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Pakistan is a dry nation, with alcohol never served in any restaurants. Even full-fledged hotels like Pearl Continental Lahore offer no wine or beer in their eateries or for room service - instead, you'll find gin and beer only in PC's Rumors Bar, tucked discreetly on the hotel's second floor, ou...

Stepping into Najia's Pakistani Tawa & Grill is like being instantly immersed in Pakistani culture and cuisine. Pop culture posters line one wall, portraying iconic entertainers like South Asia's late Queen of Pop, Nazia Hassan. A striking mural showcases globally renowned Pakistani personali...

If you love Korean cuisine and you love cockles, get going to Goheung, which offers the marvellous molluscs in bibimbap (RM30) and on their own with chilli peppers (RM50). Goheung's cockles are served slightly chilled, but they still feel fresh and full-bodied in their tender texture. Note though...

A fast, friendly fix for nigiri, maki and sashimi for Bangsar's shoppers, Hisho Sushi Bar offers fuss-free servings of familiar staples like hirame-toppped sushi (RM22 for two pieces), rolls draped with both unagi and anago (RM45) and thick cuts of kanpachi (RM40), washed down well with house sak...

Jelutong Hills Bakers' top temptations go beyond bread and butter, with hearty meals that span sourdough toast layered with meltingly tender smoked pulled lamb with caramelised onions (RM28; with fries on the side for a full day's worth of carbs), and crispy-fried chicken and scrambled eggs heape...

A genuinely green escape, just a 45-minute drive from KL's city centre, Kebun is a new cafe launched this month by Hulu Yam Lama's Hoho Farm, set in a soothing heartland of pesticide-free, organically cultivated vegetables.Kebun is currently open Friday through Sunday; stop by for wholesome bever...

Meet the MixoBot, a bartender who doesn't talk but does make a mean Margarita.  Malaysia's first robot mixologist is shaking up a storm of cocktails at Petaling Jaya's LAVO resto-lounge, blending artificial intelligence with authentic flair and flavour. If you're a cocktail enthusiast, check o...

Abba Hot Pot has been SS2's super trouper of soupy steamboats and piping-hot barbecues for six months now - it's the perfect place in PJ for wholesome, rainy-evening comfort, especially throughout Ramadan. For the fasting month, Abba is adding even more value to its nourishing, Muslim-friendly ...

Selamat berbuka puasa! De.Wan 1958 by Chef Wan is ready to take you on a culinary tour of Malaysia’s traditional delicacies throughout Ramadan with the nightly Buka Puasa Buffet.The buffet features many beloved favourites as well as hard-to-find recipes curated by Chef Wan. From Rojak Betik Teren...

Hartamas' hidden bar seeks to be a seductive space that channels classical Japanese charm in a sleek contemporary setting. Fruity and floral cocktails crafted with Roku gin (RM50 each) are the mixologist's speciality.Geisha Speakeasy2-1, Jalan 30/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Open M...

Climb the stairs under a crimson glow to Subang's secret lair for cocktails: Tangga's friendly bartender shakes up playful concoctions like Mak Kau Hijau (gin with lemon juice and thyme leaves) and fires up a mean Tangga Mangga (tequila with chillies, tabasco sauce, mango juice and calamansi juic...

If you're trying to avoid queuing for RM16 lattes in the city centre, He & She Coffee is a pleasantly picturesque and peaceful pick - take a corner all to yourself to sip slowly on your cappuccino while watching the world go by outside tall glass windows (RM8).He & She CoffeeMenara Sme Ba...

If you're seeking a fast fix for a flat white with oat milk (RM10) in Bandar Sunway, check out Future Grounds, a cool little coffee bar nestled in the Sunway FutureX urban farm hub.Future GroundsSunway FutureX, Jalan PJS 11/26, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor. Open Mon-Sat, 730am-6pm.

This family-run restaurant that serves household recipes is lovingly furnished; the matriarch of the family has filled it with everything from art and kitchenware to heirlooms, making SilaRasa a beautifully soothing space for a meal.SilaRasa's Nasi Lemak Mak Minah (RM16.80) is the grandmother's s...

From its splashy, playful murals to portraits of iconic moments in basketball, boxing, badminton and football to TV screens perpetually set on sports broadcasts, Hall Of Fame has been a familiar destination for sports fans for nearly six years. Electronic dartboards, an arcade machine, pool tab...

PJ's new secret teahouse takes its brews seriously, offering a private collection of leaves that include some from centuries-old tea trees on the southwestern Chinese mountainsides of Yunnan - a terrific premium tea with a deep, dark Pu Erh earthiness, aged over two decades (RM18 per pot).But Kic...

What happens when three friends - a lawyer, an engineer who dabbles in baking, and an interior designer who doubles as a barista - discover an abandoned residence in their neighbourhood?Ashley, Fadz and On have turned this into a second home for cafe enthusiasts, welcoming customers into an inter...

