Nostalgic restaurants and kopitiams in KL

Although Yut Kee has moved from its original Jalan Dang Wangi premise to its current location along Jalan Kemunting, this beloved coffee shop still rolls out the same food as it did back in 1928. Now run by father-and-son team Jack and Mervyn Lee, Yut Kee is busier than ever – you’d regularly find people queuing up waiting for Mervyn to yell out their names. The classic kopitiam marble tables, wooden chairs and mosaic-tiled floor lend to the overall nostalgic vibe about the place. Among its extensive list of rice, noodle and side dishes, the standout items here are the Hainanese chicken chop, roti babi, roast pork belly and Hailam mee. End your meal with a slice of their famous kaya Swiss roll or marble cake – but be quick as they sell out fast.

Housed in what was formerly the guild hall of the Selangor & Federal Territory Laundry Association during the 1920s, Old China Café – which opened in 1997 – bears much of the architectural elements that you rarely see in modern-day KL: saloon-style doors, century-old marble tables, vintage photos and antique clocks will all remind you of a KL that has come and gone. Don’t think of this place as a tourist trap; the Peranakan and Malaysian dishes here do stand the test of time – our favourites are the fish head curry, devil curry chicken and pai tee. But the must-try here is the beef rendang: it has the right balance of chilli heat and richness from the coconut milk, and is cooked until soft and tender enough to break apart with just a fork.

No nasi lemak list would be complete without the mention of Tanglin, which was first opened by Suriati Jawirunah in 1948 as a stall under a tree near Jalan Tanglin. The stall has since relocated to the nearby food court along Jalan Cenderasari, with Suriati’s son, Zainal Abidin Hassan, continuing her legacy. The rice here goes through a ten-hour cooking process where coconut milk is slowly mixed with partially steamed rice to maintain the grain’s integrity, creating a fluffy and fragrant nasi lemak that few can match up to. The other key component is the sambal tumis, prepared over the course of three to four hours until the onions caramelise, soften and melt into the dark sambal sauce. You can add to your meal a variety of other dishes like sambal sotong, ayam masak merah and beef rendang, along with other less common dishes like cow’s spleen and cow’s lung.

This steakhouse has become a sort of institution in our city, having been around for almost a century. Yes you can visit the newer branches in Mid Valley, Sunway Pyramid and Plaza 33, but that’s nothing compared to dining in its original Jalan TAR location – you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time with the old school furniture and a sparsely decorated interior. But for however long Coliseum has existed, the food is thankfully still good. Regulars go for the sizzling steak – available in tenderloin, ribeye, T-bone and sirloin cuts, each piece is cooked to your choice of doneness and served on a piping hot cast iron plate. We recommend you keep your bib on while the waiter douses your steak with generous amounts of brown sauce right at the table.

With a large sign in English that reads ‘Lai Foong Restaurant’ facing the road, you’ll find it hard to miss this decades-old coffee shop. Inside, the hawker-style restaurant consists of a cluster of stalls selling its signature beef noodles (the station is managed by the owner of the place himself), char kuey teow, Penang fried kuok teow and other Chinese favourites.

If you find yourself in Brickfields, nip into the narrow lane of Lorong Scott to find Lawanya Food Corner. Run by RV Ramu and his wife Challama, this street-side Indian eatery has been around for over 30 years, and still draws steady lunch crowds who keep coming back for affordable home-cooked curries, fried meats and vegetables. Aside from the customary chicken and mutton curries, the crowd puller here is the wide variety of vegetarian dishes – think stir-fried banana stem, deep-fried bitter gourd and mock meat curries that are cooked just right. The spice blends in their curries are different than what you’d find at other places: they carry a depth of flavour that will leave you craving for more. And at RM6 for a plate of rice with three vegetable dishes, we say that’s a pretty good deal.