Where to eat in Kuala Lumpur at any price point
Kuala Lumpur pretty much feels like one big food hall. In any mall or in any street you can eat pretty much every cuisine in the world and, what’s more, it’ll be pretty good. There’s food at every price point from world leading fine dining to excellent street food where you’re going to get a full meal for £1.
I couldn’t possibly presume to produce a comprehensive guide to eating in Kuala Lumpur- it would pretty much be a life’s work! But, these are my thoughts on a handful of great places to eat in Kuala Lumpur.
Din Tai Fung
The one and only Din Tai Fung, allegedly coming to London in April 2018…in July 2018…in Q4 2018…and it’s still not open. So until it lands in London, I always make sure to visit when I’m in KL (even when transiting if there’s time!).
You can’t leave without getting their signature soup dumplings (xiao long bao). Other top items on the menu are the pork belly friend rice and pea shoots with garlic.
Must eat dish: pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao)
Price per person: around £10 per head
Location: The Gardens Mall, Pavilion KL, KLCC (no pork), One Utama, Empire Shopping Gallery
Table and Apron
Tucked away in sleepy Bukit Damansara, this neighbourhood restaurant is always packed to the rafters and you’ll need a reservation to get a table. It’s also worth getting an early reservation before their out-of-this-world cheesecake runs out.
Great rotating specials board and a sharing menu where every dish is more delicious than the last. It looks an odd menu on first sight but go with a bigger group so you can sample a wider range of the dishes.
Fried chicken in Table and Apron, Damansara
Must eat dish: fried sweet potato and the clam spaghetti if it’s on the specials board. Cheesecake for dessert.
Price per person: around £20 per head
Location: Bukit Damansara
Entier
On the 41nd floor of the swanky new Alila hotel, bizarrely rising out of a backstreet in Brickfields. Entier is a French restaurant with a philosophy of nose to tail eating and sharing. There’s a josper grill churning out utterly delicious beef and there are some unusual and delicious appetisers including the smoked aubergine and escargot croquettes.
Escargot at Entier Restaurant, Brickfields
The menu handily rates the dishes with a serious of dots; 1 dot for a starter size portion, 2 dots for a main course size and 3 dots for a sharing size dish. So many restaurants have this sharing philosophy but then it’s totally impossible to work out how much to order so I loved this simple key.
Have a drink in the bar afterwards for amazing views over KL.
View of Kuala Lumpur from the bar at the Alila hotel
Must eat dish: escargot, chocolate soufflé
Price per person: around £50 per head
Location: Brickfields
Souffle as big as your head at Entier Restaurant, Brickfields
Bala’s Banana Leaf
KL is full of banana leaf places but if you want good value and consistently good food then head to Bala’s. Aside from the usual banana leaf dish (with unlimited rice!) there’s a huge range of dosa and roti dishes as well as grilled and fried meats.
Egg appam (hopper) at Bala’s Banana Leaf, Bangsar
The paper and masala dosas are awesome and they’re so cheap you can just keep ordering.
Must eat dish: masala dosa
Price per person: around £3 per head
Location: Bangsar
Rice and a selection of curries on a banana leaf at Bala’s Banana Leaf in Bangsar
A Li Yaa Island Restaurant
Sri Lankan food in a neighbourhood setting, A Li Yaa is expensive in the grand scheme of KL but it is worth every penny.
Get the lamb poriyal, some kothu rothi and ‘hoppers galore’ (4 hoppers of your choice for 29 RM – I recommend 2 egg hoppers, one plain and one sweet). The hoppers here blew my mind, it’s a must eat.
Lamb kothu roti at A Li Yaa Island Restaurant
Lamp poriyal at A Li Yaa Island Restaurant, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur
Must eat dish: ‘hoppers galore’
Price per person: around £25 per head
Location: Bukit Damansara
Sushi Zanmai
There are plenty of authentic Japanese places in KL but you’re going to get a London restaurant bill to match. For a less authentic but still delicious experience you can do much worse than Sushi Zanmai, especially for the price.
There are some nice gimmicks to this restaurant which include using a QR code to order your food and having your special orders delivered by a little robot that comes to your table on a rail.
Grub’s up! Robot hand roll delivery at Sushi Zanmai
The spicy ebi roll and spicy unagi roll are delicious.
Must eat dish: spicy ebi roll
Price per person: £7 per head
Location: various – too many to list, check the website!
Village Roast Duck
Not a KL exclusive, there’s a branch in London too, but a delicious place to stuff yourself with delicious roast meats. Get a mixed platter, some fried rice and greens and enjoy a simple but delicious meal.
Must eat dish: roast duck
Price per person: £10 per head
Location: Bangsar Village Shopping Centre, Pavilion Mall, The Gardens Mall
Ippudo
Ok so you can also get this in London (and various other places) but in KL you can get a wider selection (and it differs in each branch), some great value set menus and your standard ramen set you back £5 instead of £13 in London.
Ippudo deep friend samurai ribs
I’m a sucker for the karaka-men, but be careful because you get the option to choose your spiciness level from original, 1, 2 or 3. Even 1 isn’t entirely advisable- you’ve been warned.
Must eat dish: karaka-men
Price per person: around £10 per head
Location: Pavilion Mall, The Gardens Mall, Bangsar Village Shopping Centre, Gurney Plaza
Ippudo Kuro (thick noodles, BBQ pork, black fungus and spring onions with spicy miso and garlic oil)
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