5 new restaurants in KL, PJ & Subang Jaya worth your September
Lots of new openings in KL / PJ / Subang Jaya this month to share, so here’s my picks for what to be excited and queueing for this September!
One of the places I’m super excited for the reopening - Thai-In Law over at O&S Hawker in Petaling Jaya!
Yuen Kee Dumpling, Sri Petaling
This is one that looks really exciting! Yuen Kee Dumpling (袁记云饺) started in Guangzhou in 2012 and now runs north of 4,200 outlets. This is its first Malaysian shop, which makes Sri Petaling an interesting location over the usual Bukit Bintang landing — and a second outlet is already lined up for Kota Kemuning! The dumplings are wrapped fresh in-store rather than trucked in frozen, and in-store you can buy them raw by weight to cook at home, which is the genuinely useful part and the bit the delivery menu doesn't offer. Order the shepherd's purse and pork if you want to understand why the chain got as big as it did!
Address: 51, Jalan Radin Bagus, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Daily, 10am–10pm
Must order: Shepherd's purse & pork dumplings (10pc) RM16.90 · Shrimp, vegetable & pork dumpling noodles (6pc) RM14.90 · Pan-fried chives & pork dumplings (6pc) RM10.90
Instagram: @yuenkee.dumpling
Shio Sushi, Pandan Indah
I think Pandan Indah has essentially no mid-range Japanese, so a place doing salmon ikura don at RM28 is filling a real gap in the area! RM28 is the number that makes this interesting. That's roughly what you'd pay at a chain for something considerably worse, and it's low enough to make this a weeknight option rather than an occasion. The saikoro steak set at RM45 with mini tempura looks super yummy, so that would personally be my pick for what to try here!
Address: 48, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B, Pandan Indah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Contact: 012-693 6136
Opening hours: 11am–3pm and 5.30pm–10pm for dine-in, but delivery hours are listed narrower and Thursday looks like lunch only.
Must order: Salmon ikura don RM28 · Saikoro steak with mini tempura set RM45 · Shio signature roll RM12
Instagram: @shiosushi.kl
Thai In-Law, Taman Paramount
I’m sure most people on TikTok / IG would have seen this spot. A Thai-Malaysian couple running a Thai stall inside O&S, which was already one of my favourite kopitiams in PJ before they turned up. Dry tom yam noodles on sen lek with minced pork, peanuts, a runny egg and baby prawns is the order, and there are large queues for the food here — the most recent diner review I could find describes waiting and says it was worth it!
The mama zaab comes at six spice levels. In my experience level three is the honest ceiling for most people and anyone who orders six is performing. Finish with khao niao dam and coconut ice cream.
Address: 39, Jalan 20/14, Taman Paramount, 46300 Petaling Jaya — inside Restoran O&S
Contact: 017-375 9641
Opening hours: Thursday to Monday 9am–2pm, Wednesday 9am–5pm. Closed Tuesday
Must order: Dry tom yam noodles · Tom yam mama zaab · Khao niao dam with coconut ice cream, pork served
Instagram: @thaiinlaw
Rumah Asap Kanid, Damansara Jaya
Honestly the one on this list that looks the most interesting to me! Adrian Langat, who is Dayak-Kelabit, has set up a Sarawak smokehouse inside an existing char siu shop — one of only a handful of places in the Klang Valley selling rumah asap barbecue by weight, and the first I know of on this side of PJ. The Cheras versions have been running for years. This is the one you can actually get to.
Three-layer pork at RM15 per 100g, pork intestine at RM13, satay at RM2 a stick. The RM17.90 set comes with daun ubi tumbuk and a choice of rice or nuba laya, and the nuba laya is the detail that tells you he isn't sanding the edges off for a PJ audience. The reviews are looking promising so far, so this is personally one that I will definitely stop by one of these days!
Address: Jalan SS22/25, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya — inside Restoran Ah Pei Char Siu. The kopitiam is number 42; the stall's own listing gives 46
Contact: 011-5399 3533
Opening hours: 11am–2.30pm and 5.30pm–9.30pm. Closed Monday
Must order: Set meal RM17.90 · Kanid's 3 layer pork RM15/100g · Kanid's pork satay RM2/stick Pork served
Instagram: @rumah_asap_kanid
HAROY, SS15 Subang Jaya
Definitely another spot that looks really exciting! Bangkok's Hat Yai fried chicken brand, served the way it's meant to be — with sticky rice, fried shallots and the chilli sauce, rather than repackaged into a Western-style combo the way most Thai chicken gets treated once it crosses a border. The technique is the whole draw. Hat Yai chicken takes a long soak, four hours to overnight, in a wet marinade of pounded garlic, coriander root, white pepper and fish sauce thinned with enough water that it brines as much as it marinates. Then a thin rice-flour coating, and a heap of crisp fried shallots on top which are not a garnish — leave them off and it isn't Hat Yai chicken. At RM16.90 for a one-piece combo it undercuts every Korean chain in SS15, and SS15 has a lot of Korean chains. This one is in that fast food category, but still looks pretty promising.
Address: 72, Jalan SS15/4b, SS15, Subang Jaya
Opening hours: Daily, 10am–10pm
Must order: 2-piece chicken combo RM21.90 · Som tam RM5.90 · Thai milk tea RM4.50 Note: RM1 to upgrade to jasmine or biryani rice
Instagram: @haroy.my
