1. Jade Pavilion
Lockdown might have sounded the death knell for many businesses, but for a handful of restaurants including Jade Pavilion, it presented new opportunities. Occupying what used to be Ebisu (now located in the Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur) on the eighth floor of Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the new Chinese restaurant is as elegant as they come. A red carpet-lined walkway running from the front entrance to the main dining room immediately sets the tone for sumptuous things to come, and the staff uniforms with frog fasteners and bright-coloured fabric look like designs hot off the runway.
Despite their shared last name, dim sum chef Dino Lee and Chinese masterchef Kenny Lee's only relation to one another is a shared passion for Chinese cooking; both Lees work in tandem to present diners with Hokkaido scallops served in rich coconut butter sauce; steamed Xiao Long Bao filled with chicken and crab; impossibly tender beef cubes fried with mushrooms and garlic; and more pork-free delicacies. Dessert, our favourite course of the day, ranges from the traditional to the contemporary, with Double Boiled Bird’s Nest with American Ginseng and Chilled Mango Purée with Pomelo and Strawberry coming out of the same kitchen.
Jade Pavilion | Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 170, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur | +603-2117 2823 | jadepavilion-pavilionhotel@banyantree.com | Open daily, 12 - 2.30pm and 6 - 10pm | Reservations