Makan Mana: Fuad Alhabshi

Mexican food is a relatively recent trend after the food trucks came about in KL, and this place in Mid Valley serves good, balanced burritos and tacos with fresh pico de gallo and a healthy helping of meat or fish. Unlike other fast-food joints, I could eat a meal at this place without feeling that I’ve wrecked my body.

WHAT TO ORDER: My go-to is the pan-fried fish fillet in a hard taco shell – it’s hard to find good fish whenever I go out to eat, and for RM15 a meal it’s a good deal. If you’re heading to the Bangsar outlet, make sure you have the Baja fish tacos, which has breaded fish fillet that’s quite full-on.

This is the place I can depend on for comfort food. And in contrast with Fat Spoon, which has a lot of decorations, this place makes you feel like you’re in a clean room with plenty of white space – everywhere I look there’s an Instagram shot waiting to be taken.

WHAT TO ORDER: You can’t go wrong with the ox tongue rice bowl: seared slices of ox tongue with a sweet-savoury sauce, spring onions, a bit of chilli and a poached egg that you mix together to create comfort in a bowl. 

This place is an institution in the Damansara Heights area – everyone who’s lived around the place knows about La Risata, and for good reason. They just do what they do very well – the crowds speak for that – and very consistently. I find that the food here, for the price that you pay, is comparable to the more expensive Italian restaurants.

WHAT TO ORDER: My meals here have always been good; for starters order the bresaola, rocket and mozzarella dish, followed by the carbonara pizza which is made with a white sauce instead of the regular red sauce. But the real coup de grâce is the Spaghetti alla Risata – spaghetti tossed in with mixed seafood and hearty tomato sauce, and baked in a foil.

This is the place I come to for an omakase experience where you let the Japanese chef serve you what’s good. The great thing about the place is its price; unlike some omakase places that charge you sky-high prices, the omakase sets here start from about RM180 – it’s definitely a place to impress someone for a special occasion.

WHAT TO ORDER: The omakase set; after having it, you’ll understand the difference between the kaiten sushi belt-style restaurants and the real deal. You might not think there’s much to eat in the RM180 set, but after eight courses you’ll be stuffed.

A friend who’s a Japanese barbecue hunter introduced me to this place, and since then I’ve started coming here with my mom. What’s nice about this place is the setup: you have the option of not cooking the meat at the table, it’s not too packed and the price is pretty reasonable – the place ticks all the boxes for what I want in a restaurant.

WHAT TO ORDER: They have all the standard cuts – but the baraniku (short ribs) is really good, as is the lamb cutlet that comes on the bone. The yakiniku sauce is also well done, with generous amounts of garlic and miso.