20 new restaurants and cafes to visit in KL and Selangor, April 2016

Sean Yoong Articles & Promotions, Lists, New Restaurants 0 Comment

You can view a list of our most recent new restaurant features here. This is part of a monthly series.

From South Indian cuisine to fanciful pastries, and a healty fast food joint, here are 20 new restaurants and cafes you can check out:

1. Kayra Kerala Cuisine, TTDI

The vividly distinctive flavours of Kerala, the coastal state of south-west India, come alive at Kayra, run with a sense of joy and authoritativeness by Meriam Alfonso, a Malaysian whose family has roots in Kerala. Meriam’s grandfather opened a Keralite restaurant in Johor Baru in 1949, and she’s now bringing the time-honoured, treasured recipes of her heritage to this lovely new venue, bedecked with black-and-white photographs of Kerala.

Expect an emphasis on grated and roasted coconuts as a key component (Kayra’s name comes from the Malayalam-language equivalent of the swaying coconut palms that abound on Kerala’s shores), plus a unique balance of spices (brought in from Kerala, a region with a rich history of spice trading) that sets the delicately nuanced cooking here apart from much of the southern and northern Indian fare we’re accustomed to in KL.

Read review: Kayra Kerala Cuisine at TTDI

Find: Contact details and map for Kayra Kerala Cuisine

2. Xiao By Crustz, Petaling Jaya

Good vibes, good desserts: After nearly seven years of nurturing her craft with home baking and corporate catering, young pastry chef Koh Xiao-Ly has launched her own patisserie with her sister – it’s a lovely parlour (with a distinctive seating space that caters more to couples than clusters), focusing on petite but elaborate French-inspired creations that illustrate its friendly founder’s flair and finesse.

Read review: Xiao by Crustz at Happy Mansion, PJ

Find: Contact details and map for Xiao by Crustz

3. Little Mums

Little Mums is a bundle of joy – a warm, welcoming restaurant, the kind of place that customers leave happy, satisfied that they’ve been well-fed with honest, hearty and skilful cooking of Malay, Chinese and Nyonya fare at fair prices.

Read review: Little Mums at Damansara Uptown

Find: Contact details and map for Little Mums

4. Mantra Rooftop Bar, Bangsar

Perched on the fourth-level rooftop of Bangsar Village, Mantra’s calling card is its exclusive bird’s-eye perspective of the neighbourhood, viewed from a sleek, starry setting; this is the sort of watering hole that socialites will throng to see and be seen – but thankfully, beyond the superficial glitz, there are shimmering glimpses of potential in both the food (try the crispy whitebait, smeared with a textured Malaysian sambal and Japanese onsen egg) and the cocktails (love the Pulau Panjang and Bentong Buck).

Read review: Mantra Rooftop Bar at Bangsar Village

Find: Contact details and map for Mantra Rooftop Bar

5. Yoshinari, Sri Hartamas

Soulful, honest flavours, skilfully constructed with minimal fuss by chef Komoto and his team – opening this month in Sri Hartamas, Yoshinari is the first Malaysian offshoot of a Japanese restaurant of the same name near Tokyo’s Shibuya Station.

Read review: Yoshinari at Plaza Damas 3, Sri Hartamas

Find: Contact details and map for Yoshinari

6. The Krua, Petaling Jaya

Thai-born Anne Kanyapat helms this new casual venue that seeks to reflect the full-on flavours of her northeastern heritage.

Read review: The Krua at Petaling Jaya

Find: Contact details and map for The Krua

7. Hale Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur

Hale and hearty: This joint offers healthier forms of fast food – think burgers with oven-baked Australian grass-fed beef patties in wholemeal buns.

Read review: HALE Restaurant at Menara Hup Seng

Find: Contact details and map for HALE Restaurant

8. The Midnight Baker, Mont Kiara

Jason bakes bread, his wife Cheryl crafts cakes and pastries, and their buddy Neil makes coffee – The Midnight Baker is a fetching new stop for a fuss-free breakfast, lunch or tea, run by a small, self-reliant team with skill and soul. Fun Fact No. 1: Curious about the cafe’s name? Jason has a separate day-job, so he oversees the oven only after most of us have headed to bed. Fun Fact No. 2: If you’ve missed popular barista Neil Ng, he’ll be here for the next several months, helping his friends set up shop.

