Agile Premier Suites Kuala Lumpur

Plaza Damansara offers no end of dining options, but this Peranakan joint stands out with the owner’s family recipes that have been polished and updated. No-frills home-style dishes are made with the freshest local produce and the sauces are made by the owner himself. Try his creamy basil boneless chicken, boasting juicy, velvety meat in a creamy sauce loaded with fresh herbal notes. Alfresco dining on balmy nights.

Amid cute bars and eateries in Plaza Damansara stands Aliyaa, famous for authentic Sri Lankan dishes. On the menu, beef, mutton, chicken, seafood or veggies mingle with distinctive Sri Lankan spices to great effect. Besides the famous whole crab, also try the Negombo prawns in pineapple gravy; or Kuliyal, curry rice and tomato paste baked in banana leaf. Food is generally quite spicy, but the chef will gladly adjust the level of heat to your liking.

For over 30 years, this stall has been selling chicken rice cooked to order over charcoal in claypots. The dish comes with Cantonese pork sausage and ginger, and has a crispy crust at the bottom. You can add salted fish, which imparts extra aroma.

Perched atop a skyscraper, the restaurant affords panoramic vistas of KL's skyline. Chef Sidney Schutte hails from the southern shores of the Netherlands. His menu is a delectable amalgam of French techniques, Nordic sensibility and Asian twists; seafood and vegetables are his strong suits. His dessert is the final bow, imparting depth and sweetness. With a menu spanning 3 hours, it's the perfect setup for a date.

Vantador’s vintage yet modern interiors are drenched in soft lighting. Aussie and Spanish beef is either dry-aged for up to 30 days in unsalted butter, or vacuum-sealed and wet-aged in its own juices for 14 days. Steaks are precisely grilled over charcoal and wood to desired doneness, striking a fine balance between smoky and full-bodied, meaty flavours. Non-steak dishes are also available, together with meticulously prepared desserts.

This local chef of Chaozhou descent, whose career boasts stints in upmarket kitchens, strives to break culinary boundaries at Jie. Her two 10-course tasting menus feature creative Chinese fare that often involves Western techniques and painstaking preparation. Free-range chicken soup with almond milk is slow-cooked for hours to build up layers of flavours; serrano ham adds extra depth. Book at least two days ahead.

Born into a Chinese family of chefs and formally trained in Gallic cuisine, the head chef strives to add a French spin to Chinese gourmet classics. The tasting menu embodies his culinary vision – crispy duck is aged for seven days making it juicy and tender; the must-try botan ebi dressed in fermented Chinese tofu sauce is marvellously ingenious. The chef occasionally pops out of the kitchen to serve the food himself and chat with diners.