De Maw Restaurant | 地茂館中华美食 — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

📍 A Hidden Cantonese Gem in KL – Restoran De Maw

Having explored countless eateries, some old establishments always leave a lasting impression. Today, let me take you to a true hidden gem—Restoran De Maw, a long-standing Cantonese restaurant tucked away in Pudu Ulu. Serving up traditional flavors, every dish here carries a taste of nostalgia!

🍽️ Must-Try Dishes | Classic Cantonese Cuisine

✅ Hamburg Sweet & Sour Pork 🔸 Crispy on the outside, tender inside, coated in a perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce that isn’t overly rich—perfect with rice! The texture leans towards the firmer side, and they even add potatoes, which is a unique twist I haven’t seen before.

✅ Special Crispy Fried Tofu 🔸 Golden brown and crispy on the outside, silky smooth inside, with a delicate soy aroma in every bite.

✅ Crispy Chicken with Salad Mayo 🔸 Deep-fried chicken pieces drizzled with Japanese-style mayo—crispy, juicy, and packed with flavor.

✅ Fried Rice with Prawn Paste 🔸 Infused with the bold aroma of prawn paste, every spoonful carries that signature wok hei (wok-fired fragrance)—absolutely fragrant!

✅ Stir-Fried HK Baby Cabbage with Crispy Yam 🔸 The vegetables are fresh and crunchy, paired with crispy yam strips that add a wonderful textural contrast—simple yet flavorful.

✅ Deep-Fried Pork Ribs with Peanut Sesame 🔸 Crispy and juicy ribs coated in a peanut and sesame sauce—this sauce is truly the highlight that elevates the dish!

✅ Braised Spicy Pig Trotter Tendon with Tail 🔸 Slow-braised until tender and full of collagen-rich goodness! Even those who usually avoid pig trotters will love this dish, thanks to the subtle five-spice seasoning.

✅ Flavoured Fried Brinjal 🔸 Crispy on the outside, soft inside, and completely soaked in the flavorful sauce—a perfect pairing with rice!

✅ Crispy Prince Duck 🔸 The duck has a smoky aroma, with crispy skin and tender meat that isn’t greasy. It carries a subtle charred fragrance—an excellent match with a cold beer!

✅ Steamed Pomfret with Superior Soya Sauce 🔸 A classic Cantonese-style steamed fish—delicate, tender flesh enhanced by the light soy sauce’s natural sweetness.

✅ Glutinous Rice with Wax Meat in Pandan Leaf 🔸 Sticky glutinous rice infused with the aroma of pandan leaves, paired with Chinese sausage and salted egg yolk. This is one of their signature dishes and requires pre-ordering. The lap cheong (Chinese sausage) and liver sausage are perfectly seasoned—not overly salty.

✅ Claypot Noodle with Yam 🔸 This dish was a pleasant surprise! Stir-fried noodles with crispy fried yam, adding an extra layer of fragrance and texture.

🏡 Ambience | Retro Hong Kong Vibes

The restaurant carries a nostalgic charm, reminiscent of old Hong Kong tea houses. While the decor may seem a bit aged, it is well-maintained, clean, and inviting. The warm lighting adds a cozy touch. Service is friendly, but food preparation can take a little time—so don’t come starving!

📌 Overall Verdict: A great spot for family gatherings or casual meet-ups with friends. Portions are on the smaller side, but the flavors are truly authentic....

Had the best meal ever! This is a Michelin level Chinese restaurant! Our first dish was Chicken Jump Over the Wall 鸡跳墙. There was plentiful sea cucumber, fish maw, abalone…. And a whole chicken. Most importantly, it was slow boiled for 6-8 hours. Super tasty! Has to pre order one day before. We also had Terubuk Fish 刺客鱼. The preparation was amazing. It was slow steamed for 10 hours to melt the bones. And then fried. We can eat the fish whole! The prawns – Golden Mayonnaise Signature Big Sea Prawn 招牌黄金虾was definitely stole the show for the dinner! The prawn (bigger than lobsters! But I am pretty sure it is prawn and not lobster!) – fresh, huge and juicy! The sauce is a fusion of western and Chinese oriental cooking – I think there is mayonnaise sauce, strawberry, egg yolk… have to try it! The next is Emperor Pork Ribs with Peanut Sesame Sauce 麻香排骨. This is a very special dish. I have not tasted any such flavor in Malaysia or Singapore (see my previous 50+ reviews, this is the winner). It is not the usual pork ribs. A tinge of spiciness and sesame sauce. Cant stop once you start! Beancurd with Crab Meat 潮州蟹肉豆腐 was also superb. The beancurd is hand made in the restaurant. It is silky smooth! Crab meat is fresh and plentiful. The fried rice is amazing. If you like pork lard, this is the best. The fried rice is fragrant and sprinkled with fried pork lard – not too much, just the right amount. Glutinous Rice with Wax Meat in Pandan Leaves 香叶腊味糯米飯is another dish you cannot find in other restaurants. It is wrapped in fresh pandan leaves giving it a nice pandan after taste. There are two types of wax meat in the rice – made in Malaysia, curated by the restaurant specially for this dish. One of them is soaked in wine to bring out the wax fragrance.

Will...

2nd visit

Back at this place after a while for dinner. They are getting more popular so reservations are necessary. Also cos the space is small and there isn't many available tables.

Menu wise it's still similar to the selection when we went last. Very limited choices in terms of what is available. Ordered our usual chicken, pork, vegetables and beancurd.

Steamed chicken - very good, with a slight herbal taste in the broth. The meat pieces were juicy and tender thus not over-cooked. Chicken was medium-sized, and enough for us, portion size.

Bok choy with garlic and salted fish - good and fresh greens. Stir fried well with garlic but not too overpowered by the salted fish flavours. There is not much salted fish bits, I only bit into some which was nestled between the stems

Claypot tofu - a unique cooking method, flavourful sauce and comes with a huge meat patty at the bottom. Tofu is soft and bouncy, perhaps homemade. There were also some shiitake mushrooms thrown in. Decent dish.

Sweet and sour pork - one of the best Ku Lou Yok thus far. The meat was fried to perfection, crunchy and addictive. The meat was mostly has lean meat (no fat) but tender enough and not dry like some places. The sauce covering the meat was also just right and not slimy. Dish came with cubed pineapples, bell pepper and potatoes

Overall highly recommended

1st visit

Came here to give this a try after reading good reviews and basically running out of places to go for dinner. Place is small, with only 7 tables. Ordered their 'popular' chicken, pork, vegetable and tofu. Taste wise ok, something different from the usual cantonese styled we order in other restaurants. Bill came up to about RM200 which is comparable to higher...