Our Top 8 Favourite Steak Joints in Town

There’s a steakhouse on every corner of the city these days, but where can you go to enjoy a piece of beef, that suits every occasion and mood of dining? Like take us two hungry monkeys for example, we sometimes like dining on high end gourmet steak in tres chi-chi, contemplative surroundings, but sometimes, we just want to chomp down on a fast, good and affordable steak as well. So long as the slab of meat tastes good, is expertly grilled and meets our price expectations we can’t ask for more.

So in light of this, we thought that today, we mights share with you, where we go, when our insatiable carnivorous appetites hit. These steak joints range from low to high end, but we do enjoy them all just the same. Presenting, in no particular order, C&C’s Top 8 favourite Steak joints!

1. Steaks and Western Cuisine at SS3, Petaling Jaya

SS3 is like the mecca of cheap, good western food. There are many to take your pick from, but the one we like is the less famous shop on the block. People flock to a place called Michael’s Western, but this is not that shop. This is the one next to it. That’s right, this shop is less crowded, cheaper and we find the steaks here satisfying and incredibly value for money. Of course this ain’t no fine dining super marbled wagyu, but the Sirloin Steak priced at RM10 is a steal. Located in a non air-conditioned coffee shop, the steaks arrive drenched in either mushroom or black pepper sauce, with a whole load of greasy fries, coleslaw or potato salad and fresh salad leaves, so we can’t complain. This is definitely the low price range steak for us, when we need a quick fix.

Sizzling meats.. take your pick, he says!

I pick the mushroom sauce sirloin steak!

2. Steak at PitStop Cafe, Section 17

Another great place for a speedy steak in comfortable surroundings would be the Pit Stop Cafe. This place is actually air-conditioned and so, it is slightly more luxurious than the previous joint. We found that this mid range priced sirloin steak met our expectations. It’s expertly grilled and presented as a pinkish, finger-thick slab of glistening meat. Order the creamy coleslaw and potato wedges as complement, but don’t neglect the savory-sweet brown sauce that comes with the beef. Thoroughly satisfying! This is our low range priced steak of choice.

Pitstop Cafe.. full of young students, courting couples and families who know a good bargain when they see one

The black pepper sirloin steak is good value for money!

3. Steaks at Prime, Le Meridien KL

Located in Le Meridien Hotel KL, Prime is a steak lover’s paradise, with a great selection of red meats to choose from on its menu. Chef Antoine attributes the succulent flavour and tenderness of his steaks to a bit of common sense in making sure that the best cuts reach his dining table. If you sit long enough and listen to this wise Chef, he will tell you why buying steak in summer gives a superior quality in meat, rather than if one were to buy it in winter, where the fat levels in the animal are high, thus giving it a less desirable, gamier smell. Ah yes, I think it is safe to say that a high proportion of the KL food bloggers are in agreement. Prime’s steaks are to die for. Only come here when you feel like splurging. This is our top range priced steak of choice.

Prime steaks are in a class of their own and depending on the promotion, you will get to sample all sorts of different scored Wagyu from different regions around the world

4. Steaks at Jake’s Charbroil

The definitive old-school Jake’s steakhouse, complete with tacky cowgirl waitresses out front, the now-shopworn Jakes has seen better days. But it still serves up some very decent steaks in town, and the experience is inimitable. Who would have thought that, with the resurgence of this neighborhood as an eating hub for diners, Jake’s has been rewarded for hanging on all these years.

The steady crowd, most of whom hail from around the PJ and KL part of town, might not notice if the food lost a step. Distractions abound, with noisy cowgirl waitresses taking orders intertwined with the loud banter of families in neighbouring dining booths. The low-ceilinged dining room is studded with cowboy paraphernalia , photos of patrons, and gaudy decor. Even after 20 odd years at the same location, however, Jake’s isn’t ready to be relegated to the history books just yet. I just love the way they do my sirloin steak here.. medium to medium rare, with tons of marbling. Perfection to me is defined by the contrast between the charred exterior and the warm, juicy pink center and Jakes gets it right every time! This is our midrange priced steak of choice.

Charbroiled red meat, at its best!

5. Steaks at Angus Steak House, Pavilion KL (Currently moved to Starhill)

Call me old fashioned but I really kill for a good old fashioned charred steak. I love it when the flavor of the sirloin or the porterhouse has real depth, along with the muskiness and a mineral quality about it.. and of course, a good char. I mean, I hate it when the meat lacks char. At Angus Steak house, I get richness and an unmistakable tanginess of beef’s flavor and a terrific charcoal char in my steak that’s hard to beat. I go here for the sirloin, the wagyu beef tenderloin and sometimes, the porterhouse for two when I am particularly famished! This is our midrange priced steak of choice.

6 . Steaks at Chef Choi, Kuala Lumpur

If you are in Ampang and you’re hankering for some steak on a spit, Chef Choi is one of the great joints in Kuala Lumpur that really hews to the artisanal rhythms of the barbecue, and it shows. Oh yes, what one should order here is the Steak Florentine. Simply put, this is a porterhouse cut (a.k.a. “T-Bone”) beef cooked in the style of Florence. The steak is grilled over a wood or charcoal fire, and seasoned with salt and, sometimes, black pepper and olive oil. Sliced up thinly before it is served, these slivers of succulent meat, wear a blush that can only mean one thing- the perfect medium rare. Not for the squeamish nor those who do not like to see blood anywhere near their food. Carnivores rejoice! It does not come redder than this! This is our top range priced steak of choice.

Steak Florentine

Presenting the perfectly executed Steak Florentine – what a pretty blush!

7. Steaks at Castell

I remember dining at Castell as one of the highlights of eating out with the family, during my teenage years. Castell’s history in Kuala Lumpur’s western dining scene began in the 1970s. The restaurant’s unique name comes from the Spanish word for castle and it is located in Section 16 Petaling Jaya. Growing up on its steaks, I hold Castell in a special place in my heart. The sort of special place where we used to dine on steak served on a wooden chopping board, and all the cutlery had wooden handles. Well things have changed and Castell now possesses a rather posh refurbished air about it. The steaks here are still bloody awesome and the Prime Fillet is my favourite. If “feast like a knight, only at Castell”, is the restaurants tagline, then I have to say that every single time I step into this restaurant I still feel like the damsel in distress who has just had her first real steak!

8. Steaks at Coliseum Cafe and Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

And that concludes our favourite places for steak in KL. What are yours?