2015 is an exciting and fruitful year for food lovers, as many new restaurants and cafés with creative concepts have opened in Klang Valley. Over the past 1 year, we have featured many new restaurants in our monthly hot restaurant articles. Now, it’s time to wrap up, and we’ve selected 15 hottest restaurants for the year of 2015. Some of them are so popular that you still need to queue up for a seat during peak hours. Let's take a look!
(The restaurants are listed in no particular order. Some of the establishments below are not halal.)
Rocku is an instant success when they're opened at Pavilion’s Dining Loft. People love their Japanese BBQ buffet concept with free flow of meat and seafood, including chicken, beef, lamb, pork, scallop, salmon and many more. Upon entering this Japanese BBQ restaurant, customers will be given 100 minutes to dine. An extra charge is needed if you want to top up your dining time. No worries of some awkward moments of silence, as they have performances here like live band and magic show too!
Located on the first floor of Empire Damansara, Haraju-Cube has been the talk of the town ever since its launch. Young patrons flock to this Japanese cafe in PJ daily for their signature Honey Toast! Toasts in toast, it has cream, ice-creams and fresh fruits or other toppings according to the flavor that you order. 8 mini toasts with strong honey and butter flavors are hidden inside. The Honey Toast is freshly baked in the kitchen, so if you’re going over for this goody, make sure you’ll be able to wait up to 30 minutes for it!
Have you ever seen such a huge curry laksa before? This curry laksa stall nestled in Coca Sea Food Coffee Shop is one of the most talked-about hawker stalls this year, as their giant laksa has gone viral on social media for several months! The stall starts operating at around 7:30am, but you better arrive earlier than that, as the queue is always very long, and you might need to queue for 2 hours in the weekends if you’re late. The giant laksa contains more than 10 ingredients, including char siew, roasted pork, curry chicken, cockles, meat balls, vegetables and so on. Eat till you drop!
Located not far from Kepong Village Mall, Take Eat Easy is a big hit among café hoppers ever since they’re opened in KL. One of the main attractions here is their fresh juice served in a light bulb! The juice is freshly pressed to order to ensure the taste is absolutely refreshing! What's more, customers can bring the light bulb bottle home as a souvenir! They also serve delicious all-day breakfast. Their signature Mighty Breakfast in big portion is highly recommended.
Founded by a group of young Korean expatriates who love pets, Cubs & Cups is one of the pioneering pet-friendly cafés in KL with resident dogs. The owners bring their own pets, including a Husky, a Malamute puppy, and a Pomeranian puppy, to work every day. The dogs and puppies are so cute that they have unexpectedly become the star attractions of the café. Pet owners are welcome to bring their pets to this café too to enjoy some comfort foods and make some new friends.
Located on the first floor, Wild Sheep Chase has become a very popular café among dessert lovers in KL. The café has a lovely ambiance with a white and bright interior, which makes every corner of the place Instagram-worthy. Many patrons flock here for their Vanilla Soufflé, which is made of kampung chicken egg to create the soft and moist texture. You’ll enjoy every bite of it! Also special is their Earl Grey Milk Tea sprinkled with lemon zest.
Occupying a spacious corner lot, Moonlight Cake House is a well-known café and bakery hailed from Johor. Customers will be spoiled for choice, as the bakery offers an extensive selection of breads and cakes. There is even a small section that is dedicated to only durian-flavoured products, including durian-shaped cake, durian macaroon, durian puff and durian roll. You can visit the dine-in area on the first floor for some delicious local and Western dishes too.
Tucked away at Zenith Corporate Park at Kelana Jaya, Flavourest Café is a bear themed café that has gained enormous popularity this year. Everything here is adorable, as the whole café is decorated with the owner’s personal collection of teddy bears. Some signature dishes and drinks here are designed in bear shape too, such as 3D Art Cappucino and Teddy Bear Burger with a bear-shaped burger bun, so cute!
Upon arriving at this shop in KL, you will be amazed by its massive 3-storey building. The concept of this eatery is special, because it’s a combination of bakery and restaurant. Step in the shop, and you’ll be warmly greeted by a wide range of freshly baked French bakeries and pastries. The dining area is located on the 2nd and 3rd floor, where customers can whet their appetite with a good selection of Western Cuisine, including breakfasts, salads, sandwiches, mains and pastas.
Hidden at Connaught Avenue, Beary Potter is a Japanese-inspired studio café in KL, where you can not only chill and enjoy some simple desserts, but also join their pottery classes to learn how to make a pottery with bare hands. They offer pottery classes, such as slab building and pottery wheel throwing, in the weekends. Besides that, the café offers a good selection of both sweet and savory pancakes. Some specialty pancakes include Shrimp Burger, Okonomiyaki, and Pancake Mango.
Special milkshakes that come all the way from Australia, here comes the 'Messed up Family' series at Garage 51 in PJ! They are the best milkshakes ever, ranging from The Mother, The Father, The Son and The Daughter - all these 4 series comes with their exquisite flavor of their own. How not to enjoy them especially for a good picture moment to show on your social media?
A newly opened Japanese café at SS2, PJ here - P.S. Tokyo they brought us all something new and taste good too! Japanese soft serve ice cream! Their famous Hojicha (Roasted Japanese Green Tea) or Matcha (Green Tea) Soft Serve ice creams that is rich in flavor and thick; add in toppings to enhance the flavor more; here we have added Nestum to it!
A café that is specialized on waffles, cakes, coffees and flower teas, The Owls Cafe's interior is very attractive with owl decorations! Still gaining attentions on the social media, their café in KL serves the best yet attractive waffles! You’ll still see patrons are willing to queue for their waffles as they are indeed special and tasty! Psst! Remember to try their Earl Grey ice cream on ‘Rebecca’ waffle!
Assam Laksa at Bao Choo Kitchen is delish and full with fish meat, pineapples and cucumber! Add a scoop of prawn paste to enhance the flavor; sweet and sour that suits everyone’s taste buds! There are 2 types of Pan Mee here – the Traditional or Modern. For the dry version, don’t be alarmed if you mixed them well but still look fair enough as they do not use dark soy sauce in it! Remember to try Fish cakes, Rice pudding, Fried dumplings, Yam cake and more!
A house of chocolate, Casa Cacao are here to satisfy your cravings. Everything about chocolate, by just flipping through their menu it makes you salivate badly. With so many chocolatey food to choose from, crepes is absolutely fantastic here! With 4 choices to choose from, we’ve picked on the simple but very satisfying Simply Good Chocolate Crepes that is filled with pure melted chocolate. Sweetness level is just good and not overly sweet!
Add them to your 2016 wish list if you haven’t visited them in 2015 yet!
1. Rocku Yakiniku @ Pavilion KL
2. Haraju-Cube @ Empire Damansara
4. Take Eat Easy @ Kepong Menjalara
6. Wild Sheep Chase @ Taman Desa
7. Moonlight Cake House @ Sri Petaling
10. Beary Potter Studio Café @ Connaught Avenue, Cheras
13. The Owls Café @ Bukit Jalil
14. Bao Choo Kitchen @ Mahkota Cheras