Bali Hai

Bali Hai Seafood Market
90, 90A, 90B, 90C & 90D,
Persiaran Gurney
Tel: 04–2288 272

www.balihaiseafood.com

Ah Penang, food capital, you won that hands down didn't you? And while we won't spend anymore inches on why Penang does a smug moon dance, nobody would blame us for throwing in more twigs in the bonfire of the apparent.

Case in point, to make sure our Restaurant Recommendations pages play their part, Bali Hai which was-as the leitmotif of our reviews dictates-recommended by a KL foodie who calls Penang his second home. This Gurney Drive haunt is one of the hidden gems of Penang, a renowned Chinese seafood open air restaurant that delivers the goods. And how! Big Shamu type tanks hold dozens of seafood specialities from the mundane grouper to the more outrageous types of citizens of the deep. How about a crazy crustacean called the Mantis prawn, a critter that has a fake head on its tail? Or the affectionately named Geo duck, massive clams, that stick their monopads happily in the air, err water. The place is a literal marine zoo of tasty live options.

Then comes the time to order, hard choices need to be made. My dinner guests and I order a plethora of red snapper, butter prawns, freshwater crabs and eels. We lay in patient anticipation of the spread and, when it comes, plates flying this way and that in perfect efficiency, we're not disappointed. The fish is a delicious treat, ladled with soy sauce, the crabs amazing, steamed with resonate perfection and the butter prawns soft and amiable. All in all Bali Hai is a great place to find yourself in Penang, bedecked at the seaside. KL-ites eat your hearts out.
SAM COLEMAN



Fisherman's Cove

LG10, Feast Floor,
Starhill Gallery,
181 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 KL
Tel: 03–2782 3848

In a city of serious seafood, it takes a great restaurant to stand out. And Fisherman’s Cove in Starhill is unquestionably a great restaurant. The somewhat unusual setting, aptly reminiscent of life on the waves, hardly fits into the high-end shopping and dining haven in the heart of Bukit Bintang but the food hits even greater heights than its culinary neighbours, such as Shook!, Enak and Sentidos Tapas.

Owing its origins to the restaurant of the same name at luxury hideaway Pangkor Laut Resort, Fisherman’s Cove may not have its predecessors seaside location, but it certainly captures the same charm and the food is no worse for being away from the coast. And, as with any of the YTL outlets, you’re in safe hands with the service and the wine list.

KL’s number one restaurant for fine fish, the menu is as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. Intricate Western and Asian treatments abound, however, it is the simple dishes, such as the grouper cooked with a dash of lemon, rock salt and simple seasoning, the honeyed sea bass, or the spicy steamed barramundi, that really impress.

Fisherman’s Cove has richly earned a string of awards and accolades and, if you’re after the best in fish, shellfish and other seafood treats, there’s nowhere better. MATT BELLOTTI