Chuan Bar Langkawi 串吧 — Restaurant in Langkawi Island

We came on Christmas Eve without reservation around 6pm and they sat us at the bar because we want to have the real Omakase experience and we were not disappointed.

Starters: Hiyayakko (chilled tofu, I find their free shredded cabbage was better. Wished I had the courage to ask for refills) Fried Fish skin (goes superbly well with the beer, tinge of wasabi that awakes your tastebuds)

Skewers: Yakitori Set A (Chicken & Vege, meat is super tender. They’ll offer you the seasoning salt bu I personally felt it was good enough on it’s own) Uzura Bekon Maki (Beef bacon was tough, as expected but it goes well with the quail egg that was firm outside and soft on the yolk) Shiitake (daily dose of vegetable, just average) Gyu Kushi (beef, my friend said it was very tender and the flavour was just nice) Torikawa (chicken skin, get it! One skewer was not enough for us) Tsukuba Set (chicken meat/liver, if left out for more than 5mins it becomes cold and dry. Otherwise it’s an interesting experience)

Main: Smoked Duck Ramen (get this! The soup is so good and the duck is super tender! Almost every table orders this)

Dessert: Matcha Aisu, Hojicha Aisu (all home-made, the owner even showed us the machine. God we wished we could pack some back to Singapore)

Drinks: Sapporo Beer x2 Hot green tea x1 Umeshu Apple cocktail x1 (this is super refreshing and totally recommended for a starter cocktail)

Overall this place is totally recommended on the small Langkawi island where you only could get Malay/Western food and a lot of zichar restaurants. A refreshing change for the scene, be understanding with the slower than usual service because it’s being managed mainly by kids who are just there for a quick buck. The owner had to run the bar and kitchen on the day we went because his chef was out sick, so on average we thought the waiting time was more than alright for a bar/restaurant. The only change we would like to recommend the restaurant is to change the menu once in awhile cause for sure you’ll get your small non-halal community back more than often! Keep up the good work 😊

*just to prove we’re not paid to give reviews, left the receipt in photos so you can get a gauge...

We were there for dinner and booked a table for two via email. The restaurant staff answered quickly in english and everything worked out fine. The atmosphere was very relaxing and comfortable. Everything is clean, also the toilet. The staff is kind and attentive.

They have a nice selection of japanese sake, gin and whisky. I can only imagine quite a rare sight oj Langkawi. They also serve fresh and cold Sapporo beer draught for reasonable prices. Going there for drinks and the ambience is surely great.

We had the chicken and beef yakitori sets, the Karaage and the okonomyaki. The beef yakitori was very tender, but poorly seasoned or marinated, as was the rest. The yakitori and the Karaage just tasted bland, no seasoning, no sauce. The restaurant however provides three seasonings on the side that you will definitely need. The Karaage wasn't coated in batter, just slightly covered in plain flour, no crunch nor taste except of oily chicken. The okonomyaki was not bad, but compared to others we had not good either.

It's a nice bar with very kind and young staff where you can have drinks and some small hearty bites. Other people suggested the noodle dishes and rice dishes, maybe that's worth a try and suites better for dinner, but we haven't tried.

Personally, we missed some real japanese flavours in the food. The staff was only speaking Chinese with each other, not sure about the cook though to be honest. But having lived in Beijing for a year, the type of tastes reminded me more of chinese food...

sake udon RM35 - 10/10 super unique dish, never had anything like that. the udon noodles is topped with a tangy umami minced chicken, dried scallop and egg yolk. the sake and chili oil is served on the side. The sake is slightly strong so don’t pour everything first, adjust as you taste but i really love the whole combo 🤤🤤

skewers (varies from RM3-10) - 10/10 (highly recommend the beef 💯, chicken bishop nose, chicken skin, chicken thigh) i really love all the skewers, it was all perfectly cooked, juicy, tender and charred in all the right places

but the chicken wing stuffed with rice and cheese wasn’t impressive

smoked duck ramen RM35 - 7/10 no wow factor but decent bowl of ramen, broth is definitely not as strong/rich as the usual pork broth that i’m used to, the noodles itself was perfectly al-dente though (would rate this place 10/10 if not for this ramen)

special remark: sapporo beer draught was just rm9

ambience: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 their interior and music kinda brings me back to japan, this place hits all the points imo, too bad they’re not in kl, i would definitely be their regular customer 😮‍💨

service: their staff were okay, there’s space for improvements, food came quite fast

would i...