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Malay Mail •

The Home Cooking Dishes, Sungai Way: Known for ‘tor dei char siew’ and poached ‘kampung’ chicken, but the roast pork steals the show

PETALING JAYA, July 12 — As a self-professed bak zaam gai (white cut chicken) fanatic, I’m often sent recommendations by friends and peers eager for my verdict on their local spots.Truth be told, not all of them pan out. But such is my enjoyment of the dish – I’ve been described as an iPad kid, but with the tablet swapped for white cut chicken – that even a halfway decent version can salvage an entire meal if the rest of the dishes fall short.Thankfully, that wasn’t the case at The Home Cooking...
Malay Mail •

Looking for your ‘ikan bakar’ fix? Head to Restoran Shin Lin Kee in PJ New Town

PETALING JAYA, July 9 — As a kid, my parents often encouraged me – in their own heavy-handed way – to try a wide variety of food.Some things were love at first sight: sambal belacan, roti bom, foie gras. Others, like abalone, baked beans, and durian... not so much.I remember slurping down my first snail with real joy. I also remember my first oyster slinking its way down my throat. I dreaded the oyster forever after.Naturally, I held a grudge.But my parents had a rule they practically beat into...
Malay Mail •

Wawafish: A Guizhou-flavoured gem in KL's Petaling Street

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Petaling Street has no shortage of “vibey” bars and restaurants, where tourists come in droves and atmosphere, aesthetic and alcohol tend to take precedence over culinary excellence. Collectively, these outlets engineer the feeling — no matter how fleeting — that you, too, belong to the trendy, hip crowd, provided you can get with the vibe. But that doesn’t mean there’s no good eating to be done around these parts. Street food remains a dependable option in some pockets, b...
Malay Mail •

Bacio, Mont Kiara: ‘Vitello tonnato’, ‘spaghetti aglio e olio’ and a lesson in true Italian hospitality

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Italian restaurants, by virtue of the cuisine’s unceasing universal appeal, are a dime a dozen in Kuala Lumpur. But the actual variety of dishes on offer remains limited to the specific brand of Italian cooking that’s proved popular with Malaysians: safe, uninspired pasta and pizza. And although we have finally started coming around to Neapolitan pizza in the last few years, our reluctance as diners to expand our palates beyond what our TikTok and Instagram algorithms tell...
Malay Mail •

Yan Kee, Pudu: A grandson’s attempt to carve out a claypot chicken rice legacy of his own, beyond Heun Kee’s shadow

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — When Heun Kee Claypot Chicken Rice in Pudu announced its permanent closure earlier this year, the news was met with a mixture of surprise and resigned acceptance. The bulk of it came from regulars who had been patronising the restaurant for the better part of two decades — before it received a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide. But confusion also followed. A similarly-named establishment in Taman Connaught, Cheras, acknowledged the closure, but put out a statement saying...
Malay Mail •

From Michelin-starred kitchens in Singapore to a food court in Kuala Lumpur: How Ong Ai Li and Josh Chua built Nude in Bangsar

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — A tiramisu costs RM15, and some passersby at Ong Ai Li’s old stall, Nude Bakery, in Kuchai wanted her to know exactly how outrageous that was. They didn't just say so; they brought proof.  “They would go out of their way,” Ong says. "They would go to the pasar malam and buy a tiramisu double the size of ours to show to my face and say, ‘Nah, see? This is a RM15 tiramisu!'" Looking back, Ong can only laugh. Just earlier that year, she was the Group Executive Pastry Chef at...
Malay Mail •

Bon appétit: What makes a restaurant a ‘bistro’ — and why is KL suddenly full of them?

COMMENTARY, June 21 — Take a gander on social media, or even swipe around on Google Maps, and it would seem the newest type of restaurant catching on in the Klang Valley is the bistro. It’s spread across the city, from the centre to neighbourhoods like Mont Kiara or TTDI, even all the way out in Bukit Jalil. Restaurants and cafés remain more prevalent for now, but the arrival of the bistro hasn’t been limited to physical restaurants; otherwise, Q Bistro and every other mamak with “bistro” in its...
Malay Mail •

Nasi Lemak Pak Man is Damansara Utama’s newest spot for ‘nasi lemak’, with satisfying ‘sambal paru’ and ‘rendang ayam’

PETALING JAYA, June 19 — Nasi Lemak Pak Man is the latest contender to enter Damansara Utama’s nasi lemak scene, throwing their hat into the ring with the likes of Village Park, Say Yes Cafe, a branch of Tanglin and many other roadside stalls in the area. The scene is a hotly contested one: on weekday mornings, it is not uncommon to see groups of working folks gathering around car boots and makeshift stalls to grab breakfast before heading into the office; on weekends, the line at Village Park s...
Malay Mail •

