Kuah Dining & Restaurants

In Kuah Town, expect to find some traditional culinary delights. Because of its relatively large population and number of hotels in the area, there is a good range of restaurants and dining places to choose from. You can take your pick from fusion restaurants and fast food outlets in the shopping malls to open-air stalls and Chinese seafood places along the sea-front road.

Stalls and Eateries

If you're in the mood for some hawker food, make your way towards the jetty. The hawkers sell their individual specialities out of pushcarts and the food is prepared on the spot, as soon as you place your orders. Most are very obliging and would omit certain ingredients that aren't to your taste or substitute them with some others. Most will charge a little extra if you ask for extra ingredients.

Coffee shops were the innovation of the migrant Chinese and in Kuah, you'll find them behind the Sime Langkawi Duty-free Complex. They serve good, inexpensive food - definitely value for money. Most are not air-conditioned and lack the ambience and cool comforts of a restaurant but the food usually more than makes up for it and they don't burn a big hole in your pockets.

Food stalls are also located opposite the City Bayview Hotel near the laneway of Lencongan Putra 1. They open at night and serve fairly good food at reasonable prices.

Fast Food & Supermarket

There is a McDonald's outlet for those on the go at the new Langkawi Fair shopping complex, nearer to the jetty. This shopping complex also has a supermarket so you will be able to get groceries if you prefer to do your own cooking.

Seafood Restaurants

There are several seafood restaurants in Kuah. Sari Seafood serves seafood Malay style, and is olocated at the waterfront in the centre of town. Renovated not too long ago, it overlooks the water.

For authentic Chinese style seafood, try the Restoran Langkawi, near the Asia Hotel. The marinades and sauces that complement the various shellfish, prawns, crabs, squids and fish are guaranteed to have patrons wanting more. Fresh seafood is always a winner as there is a natural sweetness to it and most locals also enjoy them lightly steamed or boiled, then dipped with local sauces.

On the outskirts of town is another seafood restaurant along Jalan Penarak; Restoran Sangkar Ikan. The seafood they serve is excellent, fresh from the floating fish farm out in the front. Cost per person is about RM30. Experience the novelty of dining al fresco under the twinkling stars with the sound of the waves gently breaking on the shore.

Restaurants with Ambience

Another note-worthy restaurant is the Barn Thai, an upmarket restaurant that is ten kilometres north of Kuah on the eastern coast of Langkawi. As its name suggests, it is a Thai restaurant and it offers live jazz entertainment on most nights. The management has come up with a novel way for patrons to enter its premises. They have constructed a raised 500 metre long walkway through a mangrove reserve and guests make their way to the restaurant on the 'bridge'.