As we chew on chef Lim Heng Kit's tomato-bombed take on the Melanau umai, steamed egg custard infiltrated by ikan bilis, and Italian-Indian unification of gnocchi and palak paneer, it's natural to wonder: Why hadn't Heng Kit and LI Restaurant done this sooner?To be fair, Heng Kit and LI’s two o...

This new bright and airy space offers modern small plates that represent the good in food - honest, wholesome ingredients, cooked with care and nuance in imaginative, flavour-forward recipes.Brunch takes a welcome turn from the typical eggs Benedict and big breakfast platters.House-smoked salmon ...

Dreamy and creamy-hued, this double-storey residence-turned-cafe offers a beautiful new retreat in the city centre for coffee and cakes, brunch and bakes - a fresh face on a street with a history of terraced houses that reputedly stretches back to the 1920s.With serene corners to explore, Three Y...

South Korea's ambassador for Andang's braised chicken speciality of jjimdak has launched its first outpost in Malaysia. Bongchu serves hearty heaps of organically farmed chicken, saturated in a spicy soy sauce with chunks of potatoes, carrots, leek, onions, cucumbers and dried chillies, complete ...

Korean chicken soup for the soul: Chicken Soup Master offers ultra-comforting gye-tang with a mushroom twist, made earthy with wild neungi mushrooms, crisp and aromatic, the Eastern equivalent of black truffles. RM40 for half a spring chicken, tender and meaty, beautiful in the naturally rich sou...

It's barely 12pm on a Tuesday afternoon, but a small crowd of white-collar colleagues and a family with toddlers are trickling into Chez Gaston, welcomed by the restaurant's chef-founder Florian Nigen.Fans of French fare in Bangsar and beyond have been familiar with Florian for years - in 2014, h...

If you love spicy snacks, you might have heard of Takis, the Mexican rolled corn tortilla chips that have thrilled North American heat-seekers for nearly two decades.Now, you'll find the taste of Takis offered in a one-of-a-kind concept by Damansara Uptown's DéJà Brew Cafe: From burgers and pizza...

Chinatown's next themed-cafe hit is a hotbed of playful pleasures with plenty of Malaysian twists and thrills, set in a multi-level space that strives to bring the leafy outdoors inside, with tapirs, tigers, elephants and hornbills watching over your brunch.Malaya Garden's Big Breakfast is laced ...

If you love diving into the delicious diversity of ramen, check out Ichikakuya Ramen, the Klang Valley's foremost purveyor of a less-known style of soupy Japanese noodles - iekei ramen, which originated in Yokohama nearly half a century ago.Ichikakuya Ramen is the Malaysian offshoot of a Yoko...

Butter up your loved ones this Aidilfitri with a bevy of brilliant butters sourced from France and Ireland by fine foods purveyor Gourmet Partner. Whether you're baking a special cake for your family or a present of pastries for friends, these butters are beautifully versatile and buoyantly rich,...

Could TTDI's most soulfully satisfying fish head curry be found in a friendly restobar? Steered by a former international trade specialist and a human resources professional, Degustation has reliably fed the neighbourhood for nearly two years, stamping its own scrumptious mark on everything from ...

Looking lushly radiant in its first week of operations, Walking On Sunshine is the Malaysian offshoot of a Singapore-born, South Korean-helmed hair salon and cafe with a plant-powered setting. It’s a natural, nature-loving fit for Mont Kiara’s 163 Retail Park, a garden-themed mall that’s thriving...

If you love neighbourhood cafes with charm and cheer, check out the cosy new Monét, named ironically for the tormented, temperamental French painter. From Paris-Brest with praline cream to caneles and cruffins, Monét tocks plenty of French-inspired pastry pleasures, mostly sourced from the cafe f...

Our favourite omakase experience so far of 2021, Bangsar South's new Umi Omakase offers many skilful moments, some surprising ones and a few transcendent flashes of brilliance. Chiba-born chef Takahiro Shiga and his team strike a strong balance between serving seasonal specialities and crowd-plea...

Imagine a feast of beef that brings you around the world in 90 minutes, where you can sample and compare the same cut from Argentina to Australia, Japan to the United States. Or an omakase-style meal where the chef introduces less familiar cuts that take you from tri tips to picanha, boosting you...

Evoke Gastrobar is landlocked in The Stories of Taman Tunku, but it succeeds in channelling the culinary treasures of the sea. Crab pasta is the pick for hearty eaters, with a heap of linguine topped with fresh, flaky crab claw meat in almond pesto sauce (RM48), while the kingfish ceviche is the ...

Promising artisanal raw honey and walnuts from the fields of Moldova and chocolate from the cocoa farms of Malacca, My Naturi is Malaysia's new online marketplace for 'fair priced superfoods' that promote the Fair One Movement.  This initiative marks My Naturi’s pledge to compensate farmers and f...

