Temptations Restaurant is a Western restaurant located at Bandar Mahkota Cheras, a suburb area outside Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It is a family run business where the owner himself is the chef, assisted by his wife. In the evenings and on weekends, two of his kids help out taking orders and serving the food. If the restaurant is not crowded and when they are not busy, you can see the kids doing their school work on one of the unoccupied tables.

Obviously this is not the place for the snobbish crowd who would view such behavior with disdain. But if you are the type that puts precedence on the food above everything else, you should give Temptations Restaurant a try.

The restaurant has a menu that comprises mainly of the usual Western fare in these parts of the world. Expect to see favorites like chicken chop, pasta, steak and I heard that they even serve a mean lamb shank. I have to be honest and say that most of the photos in the menu don’t look all that appetizing. The restaurant owner should definitely invest a little in professional photography.

On the day I was there, I wanted to order a pan-fried salmon from the menu but the chef recommended the pan-fried senangin instead. It was not on the normal menu but was listed as a daily special. Senangin is a local fish and is also known as the threadfin. Senangin is normally steamed, fried or even cooked in curries so that is normally how I eat it. However, pan-fried senangin sounds intriguing and I decided to go with it.

I’m happy to say that the pan-fried senangin came out looking much better than in the menu photo. Well, the photo that I was comparing to was actually the pan-fried salmon in the menu as the senangin wasn’t on the menu. However, this was also true for almost every dish that my dinner party ordered that night.

I’m also happy to say that the fish was an excellent choice. The senangin is meaty and has a texture similar to mackerel but far less oily. The skin had a nice sear plus that perfect crisp that is the hallmark of a well prepared pan-fried fish. It was served with a simple butter cream sauce that subtly enhanced the flavor of the fish and cushioned by a generous helping of mashed potatoes. The senangin is an excellent fish for this cooking style and I’m surprised that I have not come across a similar offering from any other local restaurant offering pan-fried fish. I am so going to try this out in my own kitchen.

Needless to say I will be making more trips to Temptations Restaurant to check out what else they have to offer.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Temptations-Restaurant-Bar/271637469575046
Location: No3, Jalan Temenggung 5/9, Seksyen 9, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia