Lunching @ Max at iHaus, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

The chef has left the building.

For those who do not know already, Max Chin, the man helming the kitchen at iHaus will be departing iHaus to open his own restaurant.

Following his departure, iHaus will continue to serve food as usual, however there will be a slight revamp on their menu. As we have enjoyed many good meals at iHaus, we would give it a try next month and see how the food fares without Max in the kitchen.

Just before my confinement, I managed to sneak one last meal at Max (barely!) and I was glad I did.

Freshly baked bread


Ice lemon tea included with the set lunch

For starters, choose between the soup or salad. The salad on that day was Balsamic glaze baby octopus on fresh mesclun greens with olives and fig vinaigrette, slightly different from the usual salads they serve here. The Unc and I both had this. The baby octopus were flavoursome with a nice texture.

Mum had the Asparagus Cream Soup garnished with chicken ham and sauteed leeks. It was rich, creamy and delicious!

Yum in a bowl

Since there were 3 of us, we each tried a different main course. Mum had the Pan Fried Dory Fish Fillet with pesto tomato coulis on a bed of sauteed potatoes. She was most impressed with her mains; the fish was fresh and flaky, accompanied with a tangy, appetizing tomato coulis. She couldn't believe that such great value for money lunch (plus delicious food!) still exists in the city.

The two remaining main courses were duck and chicken. I let The Unc take his pick first and he went for the Oven baked duck breast fillet with Chardonnay and mushroom melange on mixed greens and sauteed potatoes. I remember having this the last time I had lunch here and it was really good. The Unc also enjoyed it very much, as the duck and mushrooms were full of flavour.

Come to think of it, I've never had pasta at Max before. The pan seared smoked chicken fillet with spaghetti pasta in carbonara sauce surprised me. The spaghetti cooked al dente and covered with the rich carbonara sauce was delicious and lovely to eat.

Verdict: Definitely one of the best value lunches around. Hopefully they will manage to maintain the good standard even after Max Chin's departure.

To read about my previous visits, click here, here and here.

Opening times: Monday to Sunday; 11.30am - 2.30pm (Lunch); 6.30pm - 10.30pm (Dinner)

Price: RM25+ for 2-course set lunch. Set lunch only available on Monday - Fridays. Menus updated weekly.

Location: Max @ iHaus, Lot No.32, Jalan Jati, Off Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2142 9720

GPS coordinates: N 3.14642, E 101.71961