SARAWAK’S state bird, the rhinoceros hornbill, features prominently at the charming Hornbill Restaurant and Cafe next to the main entrance of KL Bird Park.
Over here, the large bird even occasionally wings in to sit by diners.
The restaurant overlooks the bird park’s hornbill zone, so lucky diners can spot the rhinoceros hornbill flying among the greenery or perching on the balcony of the verandah.
The nearly two decades old restaurant is open to park visitors and non-visitors alike. It reopened recently to dine-in customers, while the bird park has reopened under Kuala Lumpur’s Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan.
Because of its proximity to the Parliament building and Bukit Aman police headquarters, diners should not be surprised to see Members of Parliament huddled together here for a discussion or police officers tucking into their meals.
Hornbill Restaurant features timbered kampung architecture and its verandah overlooks the lush greenery of the bird park, thus the setting is one of dining within a green oasis in the city.
It offers a variety of dishes from Asian and Western cuisines, with the menu already tweaked over time to continue attracting returning and new customers.
“Our menu has undergone several changes since the restaurant opened sometime between 2002 and 2003,” said chef Qamarul Baharudin Idris, 51, who heads the kitchen team.
“For example, the chicken chop used to have a breadcrumb coating but now it is grilled.
“About five years ago, we came up with a menu offering light bites such as curry puffs, pisang goreng and keropok lekor so customers could have snacks as well, instead of just heavy meals.”
The restaurant pays homage to the Land of the Hornbills with its Sarawak laksa, which comes topped with prawns, shredded chicken and fresh coriander.
“The soup base for this dish is made using a special paste from Sarawak,” said Qamarul.
“It was also introduced to afford foreign customers a taste of a traditional dish from the state.”
A personal favourite is the fried mee mamak. The noodle dish stir-fried with prawns, fish cake, chicken fillet and beansprouts comes with a sambal dip made using Qamarul’s secret recipe.
Other best-selling Asian dishes include satay (beef and chicken), Oriental fried rice, nasi lemak, Penang char kuey teow and Nasi Goreng Malaysia.
The popular Western dishes are chicken chop, fish and chips, grilled lamb cutlet, spaghetti carbonara and the Club Sandwich. Hornbill Restaurant’s menu also offers soups, salads and desserts.
The snacks are priced from RM5.90. Asian dishes are from RM14.90 and Western dishes start at RM15.90.
“Our Asian and Western best-sellers are popular with both local diners and foreign tourists,” said Qamarul, referring to pre-Covid-19 times.
“Tourists who are familiar with Asian flavours will enjoy the local dishes such as nasi lemak and fried mee mamak. Those who have less adventurous taste buds stick to Western favourites such as chicken chop and pasta.”
To quench the thirst after spending a day traipsing all over the bird park, diners can indulge in a refreshing coconut drink or opt for fresh fruit juices that contain no added sugar.
Safari Bird Park and Wonderland marketing and promotions executive Taufik Mohd Sharif said the premises occupied what was previously a fast food restaurant.
The new management that took over the spot decided to open a restaurant that would complement this tourist attraction.
Hornbill Restaurant is open for dine-in to fully vaccinated diners. Delivery options are also available.
HORNBILL RESTAURANT AND CAFE, 920, Jalan Cenderawasih, Taman Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2693 8086. Business hours: 10am-6pm, daily.
This is the writer’s observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
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