As we welcome new beginnings at the start of 2024, there’s also an upcoming festive season that we’re preparing for. In case you didn’t know yet, the 15-day celebration of Chinese New Year will be happening from February 10 to February 25 this year.
So you know what that means… reunion dinners! Love it or hate it, reunion dinners are a timeless tradition that are not only held between family members, but also friends and colleagues.
Being a nation that prides itself on multiculturalism, we can’t leave out anyone, regardless of race or religion.
Hence, we’ve compiled a list of halal and Muslim-friendly restaurants dishing out Chinese New Year dishes to help you kick off the Year of the Dragon.
Certified halal by JAKIM
1. Itek Itik
Founded by an ex-housewife, Itek Itik is the halal-certified sister brand of Kota Kemuning’s Gather Gather Kitchen (non-halal). Both are known for their roast ducks, which is a staple choice of meat at Itek Itik.
As such, you can expect to find roast duck being the star in most of its 2024 Chinese New Year menu sets. The six sets start from RM250 and can go up to RM998.
However, if you’re more selective and prefer choosing the dishes, there is also the Chinese New Year ala-carte menu. This offers staples like Abalone Treasure Pot, Shark Fin Soup, Treasure Yam Basket, and Broccoli with Scallops and Mushroom.
The yee sang would have to be ordered separately, and you can choose three sizes of either the fish skin or jellyfish dish. The restaurant also provides delivery services for those interested.
Address: 15 and 17, Jalan SS 22/19, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening hours: Open daily except Monday, 11AM to 9:35PM
Contact number: 03-7731 7917 or 012-698 7717
Pork-free and Muslim-friendly
2. Golden Valley
Located in Melawati Mall, KL, Golden Valley’s promise is that it serves Chinese cuisine with halal-certified ingredients. It’s also the tagline found under its store name.
For 2024’s festive season, the restaurant has prepared a few sets for customers to take their pick. There is a total of three sets to choose from, all of which include yee sang and two desserts:
- Fortune, starts from RM988 (for five pax) or RM1,688 (for 10 pax)
- Happiness, starts from RM788 (for five pax) or RM1,388 (for 10 pax)
- Auspicious, starts from RM588 (for five pax) or RM988 (for 10 pax)
If you’re looking for a smaller reunion, Golden Valley also offers separate orders of its Chinese New Year specials like Prosperity Yee Sang and Poon Choy.
These menu items are available from January 1 until February 25. You can call the store’s landline to reserve your set, or send them a WhatsApp text at 017-2711753.
Address: 355, Jln Bandar Melawati, Pusat Bandar Melawati, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor
Opening hours: Everyday from 11AM to 10PM
Contact number: 03-4161 3328, or WhatsApp 017-2711753
3. Delay No More Crab Seafood Restaurant
Probably best known for its crabs, Delay No More Crab Seafood Restaurant is a local eatery serving fresh seafood.
Labelled pork-free on its Facebook page, the restaurant currently has two outlets in the Klang Valley, namely in Hartamas Shopping Centre and Tropicana Gardens Mall.
This Chinese New Year, Delay No More Crab Seafood Restaurant is offering five different festive sets. Its smallest set is priced at RM988 and recommended for a group of five.
If your family or team is larger than that, you could choose one of its four other sets. These serve up to 10 pax and start from RM1,188.
To reserve a table, customers just need to make a reservation via phone call. Alternatively, you could also opt to order the set for take away and have the feast at home.
Address:
- Hartamas Shopping Centre: 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Taman Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
- Tropicana Gardens Mall: 2A, Persiaran Surian, Tropicana Indah, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening hours: Open daily, 11:30AM to 2:30PM, and 5:30PM to 9:30PM
Contact number: 012-212 1590
4. Tao Chinese Cuisine at InterContinental KL
One of the top luxury stays in the city, InterContinental KL is a five-star hotel located just a short walk from the Petronas Twin Towers.
