Ora Dining — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Upscale and elegant, with an emphasis on handmade food, Ora is a credit to the hard-work and ingenuity of the kitchen and staff. That said, for the price and great ingredients and techniques, I kept feeling that it should be tastier than it was.

For example, the Crispy Potatoes were delicious, there's no two ways about it. However, they were also RM54 for a pretty modest appetizer for two people. The potatoes themselves were packed with flavor and crunchy in a way i could only dream of making myself, while still being light and fluffy inside. The hollandaise was creamy but lightly flavoured (it said shrimp hollandaise but I couldn’t make it out), a perfect complement to the potatoes. However, the calamari and shrimp themselves just didn't do it for me. The calamari were just there for texture, but were such small strands, it didn't impact mouthfeel much. The shrimp, though top quality, were overcooked and too firm, wasting them. Further, they were simply steamed/boiled, so they were much lighter than the rest of the dish, kind of getting lost. What i mean to say is that this dish would have been excellent without the costly seafood, and they could have substituted them away without impacting our overall impression of this dish.

We really enjoyed the squid ink flatbread though, just the perfect combination of chewy interior and crunch exterior, very impressive that they make these in-house. The lamb chorizo with piles of caramelized onions and pickled peppers was perfect comfort food, and I think at RM 32 was priced just right.

The squid ink spaghetti was a little disappointing given the ingredients; TONS of bottarga, parm reggiano and veal bacon. I felt it turned out rich but somewhat bland, and although there was just tiny bits of celery, quite vegetal. Is this a limitation of using non-pork bacon perhaps? The homemade pasta was nicely cooked, but they went with a very thin noodle, when a little more width would have absorbed more of the sauce. Was fine overall, but was not as delicious as I hoped.

Overall it’s a class restaurant with excellent service, tasty food and prices that match its ambience. While it wasn’t disappointing per se, I kept feeling there’s another level they can reach with the abilities and resources of the kitchen and chef. I will give it another...

Final bill RM 253. Dinner for 2. 2 mains, 1 starter, 2 drinks.

For the price, I expected a bit more fine dining, but came out disappointed. There was nothing exceptional and I was not impressed. Cannot recommend.

My mains came before our starter. When asked about it, I was told that they were having issues with their fryer. Why couldn’t they inform us about this earlier? We wouldn’t have minded waiting.

We asked what were their popular dishes and amongst them were our two pasta mains. They were good, but I don’t think they were worth the price. Ala Chittara Truffle Butter RM65 & Lamb Ragu RM75.

Our starter was the butter chicken. Two pieces for RM36. Better be good. The batter was a bit burned. I’ve had better chicken at KFC.

Portions were a bit small, but the plating choice was bad. For fine dining they should have gone with better plates. Service wise, they brought out extra cutlery, even when we haven’t used ours. The extra cutlery was placed on our dishes (vs putting on the side on a napkin) which was a bit weird.

Acoustics was bad. Place was less than half full, but noise levels were on the brink of high.

Along the way as our dishes were being served we gave feedback about the order the food came, and that was it. I expected at least someone senior to come to talk to us. When our plates were empty, and they were going to be cleared, only did they ask if we enjoyed the food. I asked if they received our feedback. They said yes, apologized, and thats it. I couldn’t even give them the full feedback, so here it is. After requesting for the bill, they gave us a complementary dessert. It was an ice cream with mango and passion fruit, a not yet ready for the menu item. The waiter first brought out the ice cream, and then mentioned, that its supposed to come with popcorn, but that’ll take a minute. I don’t understand, why not serve it together. The ice cream was nice, but the popcorn and caramel was burned, and the pieces were too large. Would have been nice if the pieces...

As someone who has never written a food review before, my unforgettable experience at Ora has finally inspired me to share my thoughts.

First and foremost, the food was absolutely exceptional. I was pleasantly surprised by the generous portions, especially for a fine dining restaurant—definitely a great value for money. Here are my favorites from the dishes I ordered, accompanied by some pictures (though I must admit, my photography skills don’t quite capture the beauty of the dishes):

Gnocchi Fruit de Mare From the very first bite, I was filled with joy. The gnocchi was of the highest quality, with a perfect texture that made each mouthful irresistible. I had originally ordered this dish for my son, but we ended up playfully competing for the last bite!

Mochi Dry Aged Chicken This dish was an unexpected delight. The unique blend of flavors was a true testament to the chef's creativity. Benny, the owner, shared that he and the chef spent months perfecting the taste of each dish, and it truly showed in this remarkable creation.

Beyond the food, the service was outstanding. The staff was well-trained, friendly, and offered great suggestions. They even cautioned me that I might be overordering, but I thought the portions would be small—how wrong I was!

The ambiance also deserves a mention. The atmosphere was relaxed and joyful, with laughter and happy chatter filling the space—no doubt fueled by the delicious food. I later learned that Ora is considered casual fine dining, which perfectly explains the exquisite flavors, generous portions, and laid-back environment.

Oh, and since we were celebrating a special occasion, the Ora team surprised us with a dessert on the house. As a chocolate lover, I was thrilled to enjoy the Valrhona Brownie, which was simply to die for. Even though I was already full from dinner, I managed to clean the dessert plate—it was that good!

I wholeheartedly give Ora the highest ratings. Thank you to the entire Ora team for such a...