Read review: The Midnight Baker at SENI Mont Kiara

Find: Contact details and map for The Midnight Baker

9. Katie’s Stove, Ampang

This friendly, family-run restaurant brings a bit of Johor to KL, relying on recipes that catering veteran Khaty Ahmad inherited from her mother – the star attractions include laksa Johor, lontong, kacang phool and kopi Muar.

Read review: Katie’s Stove at Hock Choon, Ampang

Find: Contact details and map for Katie’s Stove

10. 95 Degres Art Café, Subang

A cocoon of calm, adorned with artwork on every wall, rising above and beyond its overcrowded environs, spotlighting food with surprising flourishes, unflappably executed and persuasively priced.

Read review: 95 Degres Art Café at SS15, Subang

Find: Contact details and map for 95 Degres Art Café

11. Sou Omakase Dining, Mid Valley

This new restaurant specialises exclusively in the art of omakase – there’s no a la carte menu, so patrons leave it entirely to Yokohama-born executive chef Fukuchi and his team to prepare set lunches and dinners that represent a complete journey through Japanese cooking.

Read review: Sou Omakase Dining at The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley

Find: Contact details and map for Sou Omakase Dining

12. The Glass House, Damansara Perdana

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t drink bad coffee: At first blush, this handsome new caffeine bar – bathed in sunbeams in a leafy, two-level setting – looks like it’s been conceived solely as a superficial decoy for social media shots. But The Glass House, run primarily by New Zealander Glen and his Malaysian partner Elaine, is determined to be a draw for earnest coffee enthusiasts, enticed by an evolving selection of single origins and blends by respected roasters from across the globe.

Read review: The Glass House at Metropolitan Square, Damansara Perdana

Find: Contact details and map for The Glass House

13. Luretta DOP, 1 Utama

It’s always cause for celebration when a decent new destination for Italian fare unfurls – Luretta is a place for hams, cheese, pastas, wine and more, with produce brought in from Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and elsewhere across Italy, run independently by the Sassolini brothers from Cesena.

Read review: Luretta DOP Italian Deli at 1 Utama

Find: Contact details and map for Luretta DOP Italian Deli

14. Lancelot Tea Guild, Bandar Sunway

This new Camelot for tea enthusiasts strives to sustain a code of culinary chivalry, spearheaded by kitchen knights who’ve pledged to protect the honour of their offerings – expect carefully thought-out recipes paired with well-executed beverages.

Read review: Lancelot Tea Guild at Nadayu 28, Bandar Sunway

Find: Contact details and map for Lancelot Tea Guild

15. Uroko, Petaling Jaya

A new go-to spot for contemporary Japanese fare, from pan-fried foie gras wrapped with sliced salmon to steamed scallops and sea urchin in egg broth.

Read review: Uroko Japanese Cuisine at Section 17, Petaling Jaya

Find: Contact details and map for Uroko Japanese Cuisine

16. De’ Tulang Merah, Happy Garden

De’ Tulang Merah specialises in Singapore’s ‘sup tulang merah’ (red bone soup); this friendly outlet’s founders include a few Singaporeans, including singer Sufi Rashid (the winner of 2015’s edition of Akademi Fantasia), whom fortunate fans might spot here on some performance nights.

Read review: De’Tulang Merah at Happy Garden

Find: Contact details and map for De’Tulang Merah

17. 3 Idiots Café, Mont Kiara

Contrary to the name, no idiots were involved in the making of this new cafe – a quirky little space with oodles of character (check out the fun furnishing personally crafted by venue founders Kevin, CK and Cheryl) and a menu full of sharp-witted touches.

Read review: 3 Idiots Café at Plaza Mont Kiara

Find: Contact details and map for 3 Idiots Café

18. Oomph Café, Taman Desa

Oomph is apparently aimed at fitness enthusiasts who want to refuel after workouts – the cafe’s founders say their recipes are made with minimal salt, sugar and preservatives, relying instead on, say, extra virgin olive oil for a health boost.

Read review: Oomph Café at Taman Desa

Find: Contact details and map for Oomph Café