Similar to previous years, the hotel’s Tao Chinese Cuisine restaurant is offering an array of Chinese New Year feasts to indulge in. Overall, there are 12 options to choose from:
- Lunch and dinner buffets at Serena Brasserie (starts from RM99 for child, RM198 for adult)
- Yee Sang with dragon fruit, salmon, roasted duck, soft shell crab, or abalone (starts from RM118)
- Chinese New Year 8-course meal sets (RM988 for four pax, RM1,288 for six pax)
- Chinese New Year 9-course meal sets (starts from RM1,888 for 10 pax)
All of these are available for dine-in starting from January 15 until February 24. According to its website, reservations need to be made in advance to secure your spot. To do so, you could place a call or email its team at fnb.admin@ickualalumpur.com.my for bookings.
Address: 165, Jln Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: 11:30AM to 2:30PM, 6:30PM to 10:30PM
Contact number: +6016-202 4623 or email fnb.admin@ickualalumpur.com.my
5. Chynna at Hilton
Another notable name in the hotel scene, Hilton is a multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. One of them is located in KL, right beside KL Sentral.
The restaurant is known for its Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine. For this year’s Chinese New Year, Hilton KL’s in-house restaurant called Chynna is offering various reunion sets:
- Prosperity Set (RM1,388 for five pax)
- Fortune Set (RM1,688 for five pax)
- Wealth Set (RM2,388 for five pax)
- Grand Fortune Set (RM699 per person, minimum of five pax and requires a minimum of one-day advanced order)
Each of these sets includes yee sang, dessert, and Chinese tea to cleanse the palate. However, what sets them apart is the other dishes included. For example, the star of the Grand Fortune Set’s yee sang is Miyazaki Wagyu.
All of these are available for either lunch or dinner depending on your personal preference.
Address: 3, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours:
- Lunch: 12PM to 2:30PM (weekdays), 11AM to 2:30PM (weekends and public holidays)
- Dinner: 6:30PM to 10:30PM
Contact number: 03-2264 2264
6. Shang Palace at Shangri-La
Founded by Robert Kuok, the business magnate and renowned entrepreneur, the KL hotel Shangri-La boasts Shang Palace, an eatery that promises customers an “experience [of] ancient Cantonese grandeur”.
This Chinese New Year, Shang Palace will be serving up a number of feasts to celebrate the festive season. This includes reunion sets that start from RM158 (per person) for a minimum of four pax, and ranges from a five-course up to nine-course sets.
If you’re vegetarian, there is also the option of a five-course vegetarian set for RM230 (per person) for a minimum of two pax.
Customers can opt to purchase dining tickets online on Shangri-La Boutique to secure seats or email them at dining.KL@shangri-la.com for reservations.
Address: 11, Jln Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours:
- Lunch: 11:30AM to 2:30PM (Monday to Saturday), 10:30AM to 2:30PM (Sunday)
- Dinner: 6:30PM to 10:30PM (daily)
Contact number: 603-2074 3900 or email dining.KL@shangri-la.com
7. Homst Restaurant
Opened in 2002, Homst Restaurant is a local eatery opened by Yusoff Lau Bin Abdullah, a Chinese Muslim convert. Since then, the decade-old restaurant has expanded to many outlets and can be found in various parts of the Klang Valley.
For Chinese New Year 2024, customers are able to choose between five of its curated festive season sets:
- Bu Bu Gao Shen set (RM623)
- Wan Shi Ru Yi set (RM623)
- Tian Tian Hao set (RM571)
- Jia Jia Hao set (RM729)
- Sheng Xi Ying Rong set (RM729)
Each set accommodates a group of 10 pax and comes with 10 dishes, as well as some Chinese tea. To reserve a spot for your family or group, place a call to your preferred Homst outlet.
Address: Various locations, specific branch addresses can be found here.
Opening hours:
- 11AM to 10:30PM (Monday to Thursday)
- 3PM to 11PM (Friday)
- 11:30PM to 11PM (weekend)
Contact number: Various numbers, specific branch phone numbers can be found here.
8. The Qing
A familiar name to us at Vulcan Post, The Qing is a pork-free Chinese restaurant dishing out Cantonese cuisine. Based in KL, it features lavishly decorated interiors inspired by East Asian architectural designs.
For this year’s Chinese New Year, the restaurant is offering a few set menus catering to both small and large groups. However, the festive season menu of its two outlets are different from each other, but they all have yee sang.
