Dan and I honeymooned on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. While Langkawi is beautiful, and we stayed in the most amazing overwater bungalow, the food scene on Langkawi definitely left something to be desired, especially compared to Kuala Lumpur (where we LOVED the food).

When we arrived at the Langkawi Airport, we were given a packet of advertisements for restaurants, attractions, and hotels on Langkawi. One of those restaurants was rumored to be “the best restaurant on Langkawi” and it just happened to be a Japanese restaurant, which Dan and I had been craving. In any case, we called and made a reservation.  Unkaizan was located about a 25 Uber ride from our hotel – Berjaya Langkawi – in Pantai Cenang.

Upon arrival, Unkizan had our reservation and we were promptly seated. We had a choice of indoor or outdoor seating and while the outdoor area was prettier, it was just too hot to sit outside.

We were pretty hungry and excited for Japanese food, so we got right down to ordering. For starters,  I ordered a spicy California roll. I know, boring, but those rolls are tasty!

For my main dish, I ordered fried rice (like Thai style) with blue crab. It was delicious and came with lots of Japanese accroutements. The only problem was that they forgot my fried rice… Opps. In any case, the staff was really nice about it and gave us a free dessert to make up for the error.

Dan ordered calamari, which was grilled and not exactly what we expected, but delicious nonetheless. A very Japanese way of preparing calamari.

As I mentioned, since Unkaizan forgot my crab rice, Unkaizan gave us free dessert, and we choose the fried ice cream – a favorite of mine! It looked like a pineapple and was really delicious! And also, huge.

We really enjoyed our differ here and I would definitely return for another meal.  I would also note that Unkaizan has a decent wine list, especially for Langkawi (although the staff is not terribly knowledgable about the wine…our waitress was so nervous pouring our wine…).

STEAL OUR TRIP

Unkaizan: Jalan Pantai Tengah, Pantai Tengah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. T: +60 4-955 4118. Closed Wednesday, open 6 PM (18h) – 11 PM (23h) every other day. Recommended to call in advance for a reservation.

ON A BUDGET

For an island destination, Langkawi is quite budget friendly. In terms of restaurants on the island, Unkaizan is definitely not the cheapest place, but its not the expensive either. A worthly splurge in my opinion. If you are on a tight budget, check out the restaurants along the main drag in Pantai Cenang. Many have budget traveler deals, as well as happy hour specials.