Belum Friday, Raja Chulan Road

An illustrated menu inspired by Barcelona’s iconic architect Antoni Gaudí. An Art Deco interior with an arched steel-framed entrance hoisted by crane to the eighth floor. A kitchen that threads European finesse through Malaysian favourites like roti kaya, rojak, spring rolls, curry laksa, Hakka mee and more.

Belum Friday is downtown KL’s distinctive new kopitiam-cafe, perched atop Raja Chulan’s UR-MU @ Toffee urban museum with sweeping city views, with Nina Simone spinning on vinyl while Malaysian chef-founder Chantelle Lim reinvigorates familiar fare with flair.

Belum Friday’s Kaya Toast is gorgeous as golden-griddled brioche, crisp with subtle scents of coconut and pandan, ridged with seafood mousse rosettes; Crabs In A Blanket features pure crab flesh, stuffed in steamed rice noodle sheets; Curry Laksa showcases squid ink pasta in kitchen-blended curry, textured with house seafood stock, enlivened with herbs and spices, plus fresh Sabah tiger prawns and devilled eggs; Lychee Cheesecake is lusciously buoyant on a macadamia-laced base.

Every element is exactingly considered, from Breton butter for the cakes to Beacon seaweed-fed chicken for nasi lemak and chicken chops, brought together with a lifetime’s worth of culinary instincts and skill. Belum Friday is well worth a visit, any day, any week.

Hulu Blavk, Bukit Damansara

Hulu Blavk is Bukit Damansara’s new matcha parlour for desserts and drinks steeped in gentle green grounds.

Specialities span silky-custardy matcha-layered purin pudding; Yame-style eclairs with matcha-or-hojicha-infused pastry cream; buttery berry matcha tarts; and pineapple matcha coolers, ripe with real fruit.

Smith & Wollensky Kuala Lumpur, Suria KLCC

Smith & Wollensky Kuala Lumpur is the first Malaysian offshoot of the storied American steakhouse, bringing a half-century’s legacy of Midtown Manhattan pedigree to KLCC.

With a double-volume bar theatrically rising from its centre, this is the city’s new enclave for power lunches and society suppers, burnished with brass-toned railings, caramel-hued banquettes and herringbone timber floors.

Smith & Wollensky’s signature USDA Prime beef is expected to enter by early 2026. For now, the restaurant carves Australian 200-day grain-fed Black Angus beef in thick cuts like tenderloin rubbed with coffee and cocoa, accompanied by ancho chilli butter and angry onions.

Comforting classics like Boston clam chowder with San Francisco sourdough and oyster crackers lend timelessness to the menu, which nonetheless embraces exclusive nods to Malaysia like Asam Jawa and Lada Kelapa steak sauces.