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D'Istana Jalamas Café
The café at Istana Budaya serves mamak favourites like fish head curry in classier than average surroundings.
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Delicious
Shoppers break for lunch to enjoy healthy salads, pasta, sandwiches and pies at this neat and contemporary place in the Bangsar Village II mall.
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Devi's Corner
A pavement-café mood prevails at this foliage-drenched canteen facing the Bangsar Village malls. The tray curries are excellent, with plenty of fish, prawns and other seafood.
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Food Junction
Spic-and-span food court in the Mid Valley Megamall serving all sorts of Asian treats.
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Food Stalls at Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman
The best time to visit Little India is during the Saturday pasar malam on Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the alley between Jln TAR and Jln Masjid India. From mid-afternoon, this narrow lane becomes crammed with food stalls serving excellent Malaysian Indian food, as well as favourite dishes of the Chinese and Indian communities.
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Frangipani
Much feted for its innovative approach to European fusion cooking, Frangipani is leagues ahead of most of the competition. The décor is as slick as the menu, with a stunning dining room surrounding a reflecting pool, and there's an equally stylish bar upstairs.
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Gem Restaurant
This is an excellent restaurant for North and South Indian cuisine. The thalis (mixed platters of rice, curry, soup and bread) are always a favourite, the chicken tikka is chunky and plentiful; there's a range of vegetarian options, including creamy Indian-style veg, and service is good.
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Gin Ger
Wooden screens and Thai knick-knacks disguise the mall location at this upmarket Thai restaurant inside Central Market. It's a quiet place but the food is excellent. Try the Thai salads.
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Gonbei
This brilliantly conceived Japanese restaurant is entered through a Zen walkway of leaning beams. There's a broad sushi and sashimi menu, including seasonal fugu (blowfish) for the brave. Diners sit around a series of open kitchens.
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Hartamas Square
A huge covered hawker court with sports on big TV screens, cold beers and a mass of hawker stalls serving excellent grilled fish, noodles, fried rice, curries and other Malay Chinese treats. The most fun place to dine in Desa Sri Hartamas.
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Hawker Stalls in Chinatown
Chinatown has some of the best street food in KL. From late afternoon the pavements along Jln Sultan and Jln Tun HS Lee fill with plastic chairs and tables, and mobile kitchens are set up in the street, serving an astonishing array of Malay and Chinese dishes. Many of the food stalls stay open till midnight or later and you can get a filling meal of rice and spicy stir-fried beef with a cold beer for as little as around RM20 .
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Hong Kee Stall
In front of the KK convenience store, this stall specialises in barbecued Portuguese-style seafood and chicken rice, slow-cooked in a clay pot. Recommended.
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Ikan Bakar Berempah
Well-known for its excellent barbecued fish.
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Ikopi
Coffees from around the world are brewed in contraptions that look like they were built by mad scientists.
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Jln Alor
KL's biggest collection of roadside restaurants sprawls along Jln Alor, just north of Jln Bukit Bintang. From around till late every evening, the street transforms into a continuous open-air restaurant, with hundreds of plastic tables and chairs and rival caterers shouting out to passers-by to drum up business.
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Jln Raja Muda Musa
Jln Raja Muda Musa is lined with hawker-style restaurants serving excellent Malay food to hordes of hungry city workers.
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Jln Telawi 4 & Jln Maroof Hawker Court
Has tempting take-away food stalls serving up local fare.
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Kameya Restoran Jepun
A small, cosy and authentic Japanese restaurant near Plaza Low Yat. The menu covers everything from sushi and sashimi to tempura and edamame (boiled green soya beans).
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Kampung Baru Hawker Stalls
Saturday evening is the best time to eat in Kampung Baru, when dozens of hawker stalls set up around Jalan Raja Muda Musa for the weekly pasar malam , which rolls through till early Sunday morning. You can find all sorts of Malay specialities here, from ikan panggang (grilled skate) to rojak (spicy fruit-and-vegetable salad), and the night market positively crackles with energy.
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Kedai Kopi Lai Foong
Chinatown has a number of informal hawker-style restaurants, with various food stations serving classic Malay Chinese dishes. Almost all offer fried rice, fish curry, rice porridge, mee (thin noodles, fried or in soup) and tofu dishes - a meal should cost less than RM20 . Kedai Kopi Lai Foong is recommended.
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La Bodega
This popular, trendy place is four venues in one: an all-day deli café serving good sandwiches; a chilled-out tapas bar; a formal dining room; and a lively lounge bar. Good wine and authentic tapas and paella complete the Spanish mood.
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Lafite
The elegant French restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel serves very fine food in very fine surroundings, with a wine cellar to match. The menu runs to foie gras, duck confit and Brittany oysters.
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Lakshmi Vilas
One of several good vegetarian curry houses on Lebuh Ampang serving tasty thali (plate meals) for just around RM4 . Leave some space for barfi (milk fudge) and other Indian sweets.