Reban in Aman Suria brings the farm-to-table approach to PJ with air-dried, antibiotic-free ‘kulit naga’ roast chicken rice

PETALING JAYA, June 14 — Remember when farm-to-table first burst onto the scene in restaurants throughout the Klang Valley? It’s okay, me neither. But then it got a rebrand: now, these restaurants have “seasonal” menus; the produce is “locally sourced” and “sustainable”; and each chef somehow has a personal connection with the farm even though they’re all using the same few suppliers.Alright, that last remark was a little unfair. You’ll encounter this mostly in fine dining restaurants, occasiona...
Malay Mail •

Capital cuisine: Three Beijing restaurants bringing China’s regional cuisines to Beijing’s fine dining tables

BEIJING, June 11 — Beijing does not immediately strike one as a culinary destination. The buildings are towers of glass and steel, the roads wide enough to lose yourself in, and the scale of the city is designed for movement. It is a capital in the most literal sense — built for business, not pleasure.Almost everyone I met on this trip had come from somewhere else. Our guide was from Nanjing. A chef from Henan. A waiter from Fujian. It is a city that has always drawn people in from the vast inte...
Malay Mail •

Capital cuisine: Two Beijing restaurants pushing the boundaries of modern Chinese fine dining

BEIJING, June 7 — There is a version of Chinese fine dining that the world has long been sold: elaborate banquet halls, exotic ingredients like shark’s fin, lazy Susans the size of a small satellite dish, and a deep reverence for tradition.Beijing, as the country’s capital for eight centuries, has perhaps been an unlikely, yet historically fitting custodian of this idea. The city’s culinary identity has long been defined by the grandeur of its past: the Forbidden City’s kitchens, the Qing dynast...
Malay Mail •

Scarborough Fish & Chips in Tanjung Rhu, Langkawi: Great fish and chips and the best seat on the beach

LANGKAWI, June 5 — When I was 12 years old, my parents took me to Langkawi for the very first time. It was a short trip, only three days, but it has stayed with me for the longest time because of two significant milestones, or as the kids like to call them, core memories. I had my first beer (marvellous), and for the first time in my life, I enjoyed a plate of fish and chips on the beach, sitting under the hot tropical sun and gazing at the brilliant blue waters of the Andaman.At the time, I tho...
Malay Mail •

No such thing as a free lunch: The problem with influencers as ‘food reviewers’ in Malaysia

COMMENTARY, May 31 — My frustration begins where it often has, lately: an Instagram post.On their profile, MalaysianPAYGAP, a community initiative for salary transparency in Malaysia, posted a short clip with Ming Chun, one of Malaysia’s more prominent food influencers who has successfully carved out a niche for himself as a self-appointed ayam gepuk “connoisseur”.For the uninitiated, it is a dish of fried and smashed chicken, typically paired with a spicy sambal, cashew nut paste, fried cabbage...
Malay Mail •

Find a great ‘or chien’ at Lim Fried Oyster in Taman Mayang Jaya, PJ

PETALING JAYA, May 24 — Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to show you something you’ve been missing, especially when it’s been right under your nose the entire time. I’ve lived my entire life next to the neighbourhood of Taman Mayang Jaya in Petaling Jaya, and almost every Sunday morning, my parents and I would drive through it to head to St. Ignatius for mass when I was a kid. And twice a week on weekdays, I’d go to a house for my dreaded maths tuition, kicking (denial), screaming (anger)...
Malay Mail •

Semua House Chicken Rice in Pertama Complex is the ideal city-centre office lunch under RM15, with standout ‘char siew’

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 — This week, I watched Stephen Colbert embark on quite the farewell tour for The Late Show, which was axed last year by CBS. The network called the decision “purely financial”, but it was a fairly transparent display of sycophantic, anticipatory obedience by parent company Paramount ahead of getting approval from the US Federal Communications Commission for its US$8.4 billion (RM33 billion) merger with Skydance. The merger would later be completed, and now, Colbert is leavin...
Malay Mail •

Yakitori Izakaya Kin No Tsubo is the place to be for great ‘yakitori’ and ‘oden’ in Bukit Bintang

