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Top Hat Restaurant - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Restaurant Review

Good for a casual lunch but not for a night to remember.

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Restaurant Category : Asian (Fusion)

Top Hat Restaurant - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: We asked our concierge at the Ritz Carlton where would be a chic, trendy, and memorable restaurant to dine on our first night and he suggested the Top Hat Restaurant, a short drive from the hotel.

The restaurant was housed in a 1930s art-deco bungalow which, we learned, used to be a school. When we walked inside the restaurant, we were quite surprised to see the décor: an eclectic array of mismatched tables and chairs, some teak, others antique, mostly pieces you would find in a junkyard, plus walls that were brightly painted in different hues. While not entirely tacky and could actually be a bit charming, the interior is something that would suit a young college student’s apartment better (and not a “chic and trendy” restaurant as the concierge supposed). The whole place and ambiance gave the feeling of nostalgia. Needless to say, it was casual, relaxed and comfortable. I heard that they will be moving to a new location five houses down, in March 2009.

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Top Hat offers a fusion of Nonya, traditional Malay, Malacca Portuguese, Western, Thai and vegetarian cuisine—as crazy a combination as the restaurant decor’s eclecticism. For starters, we had the Spicy Pumpkin Soup—a creamy yet light delectable soup that, retrospectively, was the best part of the meal. We also tried two traditional Malay dishes: the Vegetable Pie and the Cheese and Spiance Pie, served with potato, sour cream and grilled vegetables. I found both to be plain, boring and uninspiring.

For our main course, we had the Rack of Lamb—a trio of lamb including grilled double lamb rack, lamb fillet and mince lamb with tomato concasse, served with broccoli, potato spring roll and lamb cardamom sauce. While it was palatable enough, it was not close to the best I’ve had. I would say it was average at best. Finally, we had the Fettuccine with spicy Thai seafood Aglio Olio, served with fresh prawns, squid, fish, clams and homemade Thai chili paste—a refreshing dish that was full of flavor! However, the portions were quite small as was the offering of seafood. Still, it was the second best thing we had in the restaurant.

Their wine list was rather sparse especially for the whites; they only had about half a dozen. There was a relatively larger selection of reds--about a dozen. The prices were very reasonable but as wines quite often go, you get what you pay for.

The presentation of the food and the wine was on par with a casual eatery, not an up-scale, trendy restaurant as we requested. Top Hat would be great for a casual lunch but not for a special night out, what more a dinner to remember. I rate the Top Hat Restaurant between Bombastic and Not.

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