Soon Heng Social Club — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Update: Adjusted my rating due to the owners response below as it is unfortunate the review was taken personally and defensively rather than open to constructive feedback. As a customer, I believe it's essential for businesses to welcome diverse perspectives... Every customer carries unique and varied experiences, expertise and backgrounds, and their feedback can be an opportunity for growth, not an attack.

Original review:

Discovering this place is an adventure in itself. Tucked away among low-cost flats in an area of Old Klang Road that's a bit grittier than usual, the "hidden restaurant" vibe adds to the intrigue and hype. The decor, while a bit kitschy and strange for our taste might appeal to others with its assortment of eerie elements like animal skulls, human skeletons, and a stuffed vulture...

Onto the food: while the herb-crusted lamb rack stood out as a highlight and the chicken wings were decent, other dishes fell short of expectations. The steak, despite its appealing appearance, turned out disappointingly chewy, the hummus lacked flavor and consistency, accompanied by disappointingly soggy chickpeas. The martini spaghetti, while passable, didn't quite justify its price tag considering it isn't made with handmade pasta and the seafood was debatable on its freshness. The ragu had a meager portion of 4 meatballs and lackluster flavor... Higher quality cheese mixed with it would have improved it... Not sprinkled parmesan cheese from a bottle.

Service, on the other hand, was good, with friendly and efficient staff even going the extra mile to provide birthday party hats and sashes.

I don't recommend the "off the menu" drink as it tastes like cheap punch...did not appreciate that they won't tell you what's inside as if you don't like it, you are stuck with it.

Despite the friendly service, the mediocre food, along with the location and the requirement of a rm50pp deposit, leaves us hesitant to return or recommend....it's an interesting spot to visit once, but there are better dining options...

High Expectations, Bitter Disappointment

My family and me decided to give this hidden restaurant a try after reading numerous positive reviews. The establishment's retro setting transports us back in time, boasting a blend of eccentric decor with a slightly dark twist. Adorning the space are vintage medical diagrams reminiscent of an old clinic, skeleton, bottles of ointment, and even a taxidermy vulture!

We ordered an assortment of dishes: grilled pork shoulder chops with sherry gastrique, herb-crusted Aussie lamb rack, Aussie wagyu, Aussie prime ribeye, and grain-fed Black Angus NY strip. To our dismay, all the meat dishes were incredibly tough, even the RM180 wagyu. The presence of numerous tendons rendered 30-40% of the steaks inedible. On top of the tough cut of meat, the food didn't taste good either. My dish was overseasoned, making it incredibly salty.The only redeeming part of the meal was the sweet potato fries that accompanied the pork shoulder and lamb rack dish.

Expressing our disappointment to the cashier resulted in nothing more than a smile and a promise to inform the chefs. No further action or remedy was offered, leaving us thoroughly disheartened.

Given the restaurant's impressive 4.9/5 rating on google review, our experience was disappointing. It has certainly made me question the reliability of such high ratings. Overall, our visit was a major letdown, and I find it hard to reconcile our experience with the rave reviews...

Overall ambient was good. We have ordered few dishes: seafood chowder, garlic chicken wings, grilled pork shoulder, martini pasta and tiramisu.

Firstly, the seafood chowder was good. However, all the subsequent dishes were really “out of my expectation”. The chicken wings were very salty, both the flour batter and the chicken. One of the chicken wing was uncooked. Thanks to the waiter, he has replaced us with another set of chicken wing (thai) but it’s very salty still.

Secondly, the pasta was really disappointing. The taste of the pasta was full of fishy taste, which basically covers up the flavour and aroma of the dish. We tried to finish up but unable to, the fishy taste is just too strong.

Lastly, the tiramisu is yet another dessert which we didnt enjoy it much. There’s no dark rum taste but only has sweet taste in it.

During our dinner, both my friends and myself were discussing on the food quality as friends around us were telling us how good was the food served here. But truly, we were disappointed. I hope the food quality can be improved further in...