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — When life sends me to one of the many watering holes along Changkat Bukit Bintang, whether as an 18-year-old on a tear fresh out of high school, or more recently, struggling financially at a friend’s birthday, I always let out a little sigh of resignation. Resigned, because I know that no matter what transpires over the evening — encounters with drunk tourists or an overeager massage parlour promoter — my dinner will be at best, “just okay”. Not that the area has ever trul...
Malay Mail •

TianMiMi Secret: Discover excellent Hainanese chicken chop and hearty traditional desserts, from peanut paste and ginkgo barley to ‘bubur cha cha’ in Ara Damansara

PETALING JAYA, May 14 — Nostalgia is a powerful thing. Whether it’s being harnessed by Don Draper to pitch the Kodak Carousel in Mad Men or warming Anton Ego’s ice-cold heart in Ratatouille, it is, in Draper’s words, “a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone”. And food is often the vessel through which we come under the dizzying influence of nostalgia: a sight may remind us of a memory, a sound may remind us of the place, and a scent may remind us of the person. Put them all to...
Malay Mail •

Fragrant Town Restaurant brings juicy roast duck to PJ Section 17

PETALING JAYA, May 10 — As a neighbourhood, Section 17 is blessed with a wealth of affordable eating.One particularly abundant stretch is the flats along Jalan 17/1A, where locals head to long-time stalls like Nasi Lemak Pak Din in the gerai makan centre on the corner, or frequent newer arrivals like Bilal Nasi Kandar, which has quickly become a favourite among the working crowd.The rest of the street is home to a diverse mix of mostly Malay and Chinese eateries, with tomyam and ayam gepuk spots...
Malay Mail •

Head to PJ SS4’s Warung Jakarta for Indonesian classics like ‘bakso’, ‘mie ayam’ and ‘soto betawi’

PETALING JAYA, May 8 — As a child, my introduction to mie bakso, the Indonesian dish of noodles and beef balls, was a less-than-ideal one.To be fair, the odds were stacked against it. I was one of those kids who didn’t enjoy any kind of edible ball: fish, chicken, pork or beef, and I had not yet learned how to appreciate the strong, bitter flavour of Chinese celery, which is included to balance out the flavour of the broth.But perhaps the biggest obstacle was the myopic view that, because this i...
Malay Mail •

Hidden inside a home in Sungai Way, Xhin Fhong Claypot Bak Kut Teh serves up old-school comfort in a bowl of ‘bak kut teh’

PETALING JAYA, May 3 — After a particularly heavy night of drinking — for my fellow Gen Z, it’s like a coffee rave, but actually enjoyable — I always crave the soothing, restorative touch of meat in a rich broth.What better way to address that than with bak kut teh?I was in no mood to make the trek to Klang in my decidedly unkempt state. A friend had asked me to check out Xhin Fhong Claypot Bak Kut Teh in Sungai Way after seeing it in a video a few months back, so I decided today would be the da...
Malay Mail •

Kuala Lumpur Cocktail Week co-founder Nicholas Ng on the rise of the city’s cocktail bars, and why international recognition and local perception matter

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Finding a cocktail bar in Kuala Lumpur has never been easier than it is today. In the last few years, cocktail bars of every stripe have risen to prominence in the capital. They can be quiet and intimate or raucous and rowdy; the drinks might lean rum-forward or revolve around cacao, and you might find yourself climbing up to a hidden shophouse speakeasy or stepping into the lift of a five-star hotel in the city centre. They range from the traditional to the experimental...
Malay Mail •

Three decades and one generation later, Taman Jinjang Baru’s Kedai Kopi Soon Teik continues to serve its unique mushroom sauce and curry ‘chee cheong fun’

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Deep inside a cluster of flats in Taman Jinjang Baru lies the unassuming Kedai Kopi Soon Teik. For over 30 years, it has served a short, simple list of offerings — curry mee, prawn mee, plain soup and dry noodles — and its unique signature: mushroom sauce and curry chee cheong fun. This isn’t a choice between the two, but a distinct third creation, like the yuen yeung of chee cheong fun, marrying Ipoh-style mushroom sauce with KL-style curry into one saucy symphony.The c...
Malay Mail •

Beneath a pickleball court, Restoran Sfeng brings Cantonese banquet cuisine to Subang Jaya

SUBANG JAYA, April 24 — If you’ve ever been curious about what it might be like to eat banquet-style Cantonese dishes beneath a pickleball court, look no further. Even if you’ve never had that oddly specific thought, Restoran Sfeng in USJ 25 now grants that possibility. Located in the far-off depths of Subang Jaya that border Shah Alam — about five to 10 minutes from both Main Place and One City — the restaurant is the only other tenant in a mixed-use development still under completion, aside fr...
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