Over a long weekend in January, I revisited the Malaysian capital for the first time since the pandemic. KL’s transformation was immediate. New skyscrapers—including the angular, awe-inspiring Merdeka 118—reflected a city brimming with confidence, glamour and ambition. It felt like a place having its moment—especially at the table.
KL’s dining scene has never felt more dynamic or diverse. Today, it spans everything from street-level stars like Pomod’Oro Ristorante Italiano in Damansara Heights—perhaps the most authentic Italian I’ve found in Asia—to hole-in-the-wall joints reviving age-old Bornean recipes. With seven Michelin-starred restaurants, each wildly different from the next, KL’s culinary clout is impossible to ignore.
The 2025 Michelin Guide added two new names to the one-star club: Chim by Chef Noom, offering creative, tradition-rooted Thai fare with bold plating; and Molina, where French technique and Nordic sensibility collide with Asian influences in imaginative tasting menus.
Perched atop The Face Style skyscraper opposite the Petronas Towers, Molina is the passion project of tattooed Dutch chef Sidney Schutte. The setting—minimalist, intimate, with sweeping city views—is perfect for its seven- to nine-course menus, arguably KL’s finest date-night fare.
“My heart lies in seafood—langoustines, scallops, razor clams, oysters—it reflects my Dutch roots,” Schutte says. “Back home, we don’t have skyscrapers. The closest thing is windmills.” Fitting, then, that “molina” is Latin for windmill.
Schutte’s journey has taken him from three-Michelin-star De Librije in the Netherlands to Hong Kong, Mexico and back again before a serendipitous encounter with the hotel’s owner brought him to KL. “Asia’s food culture pulled me back,” he says. “There’s something special about contributing to this city’s evolution.”
Flemish head chef Guillaume Depoortere adds: “We work hard to source locally and sustainably. Freshness and quality are everything.”
Not far away in downtown KLCC, Dewakan stands alone with two Michelin stars and Malaysia’s only Michelin Green Star for sustainability. It also cracked Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, the only Malaysian restaurant to do so in 2024.
Chef Darren Teoh Min Guo sources unique local ingredients, ferments food waste into sauces, and preaches a fine-dining ethos rooted in responsibility. “We use a nose-to-tail approach around ingredients many locals have forgotten,” he says. “It’s about reducing imports and rediscovering what’s already here.”
A former culinary arts teacher, Teoh launched Dewakan—its name a blend of dewa (god) and makan (to eat)—in a former university canteen. “It was a crazy idea,” he admits. “But I was bored of teaching.” His reflections on identity—he’s of mixed Chinese and Indian descent—add poignancy to Dewakan’s ethos. “I don’t speak either of my parents’ languages. I don’t have much of a culture,” he says. You’d never guess, entering a restaurant so richly expressive.
KL’s food awakening isn’t confined to fine dining. Opened in late 2023, the colossal lifestyle mall The Exchange TRX near Bukit Bintang offers a global smorgasbord. There’s Amazonas, chef Shaun Lazaroo’s riotous tribute to Latin America, with dishes spanning Peru, Brazil, Mexico and beyond. The pisco sours flow freely.
Other highlights include luxe Thai at Busaba, Mexican color riot Chica Bonito, Taiwanese stalwart Din Tai Fung, and Malay standout G’rai. Meriah delivers pan-Southeast Asian fare in stark minimalism, while Japanese ramen franchise Kanada-Ya brings umami-laden comfort.
KL’s cocktail scene, long overshadowed by Singapore’s, has also hit its stride. A decade ago, the city had few serious bars. Today, it has two on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.
At no. 8 is Penrose, tucked into Petaling Street. On a packed Saturday night, I waited 90 minutes for entry. The space is compact, bar-counter-focused, and stripped down. Its 15-drink menu reinterprets classics with flair—banana daiquiri with tamarind and tonka bean; Gibson with shochu, sake vinegar and wasabi.
Founder and head bartender Jon Lee doesn’t display bottles. Instead, guests are encouraged to chat with bartenders for recommendations. “We foster connection,” Lee says. “Sometimes we even introduce guests to each other on quiet nights.”
Lee’s path is anything but typical. He studied culinary arts, worked at Four Seasons Langkawi and Google Malaysia, opened a bistro, and then pivoted to coffee. A barista gig led him to Singapore’s Tippling Club, where he trained under Ryan Clift and later under 2018’s “Bartenders’ Bartender” Joe Schofield.
KL’s other star bar is Bar Trigona (no. 36), located at The Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur. In contrast to Penrose’s minimalist vibe, Trigona is all colour and flair, with beehive-inspired interiors and panoramic views. Its “Colour Me Curious” menu supports bee habitat conservation.
Trigona’s cocktails star native ingredients, notably nectar from the stingless Trigona bee, which changes flavour subtly with the seasons. There’s even a honey-tasting flight. Sustainability underpins everything—from the “farm-to-glass” ethos to the Adopt a Beehive initiative.
“We believe plant-based cocktails are the future,” says head bartender Rohan Matmary. “Countries like Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan are redefining cocktails by turning to their land.”
KL’s culinary momentum continues with events like Karnival Jom Heboh (30 May–1 June), which floods Klang Valley with street food and markets. The capital’s slogan, Maju dan Sejahtera—Progress and Prosper—isn’t just aspirational. It’s reality.