It’s a world of flavours in this bright and airy restaurant, with food presentation far exceeding its price point
If they don’t manage to entice you with their menu, then they will snag you on social media. It’s hard to stand out with so many other restaurants in the area, but Flavours Kitchen puts in the extra effort with their food. The dishes are amazing, but if you’re the sort of person who values photos over food, you’ll want to come here anyway just to jazz up your Instagram. Located just a few streets over, this place is a good choice after you’ve done your shopping at the nearby TTDI wet market.
Ambience & Amenities
Inside has a simple, modern colour scheme. Comfortable bench seats with lots of pillows line the wall and tons of natural light make it very welcoming in here. On the counter by the kitchen window is a phone charging station. Helpful, as you’ll almost certainly take a picture of your meal when it arrives.
The patio isn’t the best, being set up on a narrow sidewalk and with a view of cars parked on Persiaran Zaaba. If you want to eat outside, try to get a table at either of the two “snugs,” the tables covered by the metal awning. The one on the right is better, with a couple more plants than the one on the left. It’s a surprisingly relaxing spot, and you’re quite shielded from passersby thanks to the large potted plants.
There is a single room toilet through the door next to the kitchen window. You have to walk past the kitchen and a spot where they clean their mops, but it’s a decent, roomy bathroom. There’s toilet paper and nice Bath & Body Works soap at the sink, but nothing to dry your hands properly except for tissues.
Menu
The menu is chiefly Malaysian but there is the odd page of Western favourites like burgers and pasta. The food is nothing fancy, except for a Wagyu tomahawk steak that is the most expensive thing on the menu.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Food
The Honey Lemongrass Mint Drink (RM10) comes hot or iced, your choice. I got mine iced, and although it was lukewarm at best when it was served, the waitress brought an extra cup of ice. This was really nice (once I got it cold enough with the extra ice) with subtle flavours that made it easy to take big sips. The Red Lime (RM7) was not what I was expecting. I learned today that rose syrup is not sweet at all. Without any sweetener in this, this is just a sour glass of lime juice that will make you wince at the first taste. I’m sure the point is to order something like this if you’re getting desserts or something spicy.
The Chicken Chop with Salted Egg Yolk (RM25) came with a helpful reminder of what it was I was about to eat. A copious ladle full of salted egg sauce smothered the chop. The outside crust stayed crunchy, but the chicken inside was tender and so juicy. The buttermilk sauce that was paired with the dish had curry leaves and lots of bird’s eye chillies in it, similar to the salted egg yolk sauce. It came in a separate large square ramekin that was more than enough to dip both the chicken and fries.
With a thought to beautiful presentation, the fries were contained in their own mini fry basket. I was expecting chips fried in salted egg yolk batter, what came instead were normal fries with salted egg yolk sauce on top. A bit of a letdown, as it is so little sauce and it doesn’t stick to the fries. Inevitably, it will slip right off down the side of the basket and you have to dig for curry leaves to put onto your fries. Since the buttermilk sauce has some salted egg flavours, it’s easier to just dip these into that. The chips themselves were really delicious, and I was eating a lot of them without any condiments. They’re double-fried for extra crispiness, but their fat shape meant there was still fluffy potatoey goodness to be found in the middle.
The Vampire Slayer (RM22) burger is near impossible to eat without ruining the plate. I had thought the brown blobby on the word “vampire” was intentional, like a blood drop, but it turns out this burger is so messy that it leaked some sauce while it was being transferred to the plate! We are always naturally a bit sceptical of Malaysian restaurants doing burgers. A burger is vastly different from usual Malaysian fare, so many places don’t get it right. However, Flavours Kitchen managed to nail this one: incredibly juicy beef with the crunchy lettuce balancing out the mushy caramelised onions and mushrooms.
The garlic butter sauce had a watery texture but had big chunks of garlic. I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with this. Attempt to dip your burger in it? Pour it on your burger patty to make it even more of a sloppy burger? We did neither, as the burger didn’t need it, and simply dipped our fries into it.
Both plates were decorated with a smear of tangy, chunky barbeque chilli sauce. The writing is done in dijon mustard. With our accompanying buttermilk and garlic butter sauces, we were spoiled for choice in dippables! Ketchup is available if you ask for it, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re getting a sauce with your meal. As someone who is used to Heinz, the ketchup here is a bubbly off-brand that has a weird look and taste to it.
Saturday Worthy?
It was a choice between this place and the nearby Big Tree Bakery, and we are both glad we came here instead. The menu is just so much more interesting, and we weren’t even expecting the Instagrammable food! Both of our dishes exceeded expectations, and I’m curious to try the other offerings from Flavours Kitchen next time.
Price for 2 Pax: RM70.40
Chicken Chop Salted Egg Yolk: RM25.00
Vampire Slayer: RM22.00
Iced Honey Lemongrass Mint Drink: RM10.00
Iced Red Lime: RM7.00
10% Service: RM6.40
Flavours Kitchen
No. 14 Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tuesday to Sunday: 8:30am – 10:30pm
Closed on Mondays
Alcohol Served: No
