Potager, a French contemporary restaurant in Kuala Lumpur’s Bamboo Hills, has earned its first Michelin star, while Dewakan kept its two, as the Michelin Guide Kuala Lumpur & Penang 2027 expanded to 159 establishments.
The fifth edition of the guide, announced Wednesday, includes one restaurant with two stars, nine with one star, 60 Bib Gourmand listings and 89 Michelin-Selected establishments. Kuala Lumpur accounts for 80 entries and Penang for 79. Last year’s edition listed 151 establishments, according to Malay Mail. The announcement did not mention any restaurants losing stars.
Dewakan, led by chef Darren Teoh, remains the only restaurant at the two-star level. The Kuala Lumpur restaurant is known for its use of indigenous ingredients and interpretations of Malaysian flavours.
Seven of the nine one-star restaurants are in Kuala Lumpur: Akar, Beta, Chim by Chef Noom, DC. by Darren Chin, Molina, Potager and Terra Dining. Penang has two: Au Jardin and Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery.
Potager opened in September 2023 and had been listed as Michelin-Selected for the past two years before its promotion, Malay Mail reported. It is led by chef Masashi Horiuchi, who previously was executive chef at Entier French Dining at Alila Bangsar, and its team includes service award winner Nazahar. The restaurant has hosted guest-chef dinners with Singapore’s three-Michelin-starred Odette and Thailand’s PRU in Phuket.
Horiuchi, a Japanese national, trained under French chefs in Europe for more than 20 years, including at the two-Michelin-starred L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London, before moving to Malaysia via Singapore. His cooking pairs French technique with Japanese precision and local produce, and he follows a nose-to-tail philosophy. Tatler named him Chef of the Year in 2024.
The Bib Gourmand list, which recognises good-quality cooking at great value, has 26 entries in Kuala Lumpur and 34 in Penang. The Michelin-Selected category has 46 in Kuala Lumpur and 43 in Penang.
“This year’s selection highlights a culinary scene shaped by both its cultural heritage and the individual perspectives of its chefs.”
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide
The guide presented four special awards:
- Young Chef: Aidan Low of one-star Akar. Born in 1992, the chef-owner combines classical French techniques with Japanese precision and local ingredients.
- Service: Nazahar of Potager, who has supervised the restaurant’s service since it opened and has nearly a decade of hospitality experience.
- Sommelier: Joyin Goh of Tangram, a native of Johor and Sunway University graduate who curated a list of nearly 100 wines, including lesser-known boutique producers.
- Opening of the Year: Root House by Gēn, a concept by chef Johnson Wong that opened in July at George Town’s 1926 Heritage Hotel. Its menu traces Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Cantonese and Hainanese traditions in Malaysia.
Sixteen establishments are new this year. Four joined the Bib Gourmand list: 7 Chai Ipoh Hor Fun and Minji Bak Kut Teh in Kuala Lumpur, and Lemon Koay Teow Soup and Serabai Istimewa in Penang. Minji serves an 80-year-old family recipe for herbal pork broth, while Serabai is known for coconut milk rice pancakes with palm sugar syrup.
The other 12 are new to the Michelin-Selected category, six in each city. In Kuala Lumpur they are As I Am by Chef Ton, a Thai restaurant with a 12-course tasting menu and views of Merdeka 118; Jhol, which draws on India’s coastal states; Merdeka Grill; Tangram; White N Black Kampong; and Yellow Fin Horse.
In Penang, they are Deens Maju (Jalan Gurdwara), Flower Mulan, Hameediyah (164A Lebuh Campbell), Khaosan, Root House by Gēn and See Kong Ooi. Hameediyah, a nasi kandar business, was established in 1907. Flower Mulan is a florist-cafe serving Nyonya dishes.
The guide also introduced Mindful Voices, a platform for hospitality figures. Teoh is the first chef featured, cited for using native and endemic ingredients, working with small-scale farmers, fishermen, foragers and indigenous communities, and making use of off-cuts and by-products in his kitchen.
The Bib Gourmand list includes street food and neighbourhood staples such as bak kut teh, koay teow soup and nasi kandar-style dishes, as well as sit-down restaurants. That gives diners a value-oriented starting point in both cities, particularly in Penang, which has more Bib Gourmand entries than Kuala Lumpur. The guide’s categories also let diners sort by price and style, from tasting menus to hawker-style eateries. The full list is on the Michelin Guide website and app.
The listings span Malaysian, Peranakan, Chinese, Indian, Thai, French and other cuisines, and the awards recognise service staff, sommeliers and a restaurant that opened this year, not only chefs and established kitchens. Several entries are long-running family businesses. Michelin recognition is widely seen in the industry as a driver of visibility and dining tourism.
Photos by Michelin Guide and Potager.