The Qing’s Bamboo Hills restaurant is serving only two set menus:
- Harmonious Dragon features six dishes (RM1,488 for six pax)
- Golden Dragon features nine dishes (RM1,688 for five pax, RM2,888 for 10 pax)
As for its Chow Kit branch, there are three set menus to choose from:
- Auspicious Tiger features nine dishes (RM1,188 for five pax, RM1,988 for 10 pax)
- King Dragon features nine dishes (RM1,388 for five pax, RM2,688 for 10 pax)
- Jubilant Dragon features nine dishes including dim sum (RM238 per person, minimum two pax)
Separately, The Qing’s Chow Kit restaurant also has a Chinese New Year ala-carte dim sum menu that is only available during lunch.
Address:
- Bamboo Hills outlet: Unit P03, Bamboo Hills, Taman Bamboo, 51200 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
- Chow Kit outlet: 26, Jalan Kamunting, Chow Kit, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours:
Bamboo Hills outlet:
- Weekdays: 11:30AM to 3PM, 5:30PM to 10PM
- Weekends: 10AM to 3PM, 5:30PM to 10PM
Chow Kit outlet:
- Weekdays: 11AM to 2:30PM, 5:30PM to 10PM
- Weekends: 10AM to 3PM, 5:30PM to 10PM
Contact number: 018-302 2663
9. Amber Chinese Muslim Restaurant
Owned by Malaysia Amber Group Holdings, Amber Chinese Muslim Restaurant is a sister company of Amber Group Holdings based in Lanzhou, China. The brand currently operates over 43 established restaurants since the first outlet in 2009.
In Malaysia, there are two branches—NEXUS Bangsar South and Bangunan LGM in KL. Both of them are serving Amber CNY Signatures catering to 10 pax, though they’re not labelled by names.
But they can be categorised based on the price:
- RM1,299 set features 12 dishes including salmon yee sang and Amber Special Roasted Lamb
- RM699 set features 11 dishes without yee sang, but has its Shanghai Marinated Duck
- RM1,699 set features 14 dishes with salmon yee sang with jelly fish and Beijing roasted duck
- RM899 set features 11 dishes without yee sang, but has Shanghai Sauce Roasted Duck
Do note that you need to book your preferred Amber CNY Signatures two to four days in advance.
Address:
- Bangsar South outlet: Unit 14, Level 1, Nexus, 7, Jalan Kerinchi, Bangsar South, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
- Bangunan LGM outlet: 148, Jln Ampang, Kampung Baru, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours:
- Bangsar South outlet: 11:45AM to 9:30PM
- Bangunan LGM outlet: 10:30AM to 11PM
Contact number: 03-2242 1010 / 03-2181 4020
10. Dolly Dim Sum
A popular spot to get Muslim-friendly dim sum, Dolly Dim Sum aims to be a modern interpretation of a traditional Chinese tea house.
Hence, you can find classic dim sum dishes like prawn dumplings (har gao), chicken dumplings (siew mai), and steamed rice rolls (cheung fun) with homemade belacan paste.
These are also dishes they’ve included in the Chinese New Year sets, namely:
- Sweet Blessing set (RM390 for up to six pax) features 10 dishes, including Crispy Shrimp Cheong Fun
- Lucky Treasure set (RM450 for up to six pax) features 11 dishes, including Scarlet Scallop and Fish Dumpling
Based on its website, the strictly pork-free and alcohol-free establishment has a total of 11 outlets around Peninsular Malaysia, with another one opening in KLCC this month.
Address: Various locations, specific branch addresses can be found here.
Opening hours: 10:45AM to 10PM (everyday)
Contact number: Various numbers, specific branch phone numbers can be found here.
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Regardless of which restaurant you choose from the list, we recommend that you call in to reserve your table and selected sets before it’s too late.
There’s only about a month before Chinese New Year graces us with its presence again. So it might be best to decide on where you want to go now before all the spots are taken.
In the meantime, we want to wish you Happy Chinese New Year in advance!
- Read articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: The Qing / InterContinental KL / Golden Valley