BUBU @ Tengkat Tong Shin

BUBU Restaurant @ Hotel Rae

When my friend first asked us to try out his newly partnered restaurant called Bubu, which we thought we heard "Bulu" (in Malay which means hair), we couldn't help but laughed our heads off. Which restaurant would want a name like "Bulu"?

It seemed that the name BUBU is also under the same owner as the BUBU Long Beach Resort in Perhentian Island (Perhentian Kecil) which is one of the very beautiful white sandy beaches in Malaysia. I'm embarrassed to say that I have not set foot there.

The air-conditioned dining area.

This restaurant is housed in Hotel Rae, which is just opposite the Hotel Alpha Genensis which is situated on Tengkat Tong Shin linking to Changkat Bukit Bintang. After all, this place is notorious for having blocks of f*ck hotels/inns, if you know what I mean. My friend just took over this restaurant, brushed up the menu and improved the service.

Grilled Calamari, Lokam Clams & Grilled Lamb

Grilled Tiger Prawns (RM50)

The seafood served here is very fresh. According to Mr. Cheah, the owner, the seafood comes from Pulau Perhentian and he has twice delivery a day! So, if you want something special or host a dinner, it can be arranged! Even the grilled rack of lamb (RM50) here is special because they have added goat cheese to give it an extra kick! If you look at the Tiger Prawns, it's so big and succulent that it almost pass off as a mini lobster.

They have other things on the menu too such as the Surf & Turf dish for RM60, Swordfish Thermidor RM38, Grilled Garoupa at RM38 and also pasta as well. Cocktails start from RM20 which I think it's quite reasonable.

Wines & Cigars

I love the al-fresco dining style which allowed us to smoke our cigars. The set up is simple and cosy minus all the frills. You can wear your shorts and tank tops here to enjoy a good meal. There's a counter filled with fresh seafood for your selection.

The Culprits

With such good food, we have to have good wines too! We had 3 bottles that night for 5 of us. It's not much but it's certainly enough to get me tipsy. The first bottle we had was the 2005 Castello Banfi Rosso di Montalcino which is from Tuscany, Italy. It has very intense ruby red colour, coupled with tasting notes of plum, blackberries and tobacco. It's a earthy, spicy but elegant wine. As for the second wine, the Fournier Monetou-Salon 2006 is a Burgundy from the the region of Loire with bright acidity and tannins. My favourite lot of all would be the Xisto 2004 from Duoro, Portugal. It combines the unique spicy character of the Douro with all the finesse you may expect of a Cru Classé Bordeaux. The wine has a very deep (almost opaque) red colour and a nose of violets, cassis and black cherries. I have recommended many to give this Portugal wine a go and they all told me that it's one of those exceptional wines from Portugal that they have drank so far!

With all the food, wine and cigars, my dinner came to an end. It was soon time to head home as I still have to work on Friday! If you like this concept of dining (not the average typical seafood restaurant) with prices above average, you can give this BUBU a try.

BUBU Restaurant (at Hotel Rae)
No. 42A, Tengkat Tong Shin
off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
50200 KL, Malaysia.
Tel:+603- 2142 2988
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