November 14, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR – In its fourth installation since launching in Malaysia in 2022, the Michelin Guide 2026 Kuala Lumpur and Penang today welcomed two new restaurants into its exclusive Michelin-starred club.
Modern Malaysian restaurants Akar Dining and Terra Dining, both a stone’s throw away from each other in Kuala Lumpur’s Taman Tun Dr Ismail – each earned a Michelin star, marking a milestone moment for the progressive Malaysian cuisine that has been gaining traction in the past few years.
Akar Dining is helmed by affable chef-owner Aidan Low and was opened in 2020. Last year, Low pivoted slightly from his original purely progressive Malaysian direction, choosing to infuse his Japanese pedagogy into his Malaysian culinary offerings. That formula clearly worked because one year later, Low has earned his first Michelin star.
Low is the celebrated chef behind Akar Dining, which infuses his Japanese learnings with Malaysian sensibilities and ingredients. PHOTO: HANDOUT/THE STAR
“We were inching towards it (the Michelin star). I think year on year, we felt we got a little bit closer. This year, we felt that we’re already there. So regardless of whatever the results were, we felt that we already did what we could have done for the whole year. And moving forward, I think it’s just… I mean, the goal never changes, regardless of whatever the results are,” says Low.
In terms of what this means for the future of progressive Malaysian cuisine, Low he hopes that it encourages chefs and diners to explore homegrown sources.
“I think this award has a bigger meaning than just my restaurant. I think it means, as a country, we still have so much more to offer. I hope it encourages people to step out and really showcase what they’re really, really good at and hopefully that could also come to fruition one day like what we do,” said Low.
Terra Dining meanwhile is a newer addition to the Kuala Lumpur dining landscape, having opened just shy of two years ago in 2023. The restaurant is helmed by philosophical self-taught chef Chong Yu Cheng who celebrates the bounty of Malaysian ingredients and cooking techniques at his celebrated restaurant.
Terra Dining has only been open for less than two years but Chong has made a mark with his tradition-inspired take on Malaysian cuisine in a refined setting. PHOTO: HANDOUT/THE STAR
“First of all, I would say I’m very, very thrilled to receive the award. I think it’s a way of sort of putting Malaysia on the map, not only at a street food level, but I think at a haute cuisine level, where our cuisine – especially what I’m representing – sort of more tradition-based Malaysian cuisine – can actually stand toe-to-toe with some of the best restaurants in the world.
“And in the eyes of an international audience, I think that means a lot in terms of the continuity and the flourishing of the culture,” says Chong.
The country’s top ranked restaurant Dewakan (arguably the first progressive Malaysian restaurant in Malaysia), helmed by indomitable chef Darren Teoh continued to lead the pack with two Michelin stars and also retained the Michelin Green Star for sustainable practices that it first attained last year.
At Terra Dining, Chong captures the essence and soul of Malaysian cuisine reconfigured in new guises and moulds. PHOTO: HANDOUT/THE STAR
Six other restaurants retained their Michelin-starred status – Au Jardin and Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery in Penang; and DC by Darren Chin, Beta KL, Molina KL and Chim by Chef Noom in Kuala Lumpur.
A total of 151 establishments were included in this year’s Michelin Guide, including 58 Bib Gourmand (value-for-money) and 84 Michelin Selected venues.
This year, five new eateries earned the Bib Gourmand distinction – namely KL’s Gulainya and Lama; and Penang’s Awesome Char Koay Teow, Bee Hwa Café and Sifu.
Darren Teoh (second from right) is the brainchild behind French restaurant Bidou, which was awarded the Michelin Guide Opening of the Year. PHOTO: HANDOUT/THE STAR
In the Michelin Selected category – 11 new eateries were awarded. In KL, this included restaurants like Shu, Bidou, K, Kuki, Kazu and Jie while in Penang, new Michelin Selected eateries included Sood by Chef Ton, Blacklinen, Du-An, Memoire and Peninsula House.
The Michelin Guide also unveiled a series of special awards. The Michelin Guide Young Chef Award went to chef Chin Hua Wong of Restaurant Shu. At Shu, the masterful Chin focuses on diaspora cuisine and his own Chinese roots.
The Michelin Guide Service Award meanwhile went to Maverick Fung of the vaunted new Japanese fine-dining restaurant K while the Michelin Guide Opening of the Year Award went to Bidou, Michelin-starred chef Darren Teoh’s ode to French nouvelle cuisine.