Kitchen by Open House @ KLIA

Used to stop by this corner of KLIA for some KFC before going home (they have since moved to another spot), but its replacement (third one so far) was quite good.

Kitchen by Open House is an elevated fine-dining restaurant concept by restaurateur Andrew Wong that focuses on preserving and reframing traditional Malaysian heritage cuisine, using local ingredients and recipes in a modern way. It is a brand affiliated with the well-known Malaysian heritage restaurant Open House.

The concept involves collaborations with organisations like the Jabatan Warisan Negara (National Heritage Board) and UKM’s The Ulam School to create cultural and heritage hubs like Ujana Warisan.

UKM’s The Ulam School is a project by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) and its founder, Eric Olmedo, aimed at reviving the culture of consuming ulams (traditional edible herbs) to combat non-communicable diseases through food education.

Smoky Rojak Paku Salad 罗惹蕨菜沙拉

Kerabu is a type of Southeast Asian salad, most commonly associated with Malay and Thai cuisine, featuring a mixture of herbs, vegetables, and sometimes fruits. It’s known for its fresh, vibrant flavours. This kerabu features young fiddlehead fern shoots combined with chopped prawns and boiled cockles, dressed with a coconut sambal kerisik, which is a toasted and grated coconut chilli paste.

Nasi Kulim with Sambal Belacan 居林饭配有叁巴马来盏

The Set Warisan came with three side dishes of lamb, fish and chicken; it also came with a steamed rice infused with the new found star of the Malaysian culinary world, a jungle garlic known as buah kulim found in the wild. Very little was used, so the taste profile of the garlic was not pronounced. Served a side condiment of sambal belachan (chilli with fermented prawn paste).

Lamb Kuzi 吉兰丹式羊肉

Lamb Kuzi, a traditional Kelantanese dish, is a rich and aromatic curry featuring tender lamb slow-cooked in a spiced gravy. It’s known for its mild sweetness, fragrant spices, and a reddish hue derived from tomato puree. The lamb was fork-tender and the sauce and spices penetrated into every bite.

Ayam Sambal Tuhau 野姜叁巴鸡

Ayam Sambal Tuhau is a national classic dish of chicken thigh, grilled shrimp paste, palm sugar, onion, ginger, dry chilli paste cooked with umbut tuhau – soft inner stalks of wild ginger stems. Unlike the Sabahan version, the chicken was not deep fried prior to cooking in the savoury and fragrant sauce.

Salmon Asam Pedas Isi Rong 酸辣三文鱼

Salmon Asam Pedas Isi Rong comprises of fried fillet of Norwegian salmon steak cooked in chilli paste, ginger flower, and tamarind, which gave it a tangy, satisfying flavour. It would be perfect with a different type of fish, like mackerel or tuna, as salmon cannot withstand the simmering in the sauce resulting in a rather dry piece of fish.

I liked the concept of several dishes in a set for a single diner like myself, so that there’s variety and yet not too much for the delicious food to go to waste. But not having the choice of the dishes meant that you would get something that you would not prefer, like this salmon that I particularly not enjoy as it was not my preferred choice of fish.

Service was prompt, the food was good (but a bit cold), and the place was accessible for travellers like me and open for 24 hours a day. Do make some time ahead of catching your flight if you truly want to enjoy the food.

Kitchen by OpenHouse, KLIA Terminal 1
Level 5, Terminal 1, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, 64000 Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel : +60 12-660 2865

Visited Jul 2025