Everyone has their special spot for a must-have meal while visiting Penang, from Lebuh Carnarvon for char kuey teow to Padang Kota Lama for pasembur and Ayer Itam for assam laksa.  For us, the dish that reminds us the most of George Town is Nasi Kandar - throughout our three years of studying i...

Make a meal of meat at Regno KL, tucked on a street of factories and warehouses in Bandar Sri Damansara. Both the maltose-glazed chicken leg (RM25) and Australian grain-fed ribeye (RM78 for 250 grams) should score well for fans of flavourful flesh to sink your teeth into.Regno KL5, Jalan Tembaga ...

If you visit these favourite Italian restaurants this week, you might notice a special menu exclusively available till April 11 - one restaurant might offer bottarga pizza, another might showcase Neapolitan pie with ricotta and wheat berries. The first edition of Italian Cuisine Experience 20...

Buon appetito!  In conjunction with the joyous Easter Holidays, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) alongside the Italian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur have joined hands with the Italy-Malaysia Business Association (IMBA) to launch the first edition of ‘Italian Cuisine Experience 2021’. From 2 to 11 Apr...

Take a culinary tour of Malaysia’s traditional delicacies at De.Wan 1958 by Chef Wan this Ramadan with the nightly Buka Puasa Buffet that features many beloved favourites as well as hard-to-find recipes curated by Chef Wan. From Rojak Betik Terengganu to Udang Galah Rendang Perak, Laksa Johor to ...

As we walk through a passage into Eat and Cook, a neon sign overhead instructs, "Don't Doubt, Just Indulge." It might feel like the equivalent of Dante's 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,' especially since the restaurant's two head chefs are only 24 years old, steering a kitchen that seems im...

Chinatown's latest hidden cocktail bar deserves to be another hit, living up its promise of providing tipsy thrills, tucked on the top floor of a former teahouse. Its strikingly oversize murals offer contrasting visions of East and West - fittingly, since Tipsy Room's founders comprise an Indones...

Quack and Cluck is KL's only restaurant where a Chinese breakfast set with Szechuan minced pork, pickled vegetables and bing shares the menu with a Scottish equivalent of tattie scones and black pudding. Newly founded by an Indonesian ethnic Chinese and a Glasgow-born Brit, the restaurant represe...

The flavours of Pangkor: Lumut Crackers was born of a Lumut family's recipe for prawn crackers that became so popular, it went from being a household staple to a favourite purchase for visitors to Pulau Pangkor.Nearly two decades after it first surfaced on retail shelves, Lumut Crackers’ MyReal r...

Sip on cappuccinos while shopping for Cliftons: Coffee stand Piu Piu Piu has a new pop-up counter at sneaker store Atmos in Mid Valley Megamall, a worthwhile stop for a flat white with oat milk (RM12). The pop-up is currently slated to remain here for six months, so keep it in mind through Malays...

A hotdog delivery service that spans Danish-inspired wieners to brunch-channelling franks? Count us in! Based in Bangsar, Doghouse Hotdogs offers varieties like the Copenhagen Style (RM15.99), blanketing a tender, gently flame-grilled chicken sausage with a generous showering of crispy-fried sha...

Move over, Roti John; step in, Roti Bebe and Roti Chiqa: SS KitchenZ reimagines the local omelette sandwich as warm subs that focus on beef or chicken instead of egg - perfect if you prefer meatiness in your meal. The Roti Bebe (RM8, with saucy minced beef) and Roti Chiqa (RM8, with chicken) ar...

Philly-Me-Up: Jim’s Cheezsteak promises the culinary pride of Pennsylvania in its take on the cheesesteak sandwich for delivery (RM14), a nine-inch sesame soft roll stuffed with marinated rib eye meat and caramelised onions. The thinly sliced, tender beef is subtly smoky, punched up with sweet-sa...

Our first encounter with Meat Cute's burgers makes us want a second date: Available for delivery from Shah Alam, these burgers have a firm foundation of pleasurable protein - a choice of New Zealand beef patties or peri-peri marinated grilled chicken chop - bolstered by flavour-packed, house-made...

If masakan Minang makes your mouth water, S'lasih seeks to satisfy, with all the santan-saturated gulai and spice-suffused lado that represent West Sumatra's Padang cuisine.Served for sharing, the choices prove crowd-pleasing, rich-flavoured but not too hard-hitting, aromatic with merely a mellow...

The taste of Terengganu is as authentic as it gets at Lakshami, where noodles and ikan bilis are brought in from the northeastern coast for laksa and laksam (RM8 each). The laksa features thick, slick rice noodles while the laksam boasts rolled flat rice flour noodles, all sourced from the beac...