The ideal Valentine's Day date, according to chefs

The duo don’t feel a Valentine’s Day celebration is only limited to a nice dinner out. “We would likely cook a fancy dinner together at home and spend the night watching movies with our cats,” he ends.

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“Our ideal date night would be a nice dinner—not at an expensive place but at a place we both enjoy, followed by a movie,” smiles Viyern Ooi, Ignis Kuala Lumpur’s pastry chef. “However, if we’re feeling more fancy, we’d go to a place we haven’t been, such as Restaurant Shu KL or Hide KL.”

The next best alternative for the couple would be ordering in from Heritage Pizza KL and watching movies at home.

As for many couples in F&B, Sara Rashid and Phillip Dominic of Restaurant Dominic and Phil’s Pizza will be working on February 14. “We’ll wake up earlier than usual and go to Restaurant Dominic to check all is in order, then go and grab our morning coffee,” Sara says. 

“We’ll then go to REXKL to set up the movie night we have planned and make sure all the Phil’s Pizza heart-shaped pizzas are ready,” she chuckles. “In the middle of errands, we will steal some time to go lunch at [Dominic]’s favourite chicken rice shop, located in Petaling Street!” 

After dinner service, the duo plans to have dinner at a Chinese hawker stall along Jalan Cochrane since the restaurant opens late. “Once the rush of Valentine’s Day has passed, I’ll claim a nice dinner (or a sailing trip around the Komodo Islands) from [Dominic],” Sara ends, chuckling.

“Valentine’s Day has never been a big deal for us, but it is as good a night as any to try out a new restaurant and have drinks after,” Miranda Yeoh of Paolo Paolo Gelato smiles. “It’s all about grabbing that bit of time just for us, away from the kids and work talk, just hanging out together and exploring new food—that’s our idea of a great time.”

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Lau KaHong and Celine Choong of Atelier Binchotan decided to move back from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to live closer to family. “With the same intention, every Chinese New Year, we will take a two week break to spend time with our little girl,” Celine Choong of Atelier Binchotan explains. “It so happens that this Valentine’s Day falls during our break, during which we will be going to Sabah for a short trip.” 

Celebrating the occasion is considered a luxury in the dining industry, and Choong hopes she and Lau can celebrate more Valentine’s Days in the years to come.

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