Teochew House, Steppes Mont Kiara

Steppes Mont Kiara's new Teochew House tackles Teochew traditions in modern style, from braised meat to porridge, marinated seafood to mung bean cakes, mustard greens and more.

Start with the raw sea prawns, steeped in an aromatic bath of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, Chinese wine, chillies and coriander, shimmeringly fresh, smooth and succulent.

Get your goose cooked with goose oil-glistened noodles buoyed by bouncy goose meatballs, plus a flavourful fried rice bowl, colourfully blanketed with braised goose, egg and veggies.

Familiar favourites like pan-fried oyster omelette are available, thick and tempting with a crisp, golden-crusted bite.

Wild Table, Taman Paramount

Poutine with a chicken crackling twist, mac and cheese made meaty with beef ribs: Taman Paramount’s friendly new Wild Table puts scrumptious spins on carb-loving comfort fare.

Poutine purists might scoff, but most of us will scarf down Wild Table’s Golden Mess take on Québécois fries, crisp and rustically chunky, showered with chicken gravy, grated Emmental cheese, chives, plus chicken crackling for can’t-stop-snacking indulgence.

Also try the Steakhouse Mac of macaroni with slow-braised beef short rib, three-cheese mornay, pecorino tuile and pickled cucumber, tasty and thoughtfully textured. Balance the richness with a brightly citrusy orange-lemon cooler buoyed by burnt honey.

Flusso, Botanic Klang

Creativity flows at Bandar Botanik’s new Flusso, founded by a friendly brother-and-sister team, serving Italian-inspired pasta and French-style bread with Malaysian twists.

Cavatelli, pappardelle, ravioli, tagliatelle and trenette are crafted from scratch in Flusso’s kitchen, laced with local flavours.

Try the Trenette Mamak, tossed in house-blended sauce that captures the sweet-savoury, fragrant spices of mee mamak, finished with tender marinated chicken breast, bean sprouts and chives, and Ravioli Di Gamberi, bathed in umami-rich crustacean bisque that channels prawn mee, topped with kangkung, crispy shallots and egg.

Flusso bakes its own brioche for the Apam Balik, blanketed with bruleed corn, corn cream and toasted peanut crumble for a playfully unique indulgence.

Pair with the Cold Brew Old Fashioned, coffee buoyed by gula Melaka and orange zest.

Dua Belas Jam Coffee Company, Kajang

Dua Belas Jam is Kajang’s new retro-kitsch cafe for pancake breakfasts and playful brews in a patchwork of pop-art cats and Y2K nostalgic curiosities..

  
The Breakfast Pancakes take their cue from classic big breakfast platters: Two house-griddled pancakes with plenty of beef pepperoni, scrambled eggs and sautéed mushrooms, finished with hot honey drizzle for a mighty morning meal.

The Mati Suri cooler combines watermelon and soda with a blend of two Colombian beans, creamy and sweetly aromatic with fruity-floral fizz.

Dua Belas Jam opens in the morning, 7am to 11am, then later at night, 6pm to 1am, when Neapolitan pizza and shio pan are available.