Kuala Lumpur Restaurants
The restaurants below have been classed into four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over RM75)
$$$ (RM60 to RM75)
$$ (RM45 to RM 60)
$ (up to RM45)
These prices are for a three-course meal for one, including tax but not drinks or service.
Gastronomic
The Caracosa Seri Negara's signature restaurant serves up some top end French cooking. Guests dine in the refined, air-conditioned dining room or outside on the veranda, which has views of the city skyline. After dinner, residents and diners alike retire to the colonial The Bar, with its cigar divans, ceiling fans and cane chairs.
Taman Tasik Perdana, Persiaran Mahameru
Tel: (03) 2295 0888.
Website: www.carcosa.com.my
Price: $$$$
The bland and functional décor of this 300-seater restaurant is compensated for by its spectacular views from its lofty locale atop one of the world's tallest towers. Sitting 282m (925ft) above ground level in the landmark Menara Tower, this revolving restaurant guarantees diners 360-degree panoramic vistas across the city. For both lunch and dinner visits, there is a choice of either a Malaysian buffet, including satay and nasi goreng (mixed fried rice), or a more Western orientated à la carte menu, with such offerings as steak and chips.
Menara Tower, Jalan Punchak
Tel: (03) 2020 5444.
Website: www.menarakl.com.my
Price: $$$
A big favourite with foreign visitors, Seri Melayu is unbeatable for traditional Malay cuisine and culture. Set in landscaped gardens, the restaurant can accommodate up to 500 people, with the nightly cultural show and buffet menu being the biggest attractions. Dining from the extensive buffet is a great way to sample traditional Chinese, Malay and Thai dishes. The same group also has another three eateries in KL.
1 Jalan Conlay
Tel: (03) 2145 1833.
Website: www.serimelayu.com
Price: $$$
Business
Reservations are a must at this award-winning Japanese restaurant. The Kampachi, one of Hotel Equatorial's signature restaurants, has been serving up staple Japanese dishes from Ginza for more than 25 years. This traditionally decorated restaurant also has a wide selection of set dinners and an impressive Sunday buffet brunch, as well as private tatami rooms.
Hotel Equatorial, Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2161 7777.
Website: www.equatorial.com
Price: $$$
Lafite is the Shangri-La Hotel's exclusive multi-award-winning French restaurant. The standard of food and service is always high, making the restaurant a popular venue for business lunches and dinners. The chandeliers, the tall windows overlooking the garden, the fresh flowers and the impeccable silver service combine to give the restaurant a refined and classical atmosphere. The wine list may just be the finest in Malaysia.
Shangri-La Hotel, 11 Jalan Sultan Ismail
Tel: (03) 2074 3900.
Website: www.shangri-la.com
Price: $$$$
Opened in 1998, the signature restaurant of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel offers diners a cocktail of Asian flavours. The 116-seater restaurant is modern and stylish with an open kitchen. Guests can also book two smaller private dining rooms. There is also a trendy bar area with seating for 22 guests. Look out for ‘MO Sundays' with live music and the popular chef's table, which puts diners at the heart of the action.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Tel: (03) 380 8888.
Website: www.mandarin-oriental.com/kualalumpur
Price: $$$
Trendy
Smooth and sexy, this eatery is trendy Bangsar at its best. Thankfully it does not fall into the frequent Bangsar trap of being a case of style over substance. Instead it also delivers on the cuisine, offering a choice between excellent thin wood fired oven cooked pizzas and eclectic pan-Asian treats.
Lot 15A, 1st Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre
Tel: (03) 2287 1388.
Price: $$$
This funky eatery at the Westin is a firm favourite of the city's beautiful people. The food tastes as good as the sublime décor, which looks like something from a fashion shoot. The lounge restaurant has a pan-regional (five country) approach that mixes dim sum with sushi and Tiger beer with Chinese rice wine, with plenty of strong Malaysian influences thrown in for good measure.
199 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Tel: (03) 2731 8333.
Website: www.westin.com/kualalumpur
Price: $$$
Fans of fantastic Italian culinary treats should join the local cognoscenti in flocking down to this deli/cafe. Browser the packed shelves and work up an appetite before settling down in their cafe area for some first rate salami, Italian cheese and fine Tuscan wine. The catch of the day is usually a good main menu option, simply cooked with olive oil and lemon. They also mix a mean cocktail.
Ground Floor, Somerset Serviced Apartments
Tel: (03) 2070 0530.
Price: $$$
Budget
During the day, the large and buzzing Chow Kit Market, located at the northern end of Jalan TAR, is Kuala Lumpur's biggest food market, selling fruit, vegetables, tofu, spices, meat and fish, as well as live worms, crabs and lobsters. The hawker stalls dish up tasty roti canai and nasi campur (rice served with an array of meat, fish and vegetable dishes).
Jalan Sultan
Price: $
Jalan Alor is a lively street, running parallel to Jalan Bukit Bintang in the heart of the Golden Triangle. It comes alive every night with the sights and smells of hawker cooking and pavement cafes. If the proprietor does not sell the dish or drink ordered, he will often go and purchase it from another hawker.
Jalan Alor
Price: $
Delicious hawker food is served all day in the area around Chinatown's Jalan Petaling. Early risers can feast on steamed dumplings or porridge. In the evening, the streets close to cars and the night market begins. Tables and chairs pour out onto the streets as cafes and hawker stalls start up.
Jalan Petaling
Price: $
Personal Recommendations
One of the city's eating institutions since it opened in 1987, Bon Ton is housed in an old Chinese bungalow and has been renovated with ethnic furnishings. The high ceilings and large windows make this light dining venue the perfect space to indulge in a cuisine that typically combines international and Malacca Straits Chinese or Nyonya flavours.
6 Jalan Stonor, off Jalan Kia Peng
Tel: (03) 2031 3848.
Website: www.bontonkl.com
Price: $$$
Over the last half decade Tai Zi Heen has established itself as one of the city's best upmarket Chinese restaurants. The restaurant's name translates as 'prince's court', and this elegant and contemporary dining space does the name justice with gentle beige and cream hues, smooth wood, marble and glass surfaces. Their dim sum is legendary.
Prince Hotel & Residence, 4 Jalan Conlay
Tel: (03) 2170 8888.
Price: $$$
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