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Halal Chinese Restaurant in Kuantan • Moonlight Pavilion Air Putih 聚興樓点心


On day two of our Kuantan trip, we went to Moonlight Pavilion at Air Putih for dinner. It's a large no pork, no lard restaurant that will be receiving Halal certification from the authorities soon. I love the food, environment, service and pricing here. 

Moonlight Pavilion has two levels. On the Tuesday evening we were there, the upper level was filled with local families. 

The decor though simple is modern and elegant, furnishings are comfortable, environment is clean and bright, service is attentive and warm, hence Moonlight Pavilion is gaining a growing local following since it opened a year ago. 

We started with a fanciful appetiser known as Bonsai Lychee. 

It's neither bonsai nor lychee but a delicious fried prawn ball that was crisp outside with moist tender crunchy sweet prawns inside. 

Roast duck - we had half a bird.

Tender meaty cuts of savoury with slightly smokey flavour. Wasn't ducky gamey nor was there any herbal taste - the two things I like in my roast duck 🤭

Chongqing (Sichuan) Steamed Chicken. Don't worry, it was not tongue and lips numbing hot as expected of Sichuan dishes but just savoury flavours complementing the subtle sweetness of tender chicken. 

We asked the boss, why his Chongqing chicken doesn't burn, and was told that he wanted the dish to be enjoyed by all, including children 👍

Lemon and garlic steamed ikan patin fish. 

The ikan patin fish was soft juicy, especially around the fatty belly. The lemon garlic aromatic sauce was just mildly tangy spicy but enough to mask any subtle earthiness from the fish.

I love this specialty grouper fruit fish. 

The outside of the fried grouper fish was crisp while the white flesh inside was tender, moist, naturally sweet. 

The crispy outside, custard-like inside of the pisang goreng (fried banana) was the unlikely but perfect complement to the fried grouper fish. 

Must order this dish when you are here. 

Salted egg yolk fried squid. Squid is plentiful in Kuantan and squid dishes are must try when you are here. The squid tentacles were encased in salted egg yolk and flour batter. Fried to a crisp outside with the squid tender crunchy inside. Salted egg yolk flavour was gentle enough for us to taste the squid's unique taste. I prefer this than those places that do salted egg yolk overly salty. 

Signature bean curd (tofu). I like the soft moist custard-like inside of the deep fried skin of the house made tofu. The dish has a comforting mild savoury sweet flavour. 

Braised assorted seafood hotpot. 

Not a very photogenic dish but loaded with umami savoury sweet flavours from the prawn, crab, abalone, baked rice, etc. The rich soup was thicken by the rice and rice itself was tender, nutty and nice. I had to fight myself from scooping more rice as it was all carbs but evilly tempting. 

Prawn cheese bee hoon. Taste good - umami, savoury, subtle sweetness, all there. Compares well with the original Malacca version. I just took a mouthful - too full already 😂

Stir fried string bean with dried shrimp. Had our obligatory green in a delicious way - the string bean was crunchy, juicy and its natural sweetness was overlaid with umami savouriness from the dried shrimp. 

Moonlight Pavilion serves dim sum by day and a full menu of Chinese classics for lunch and dinner. It's a good place for family and group outings - good food, nice, spacious comfortable space, pleasant service and competitive pricing.

The restaurant's Halal certification is in progress. 

Halal_Chinese_Restaurant_Kuantan_Moonlight_Pavilion_Air_Putih_聚興樓点心


Restaurant name: 聚興樓点心Moonlight Pavilion Malaysia (Air Putih)

Address:  B602, Jalan Air Putih, Kampung Air Puteh, 25300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia


Tel: +609 560 4922


Hours: 8 am - 3 pm | 5pm - 10 pm





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Written by Tony Boey on 18 Aug 2024

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