The Best Restaurant in Cyberjaya!

The more observant reader may have noted my statement in an earlier post to the effect that 'I don't generally write about restaurants'.  However, as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am a compulsive liar.*

So here is a post about another restaurant in Cyberjaya, and this time it's one of my favourites.

The general consensus seems to be that the best restaurants in Cyberjaya are of the Arabic variety.  While I am a big fan of Arabic food, I'm afraid that I just can't agree. At least not based on the three I've been to which, although perfectly good**, just don't make it to the top of the tree.  

Eating Frogs

If you don't like listening to frogs, why not try eating 'em instead?  Some people find the idea a little off-putting, but Malaysia is just the place to overcome that squeamishness...

It can be difficult to describe an unusual type of meat without resorting to the old 'tastes like chicken' fallback.  This is generally applied to anything from bats to boa constrictors, but in fact it often really refers to a lack of distinct taste.

Dining in the Dark Restaurant (Kuala Lumpur)

Outside the dining room

If you are like me, and many more of our fellow humans, then you probably check in with Tripadvisor once in a while to see how a particular hotel, attraction or restaurant is rated.  Well if you look for the most highly rated restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, 'Dining in the Dark' will show up on top of the heap (at time of writing at least).

So we reckoned we would give it a try, being as it's not your everyday dining experience.  Well you toddle along to Bukit Bintang  - having booked your spot in advance, naturally - and lounge about over a cocktail in a perfectly well-lit lounging area.  The friendly staff (and the staff were absolutely great when we were there) will try to prepare you for the sensory deprivation by sticking a blindfold on your head and getting you to try and pick small objects from a bowl of rice.  Which I found to be many times more difficult than I had expected.

When everyone is ready to go, you are led into the darkness by one of the blind waiters employed by the restaurant, hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you.  You are talked into your chair, like an air stewardess being guided through landing a 757, until you are comfortably in place.

There were about four courses, all served in small bowls or cups so as to minimise the spillage.  I won't introduce any spoilers by telling you what we had, as half the fun is in the guessing.  When you come out after the meal you are given a menu with photographs, where you discover that those olives you found a bit chewy were actually sheep's eyeballs.

Cyberjaya Street Mall

The Street Mall next to the bus station has seen it's status diminished as Shatsbury Square has grown.  And with a giant shopping mall in late stages of construction just across the road, it will be quite literally in the shadow of another rival before too long.  But that doesn't mean that there aren't a few good reasons to pay a visit to the Street Mall.

Alamanda Shopping Centre

If you live in Cyberjaya for a while, then chances are you are going to have to pay a visit to the Alamanda mall in Putrajaya at some stage.  Although future Cyberjaya residents will no doubt have a selection of swanky malls on their doorstop, this is not currently the case.  Right now, you must do your grocery shopping in one of the mini markets, or else via Tesco online.  There are a decent amount of restaurants to serve the working population, but you won't find clothes or shoe shops anywhere.  Likewise, the cinema is a work in progress at time of writing, although if you are reading this from the future you may not be able to envisage a weekend without a visit to the Cyberjaya multiplex.  (How is the future anyhow?  Are you guys zipping around in hover-cars yet? Seems like we've been waiting forever for those things to get going).

Volcano Shabu Shabu - Cyberjaya

There are plenty of people writing blogs about food and restaurants, so that's not an area I focus on in these pages.  However I am happy to make exceptions for special cases, such as the Volcano Shabu Shabu restaurant in Shaftsbury Square.  

Now this place is what is known as a 'Steamboat' restaurant, a phrase which was completely unknown to me when I walked in the door.  In fact I was quite the bumbling hick on my visit to this particular dining establishment.  From the name 'Volcano Shabu Shabu', I got the impression that they served spicy food.  Hot like a volcano, see?  I have since learned that 'Shabu-Shabu' is a famous Japanese dish featuring thin slices of beef (and various other stuff) boiled in a pot of water.  It all makes sense now.

So anyway, we sat down and ordered a shared platter of various meats and fishes.  We were slightly surprised to see oven rings built into the table, but assumed it was for heating sauces or some-such.  The platter turned up extremely promptly, which is not always a good sign in a restaurant, suggesting that the microwave may have been used in the preparation.  Not the case here.  I tried a slice of meat, and it was just about frozen solid.  I ate it anyway, being pretty hungry.  We were discussing sending the whole thing back when the waitress arrived with a couple of pots full of water. She turned on the oven rings and pretty soon they were bubbling away nicely. 

Shaftsbury Square

One of the larger strip-malls in Cyberjaya is known as Shaftsbury Square, so you will most probably end up here at some stage if you are living in the area.

So, What Wonders Await?

Glad you asked.  First off, and most importantly, there's this:

Can you try out a 737NG Flight Simulator in your local shopping centre?  I did not think so.  Can't guarantee how long this offer is going to be in town though, so grab it while you can.