De.Wan 1958 by Chef Wan @ Bangsar Shopping Centre — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Splurged a bit here to bring some Japanese friends to try out Malaysian cuisine. Food was generally good. Took the set menu for 4-5 pax.

Satay - juicy and flavourful. Probably the best satay I've had. Felt like thigh meat throughout.

Cucur udang - really good as well but probably not as traditional. The focus is more on the texture than taste alone. Taste is still good but I probably prefer the dough-y version. Still worth trying out.

Beef - tender and falls apart. A lot of care and time is definitely spent on this dish. Some of the bones are quite big though and a bit awkward to eat with utensils. Will be a "surr" session for sure if eaten with hand though.

Chicken - gravy is nice but some parts are a bit dry like the chicken breast. Probably will be too much work, but would recommend cooking the dark meat and white meat separately to get both to optimum tenderness. Just a suggestion.

Squid telur asin - nice crunch but the salted egg yolk flavour doesn't quite pop out. Probably need to have a stronger aroma and curry leaves as well.

Fish - Appreciate the chef for switching out the asam pedas with another cooking style as my guests couldn't take a spicy dish. I couldn't remember the exact style we went for, but for better context, please check the order for Table 18 at 6.00pm on 22nd Feb. Quite good but the fish felt just a tad bit low in freshness. Just a bit, only because the fish meat doesn't quite fall apart very cleanly, with a bittttt mushy feeling. Just a bit, not too discernable.

Rice - nasi telang and nasi.. i cant remember the name (it has raisins in it) is nice and fluffy. Goes well with all the dishes

Dessert - bubur pulut hitam was savoury with a good coconut fat flavour. Definitely not the normal style that I'm used to but it's a very pleasant surprise. The fruits are nice too but the banana was a bit awkward. It came sliced but with the skin on? Maybe its for aesthetics, but I would argue against the slightly blackened peel a bit.

Waiters/servers - very friendly and attentive to signals and queues. Could probably be better if a brief explanation on each dish is given to my Japanese friends but I get how that could be a bit too intrusive for some guests. Maybe have a small card on the table to explain the dish or a CTA to make guests feel that they can reach out for questions about the dishes. I especially LOVE that the waiter asked if I'd like to pack the leftovers before I asked for it. Appreciate that proactiveness. The paper bag's handle tore midway through our walk though (lel) - it's probably not meant to carry such heavy load.

The comments are probably a bit heavy on the criticism but overall, its a really great experience. Is it worth the price tag? I personally think so but definitely can be better.

Didn't take pictures cos my phone battery died out. But the other reviewers' pictures are definitely as per what you actually...

For those who grew up in the 90s like me we used to watch chef wan on TV 3 and be drooling looking at all the dishes that he prepares,he is a National Icon and Pioneers when it comes to cooking Malaysian cuisine. Me and my wife both were excited when we decided to try out dining at De.Wan and from making reservations to driving up there was super easy. We had our reservations at 6pm and they started seating right on the dot. 1 ⭐️ for the punctuality.

Then we were ushered to our table and was offered either sparkling or still water which we opt for the latter . The sparkling / Still water is charged at Rm 18 so if you are planning to try other drinks in the restaurant then kindly turn down the waters suggestion. We ordered the below dishes and drinks:

Teh Tarik- was too diluted and we even returned the first drink that they had served as it was too light did not feel like we were drinking teh tarik it was more like plain water with some tea powder and milk and when they brought back the 2nd time it was just a slight improvement but still taste way off from the normal the tarik that we Malaysian are used too. For a Malaysian restaurant I was hoping for something extraordinary but it was a huge let down.

Ayam kapitan - Was good

Udang telur asin(telur masin/salted egg prawns)— was really delicious and something that I would recommend, you will get 5 huge tiger prawns which I would say is inline with the pricing and taste. Both of us loved the prawns.

cucur udang— Being another Malaysian delicacy it was spot in and another dish that I would recommend. The portion was huge that we both of us could not finish and had requested the waitress to pack it for us for a take away. Even the take away packaging was good with classic chef wan touch.

Nasi pandan delima - was really good and you get unlimited servings of rice so for those big eaters you can go crazy with the rice and fill you self up. 1 ⭐️ for the food and 0 star for the drinks

Service was subpar and the waitress can’t even understand when we said the teh tarik is too diluted and she brought me a straw , I had to reiterate in Malay that the teh tarik tak kau kau and still she was clueless. Maybe next I should have said teh tarik tak pekat. 🤔

The decorations is something that was very nostalgic and relatable to Malaysian and not to mention the relaxing ambiance that you get, you can have a nice discussion and enjoy and good meal at the same time. Suitable for dates, Clients meeting and special occasions will be something you remember. 1 ⭐️

The food price was surprisingly cheap considering we had food coma (huge portions), the wonderful food taste and ambiance that you get .even more discount when you use CIMB or sign up for the de.wan...

For the price of the food, I expected warm hospitality. The name Chef Wan itself brings to mind feelings of warmth and comfort, especially when it comes to his dishes — but unfortunately, I experienced none of that in terms of service.

I understand the staff were rushing to close since it was already around 9:15pm. But couldn’t one of them have sincerely apologized and explained, “We’re really sorry for the rush, but we’re in the process of ending service. Would it be alright if we brought the cake out a little earlier to celebrate?” That simple courtesy would have made a difference. Instead, 10 minutes after serving the main courses, six staff members suddenly came rushed into the room with instruments, loudly singing the birthday song to my father — who was still eating. He didn’t even have time to finish chewing his food and ended up swallowing everything in shock. Bear in mind, he just recovered from a stroke and is currently in a wheelchair.

We weren’t informed that this would happen. While we were still eating our main courses, they rushed out with the desserts — which were ice cream. We politely asked the waiter, “Could you please keep it for a while so we can finish our meal first?” He just said, “Sorry, the kitchen is closed.”

At that point, it was around 9:30pm.

To make matters worse, we paid an additional RM250 just to have a private room. Instead of receiving warm service, we were treated like we didn’t belong. Not even a simple "thank you" when we left the restaurant. For the price we paid, basic hospitality and respect should be common sense — after all, we weren’t just paying for food, we were paying for the experience. Plus the type of food served here isn’t exclusive; you can find it easily all over Malaysia — but what we expected was the heart and soul that Chef Wan is known for. Instead, we left feeling disappointed, even a bit cheated.

Oh, and one last thing — please do check your wajik ice cream. I wont comment on the other dishes eventhough the taste is so-so. but the wajik im sorry, honestly its awful. The texture was so hard, it felt like you could use it as a weapon. That alone sums up the overall experience: cold, unpleasant, and far from what...