Dancing Fish Malay - Indo Cuisine @ Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Today we had a little gathering at the office and this restaurant was decided by most number of votes. I had never tried this place and some of my friends, who have tried, were boasting of the good food that this place had to offer. Well, it was dinner and as usual Bangsar Shopping Centre was bustling with crowd. Luckily today, as it was a working day, parking was a little easier.  This restaurant offers Malay and Indonesian Cuisine and is located on the third floor of this shopping centre.

Dancing Fish at Bangsar Shopping Centre

Entrance to the restaurant

Inside The Restaurant

Top 20 Restaurants in Kuala Lumpur

We were here pretty early, around 6 pm I think and the restaurant was still empty. I was told that come 7 pm, it would be full house. We had made prior reservations and hence we got a pretty private dining space accommodating the entire group. There was also a sign on top of the tables which claimed that this restaurant was one of the top 20 restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. The set up was surely posh and I had a quick glimpse at the menu and the price is on the high side. If it still attracts such crowd, then surely the food must be good.

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The menu and the dishes offered was definitely lavish. They had a very good offering of Malay and Indonesian dishes. The Indonesian dishes were once again very well representing the best dishes from across the huge nation. I sighted Balinese dishes, Sumatran dishes, Javanese dishes, Sundanese dishes and a few more. Definitely, it is a tough decision in deciding what to have here, at least for me.

Set Menus

Set Menus

And for those who have difficulty in deciding what to have, their set menus are quite helpful. As for us, we decided to go Ala Carte as we had a number of people who were reasonably familiar with the food here.

Emping @ RM 5.00

Super Spicy Sambal Terasi

Everyone that comes here must try these Emping and the Sambal Terasi. It is one of the starters that you must not miss. The Emping, made out of  Melinjo Nuts are dipped into the spicy Chilly paste called Sambal Terasi. Beware, the Chilly paste is super spicy yet delicious.

Pomegranate Pink Fizz @ RM 11.90

Though there were many interesting drinks that we ordered, this one really attracted me. One of our friends ordered this drink and I could not resist taking a photo. It is a mixture of  Pomegranate Syrup with Mango Juice and Soda. I however ordered my favourite Indonesian drink, Teh Botol.

As for rice, they have two varieties here. White Rice which is charged at RM 3.00 per person with free top ups and Yellow Spiced Rice at RM 4.00 per person but top ups are restricted to the White Rice variety only. We went for the White Rice.

Pucuk Paku Kerabu @ RM 12.90

This was the first dish to arrive. It is Pucuk Paku Kerabu which is young jungle fern shoots cooked in a tangy sauce. Also in this dish you find some local herbs, onions, fresh chillies and it is simmered in lime juicy giving it its tangy feeling. An absolutely lovely dish. Simple yet tasty. I would rate this dish 9/10 .

Tauhu Tempe Goreng @ RM 5.90

This is another simple yet tasty dish. Tempe, a common Indonesian food made from soy beans is fried along with Toufu and served with Sambal Terasi and Sweet Soy Sauce. In Indonesia, this is a common side dish for almost every meal. I would rate this dish 8.5/10 . The additional rating was for the spice coating and also for the Sambal Terasi.

Terong Sambal @ RM 12.90

This was another wonderful dish here. Simple as it seems, it is just a brinjal which has been split into two and grilled. Over it, a slightly sweet and sour sambal or paste is spread and that gives it a delicious taste. I would rate this 8/10 .

Soft Shell Crab with Mango Kerabu @ RM 38.90

This is surely a very good dish. It is soft shell crabs eaten with the Mango Kerabu. The crunchy crabs added by the sour Kerabu taste was simply heavenly. I would surely rate this dish 9/10 .

Cumi Belado Goreng @ RM 20.90

This dish was pretty nice too. It is calamari wok fried in Sambal Belado paste. It is not really spicy but has a unique taste and the dark colour is due to the fact that it is finished with wok flame before serving. Something different for sure. I would rate this 8.5/10 .

Chicken Satay @ RM 15.90

This comes in a set of six Chicken Satay. This was one of my favourites here. Absolutely delicious. Charcoal grilled and it was so juicy though slightly charred on the outside. You can even eat it without the peanut dip sauce. I would rate this 9.5/10 .

Kailan with Oyster Sauce @ RM 13.90

Another good dish here. Wok fried young and tender Hong Kong Kailan with garlic and oyster sauce. Decently prepared without letting the Kailan to be over cooked. My rating for this would be 9/10 .

Wok Fried Mixed Vegetables @ RM 13.90

This I find it to be only average. The typical mixed vegetables that we find in Chinese restaurant. Compared to that, this seemed rather ordinary. I would only rate this 6/10 .

Dancing Fish with Tangy Acar @ RM 45.90

Rear view of the fish

This is the signature dish of this restaurant, the Dancing Fish. You could order this in a number of sauce options and we went for the Tangy Acar. The way the fish is presented is how it got its name of Dancing Fish. Well, the best part of this dish is the gravy. Definitely a must try item here. I would rate this 9.5/10 .

Mango Lolo @ RM 8.00

Now, desert time. The above is called Mango Lolo. It is sliced mango served with shaved ice, mango puree and fresh gelato. It is also topped with some basil seeds. An interesting desert and worth trying. I would rate this 8.5/10 .

Cendol @ RM 6.90

Well, every Malaysian knows Cendol as it is a common street desert. However, for a restaurant this was pretty good. I would not say that this was the best I have tried and you can surely get better ones in Masjid India area, however I repeat again that for a restaurant, this was good. I would rate this at 8.5/10 .

Lemongrass Jelly Pop Pops @ RM 5.50

I do not really know how the name was derived but it was nice. A mixture of everything and it was pretty decent. I would rate this 8.5/10 .

Caramelised Bananas with Palm Sugar and Ice Cream @ RM 10.50

One of the best deserts at this restaurant. Absolutely heavenly and a must not miss. I would rate this 9.5/10 .

Well, I would say that this is surely a good restaurant and most of the items which we had tried was pretty good. They are maintaining their food quality to be consistent over the years and the service is very good. There is always someone waiting somewhere close to your table to be able to attend immediately. The total bill for today came to RM 580.00 as most of the dishes you saw above was ordered in doubles and there were many more drinks which I did not capture. Definitely I would come back again to this place in the near future. Please do note that they also have another outlet in Setia City Mall, Shah Alam.

Address: Lot T 120, 121 & 123, 3rd Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre,
                285 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 2095 6663

Email: dancingfishrestaurant@gmail.com

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily