52 undiscovered experiences: Restaurants & Cafés

Offering the tastiest barbecued chicken wings in town, Wong Ah Wah headlines the plethora of Chinese restaurants along Jalan Alor. Formerly a measly little stall, the always crowded eatery is now an integral part of KL’s busiest food haven. Most of the stalls on this street operate until the wee hours of the morning, making Jalan Alor a popular destination for Changkat party-goers.

This is the most tedious way to serve chicken. First, you pre-order a day in advance. Then, a whole chicken is stuffed with herbs, wrapped in layers of plastic, encased in clay and then buried in a pit of burning charcoal. Eight hours later, it's shoveled out of the pit into a wheelbarrow where the waiter breaks the clay with a hammer and voila! Your fragrant, meat-so-tender-it-falls-off-the-bone Beggar's Chicken is ready. By the way, the restaurant's been around for 40 odd years. 

Undisputedly the most celebrated Hainanese institution in town, Yut Kee has been churning out their famous chicken chops for about 80 years now. If you're inclined to pork, the roti babi is also a signature; pockets of fried dough stuffed with shredded pork and caramelised onions, dipped in Worcestershire sauce.

Of course, we’re referring to the joy of relishing childhood biscuits at the bakery. The atmosphere bears no difference to a dusty old Chinese medicinal store, but the happiest sight at Sin Hua Bee is watching devoted chefs make ga lui beng (traditional Chinese wedding biscuits) from scratch, while newlyweds walk in to buy them in bulk. We’ve savoured them and they taste just as sweet as what marriage would promise.

Kulwant Singh named his shop after his father, Santa, and his signature chapattis have grown into the stuff of legends over the last 14 years. Tables spill out on to the sidewalk, and Kulwant reveals that the largest order anyone’s ever placed was RM500 worth of chapatti. And the largest dine-in order? ‘Here, people eat six to seven also can,’ he beams, although the slightly charred chapattis they churn out sometimes seriously threaten the permanence of this record.

Essentially coconut gelato coupled with chilli sprinkles, peanuts and a dusting of anchovies, this gelato bears an uncanny resemblance to the real thing, but in a creamy and savoury artisanal dessert package. This much fabled nasi lemak flavour, along with other local-centric alterations like kopi and toast, is only available periodically, so keep tabs on their Facebook page for updates.

Hush, don't tell anyone about these super cool speakeasy bars. We're not telling you how to locate the door, because it's all part of the fun. Once you get into Tate, the stylish, masculine design will make you feel right at home – for our money, Tate makes the best martini in town. At Omakase + Appreciate, indulge in the cocktails served by award-winning mixologists, Shawn Cheong and Karl Too. Since they practise an ‘omakase’ format, which means ‘I'll leave it to you’ in Japanese, the mixologists are more than happy to tailor-make a cocktail for you.

Legend has it that bak kut teh gained its full name from Lee Boon ‘Teh’ (owner of Seng Huat) who unwittingly conferred his name on the dish. The third-generation owner, John, now serves two versions of bak kut teh – the original meat-bones only in the morning; and the claypot style with intestines, maw, mushroom and tofu puffs at night. We love the original one better – the herby pork rib is hacked into large chunks of flavourful, tender meat.

Also known as Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang, the market not only boasts a variety of fresh produce but it’s also a favourite breakfast haunt among KLites. Try this combo: Ah Weng Kor’s Hainanese tea, Sisters' Crispy Popiah and the Hainanese assam laksa.

You get to experience two things here – really good Malay food and eating under a flyover. The nasi campur spread alone is enough to get you excited; the range of chicken, beef and seafood gulai, asam pedas, ayam goreng berempah and assorted vegetable dishes are tasty and authentic, while the fish is fresh. When in doubt, go for the ayam goreng and sup tulang, which is by far some of the best we’ve ever had.