Review: Time Out Malaysia's Restaurant, Bars and Clubs 2010/11

I've gotten the inaugural issue of Time Out Malaysia's Restaurant, Bars and Clubs 2010/11 courtesy of Mongoose Publishing. I've promised them that I will review this guide with my utmost honest opinion :p

I've only received my copy on Friday and started poring through the entire weekend and now the book is a bit like harm choy (pickled mustard cabbage/battered) hahaha I stashed it inside my bag and carried it around. So that shows how much there is to offer in this guide.

The layout is pretty typical Time Out KL which I've used to it with lots of yummilicious food and drink pics and also pretty settings of the restaurants/clubs featured. No doubt the bulk of contents focused on Kuala Lumpur but I like the guides for Langkawi, Penang, Ipoh, Pahang, Malacca, Johor and East Malaysia which are divided into 2 sections - restaurants and bars & clubs! Just a note, Fay Khoo, the acclaimed food writer is the editor for the Food section, where else, Sam Coleman, Time Out KL’s Nightlife Editor edited the Bars & Clubs section.



The restaurant guide are broken down into the various cuisines and in alphabetical order such as American, Asian, Dim Sum, Indian, Seafood, Vegetarian and even Health Food not forgetting Hawkers! Eating place coverage is rather wide (according to them about 500) and pretty good with a short review stated other than the standard address, phone number and website url. Those confirmed Halal are marked otherwise it is noted with non halal or pork free. I've noted though that one of this were labelled wrongly for one makan place which I've informed them.

Just like the other guides, some of the places listed are no longer in operation, something unavoidable as they're usually correct during press time.

When I checked Langkawi section, geez there are so many happening eating places now in Pantai Cenang, I so wanna hop on the next flight to Langkawi cause I haven't been there for like 9 years!!!



I ran through the bars and clubs section, oh myyyy... I'm so outdated hahaha. My crazy party days ended when I got preggy with BoiBoi. At that time, the place to be seen is Spiral and of course the Telawi rows. Seems like the party scene have changed so much like the happening locations are no longer Telawi or Hartamas but Changkat Bukit Bintang and Heritage Row. Gee, I learnt so much from this guide!

There is one section where they focused on the newly opened but already very happening like KL Live, Dragonfly, The Opera, Tin Mine (wow revived!!! hehe shows how old I am huh?), MILK, Elixir etc.

Popular bars and clubs in Langkawi, Penang, Ipoh, Pahang, Malacca, Johor and East Malaysia were also listed. Should be handy if we're going to any of these places without BoiBoi :D



For RM38, I think it's really value for money. Seriously if food and drink are not your cup of tea (I can't imagine how though heh), you can check out their Time Out Malaysia's Visitor’s Guide. I loved this guide as well!

Time Out Malaysia's Restaurant, Bars and Clubs 2010/11 is available at newstands and bookstores near you. Pick up one right now!