitch. The room runs a K-array immersive sound system — the same setup David Guetta puts his name to — and the programming is built around it: DJ sets on Wednesdays, live bands Thursday through Saturday. Mixology has been pushed to the front of the offering since the refit. For a rooftop bar in Kuala Lumpur, or somewhere with a Twin Towers view and a live band on a Friday, SkyBar has been doing this longer than most of the competition.

Enzo Italian Cucina, Petaling Jaya

Enzo Italian Cucina is chef Enzo Dente's kitchen in Section 13, Petaling Jaya. Dente is from Naples and has been a familiar name to PJ's Italian regulars for decades, through Buonasera and Trattoria Verona before this. What to Order at Enzo Italian Cucina Both signature pastas are made in house and both lean on pork. The ravioli is loaded with pork belly, spinach, olives and roast capsicum. The gnocchi comes with pork bacon in a robust Gorgonzola and tomato sauce — the heavier of the two, and the one to order if you came hungry. For Italian in Section 13 or house-made pasta in Petaling Jaya, Enzo is the chef PJ has been eating from for twenty years, now cooking under his own name.

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Teng Haw Kedai Kopi, Kuantan

Teng Haw Kedai Kopi serves what locals will tell you is the best curry mee in Kuantan — and Kuantan curry mee is its own thing, distinct from the Klang Valley version. Go early. By 10.30am the brinjal yong tau fu is typically gone, and that is the piece worth queuing for; what remains tends to be ladies finger and tofu puffs. What to Order at Teng Haw Kedai Kopi The curry mee (RM6 small, RM8 large) is the order. The broth looks deceptively light, but the flavour arrives immediately — there is a layer of orange-flecked oil on top from the pecah minyak process, where the spices are fried until they split from the oil and turn aromatic. It is not the thick, heavy style; it carries its weight through santan and spice instead. Yong tau fu is picked from what is left by the time you arrive, and there is konlo (dark sauce) noodles for anyone at the table who cannot take the curry broth. For curry mee in Kuantan, this is the one people send visitors to.

Yi Ding U Cuisine, Pudu

Yi Ding U Cuisine is a Cantonese roast specialist in Pudu, known first for its Hong Kong-style roast goose. Two private rooms seat 10 to 12 each, with a minimum spend — call ahead if you want one. A practical warning before you go: it sits on the main road with no parking out front. You park behind and walk in through the back, which means entering through the kitchen. If that is not for you, get dropped at the front instead. What to Order at Yi Ding U Cuisine The roast goose (RM198, whole) is the reason to come and it delivers. Char siew (RM40, medium) has a properly sticky-sweet glaze, but ask for half lean and half fat — order it blind and you may get a lean cut that eats dry, where the right cut melts as you chew. Skip the siew yuk (RM75, large). The meat runs dry and the five-spice is heavy enough to flatten everything else on the plate. For roast goose in Pudu or Cantonese roast meats in Kuala Lumpur, Yi Ding U is worth the awkward entrance.

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