Kampunglah KL, Raja Laut: Kampung Cooking in the Heart of the City

Few would expect a kampung house to still be standing among the tall buildings of Jalan Raja Laut. This is where you'll find Kampunglah @ Raja Laut, on Lorong Tiong Nam 2 near Chow Kit. The owner hails from Negeri Sembilan, and their menu carries a lot of that state's flavours as well as the East Coast's, served in big dishes to share at the table.

The house has two floors. The upper floor is air-conditioned, decorated with vintage items like a typewriter, radio and Singer sewing machine, and there's a photo corner many people use for OOTDs. According to the restaurant, the space can fit around 150 people. The ground floor has a semi-enclosed area that can be booked for private events.

The first dish we tried was the daging salai masak lemak cili api (smoked beef in spicy coconut gravy). The gravy is thick and rich, perfect with hot rice, and you can add bamboo shoots. Next was the asam pedas kepala ikan tenggiri (mackerel head in sour-spicy gravy), with fresh fish and a flavourful sour, spicy gravy.

Petai fans have two options: the tender, spicy sotong sambal tumis merah petai menora (squid in red sambal with petai), and the ikan keli sambal hijau petai (catfish in green sambal with petai), whose sambal really whets your appetite. For drinks, we chose sirap bandung and air rambutan, a combo that's rarely found elsewhere.

The dish portions here are big and good for sharing among three to four people, so it's better value coming in a group. The restaurant is pork-free, and you can ask for the spice level to be toned down. Dinnertime is best for enjoying its lamplit kampung atmosphere.