I have to give Kapitan props for being much better on the second visit, impressing me with their roti canai, otak otak, and sambal petai with shrimp. I said in my last review I would try to order things that it would be very difficult to make too sweet, and this seems to be the way to go here. My companion's favorite was the roti canai, a fall-apart chicken thigh in a spicy broth made milder by how coconutty it was. My favorite was the shrimp sambal petai. I love petai and how they taste kind of like weed smells, but the impressive part of this dish was the thick candlenutty gritty rub that coated the whole thing. Herb-wise, it tasted exactly like Malaysia. I like my otak otak a little less creamy but this was still delicious - and similarly herb heavy. I will absolutely return, at least for the sambal petai, and to see what else they can surprise me with! read more

Perfect date night spot! We got roti to share - so delicious but you get charged almost double for more than one piece! I loved my dish, cannot find the name but it was noodles with the most delicious coconut curry and my date got a rice dish that she said was a bit dry. We were the only ones at the time so the service was great LOL! We will be returning! read more

Kapitan - Taken from upper seating area - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Taste is decent but I found sand in your chili crabs. You need to do a better job cleaning your crabs. Also, I have to keep calling on the wait staff for fresh plates. I see a whole bunch of them just milling around chitchatting even after our plates are piled high with crab shells. If you've ever been to a seafood restaurant in Singapore or Malaysia, you notice that they have a retinue of attentive wait staff replacing diners' plates *before* they are filled up with shells. This is an essential service for a good dining experience. All Malaysian dishes we ordered were good and fairly authentic but the lamb skewers (certainly not Malaysian) were inedible. Stick to Malaysian cuisine; do lamb satays instead. read more

Kapitan - Chili crab - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My mom is Malaysian Chinese and I've been to Malaysia a few times. Overall we were underwhelmed. We ordered the hokkien char mee and the tomato rice set. The hokkien char mee was 4/5. It was flavorful but I've had better. The tomato rice set came out lukewarm. It had beef rendang 4/5, shrimp sambal 3.5/5, kapitan chicken 3/5, and rice 2/5. The rice was not warm, hard and uncooked due to lack of water. Portion sizes aren't huge but we were still adequately full from these two dishes for lunch. As others mentioned, prices are a little higher given portion size but everything has gone up with inflation. read more

Kapitan - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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TLDR: Authentic Malaysian cuisine for a great price!! I came here for lunch with my sister and her family on a Saturday and the place was empty! I had been talking her ear off about needing to try this Malaysian restaurant, so I was a little nervous about how empty this place was... but glad we stayed. We ordered all our childhood favorites that we used to eat in KL: Chicken Curry with Roti, Chicken Satay, Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng, and Hokkien Char Mee. Honestly? Best chicken satay in town! The peanut sauce was bomb. The Hokkien Char Mee wasn't quite what I remember it to be but everyone loved it. The Chicken Curry and Roti were also very solid. All in all, everything was tasty and most of the dishes were just like I remembered. I'd definitely come back to try their Curry Laksa and Hainan Chicken Rice!! read more

Food and service in general were fine, but they added a 20% automatic gratuity to the lunch bill. They explained it was their 'policy,' which feels unreasonable and wasn't stated beforehand. If they don't want to lose customers, they may want to rethink this "policy". read more

This place is so good. The flavors are amazing. I am a soup girl and I love their Beef Noodle Soup. Hokkien Char Mee always hits the spot. I love their apps and dessert and today I got Fried Fish Ball Skewers and Mango Sticky Rice. I'm so lucky I live nearby and it's so hard not getting it everyday. read more

Kapitan - Partially eaten because I was hangry In this pic, I got Hokkien Char Mee, Fried Fish Ball Skewers, Beef Noodle Soup, and Mango Sticky Rice - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Amazing food! Loved all of the flavors and the Oxtail Soup, along with the super SOFT tofu, were highlights of the experience - SO FLAVORFUL & the oxtail tender. The ambiance is so great, too - love the design of this place! read more

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This was a wonderful meal. Everything tasted amazing! This place specializes in Malaysian/Singaporean cuisine. Not something you see a lot around these here parts. It's not an inexpensive meal, but it is delicious, satisfying, and unique for Chicago's food scene. Food: I had the chili shrimp (a twist on Singapore's famous chili crab, but less expensive, hehe), Hokkien char mee (a sweet, slightly more syrupy version of chow mein), cendol (a sweet shaved ice dessert with green noodle-like threads, red beans, palm sugar, and milk), and kaya toast (a Singaporean breakfast classic, featuring a butter made with fragrant pandan, East Asia's answer to vanilla). Everything was sensational. The standouts were the chili shrimp, which comes with delightful buttery, sweet buns to mop up the unctuous sauce, and the kaya toast--so simple, but so good. Next time I'll try the chili crab. Atmosphere: it's a large multi-story dining room with plenty of space. Very clean. When I went with a friend on a weeknight, we were the only ones there. Service: Excellent. All our questions were answered, and we were served promptly. Parking: Street parking. I found a free spot right in front of the restaurant. Would love to come back here again soon. Thank you for a lovely meal, Kapitan! read more

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I was visiting Chicago and was craving for Singapore Hainanese chicken rice. Con; The smallest order for Hainanese chicken is 1/2 a chicken. I asked if they have a smaller portion but they said no. I'm very disappointed at the dish. The chicken drumsticks were tender, the rest of the pieces were a bit tough and chicken skin has a bit of rancid oil aftertaste. There were no sliced cucumber at the bottom of the chicken which is how this dish is being served in Singapore. The rice is brown instead of white and a bit mushy. Failed. The only thing that made my dinner a little bit more palatable is the chili and cilantro. Will not return. Felt like I wasted my calories tonight. read more

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I loved it so much. I got the vegetarian roti Canai and it was delicious. The orange chicken was also pretty good, but very sweet. BBQ beef short rib was great( the drinks were also great. Place is super BIG! Service was great. Brightly lit.Totally recommend read more

I ordered takeout from Kapitan and it was so delicious (again)! The dishes were so tasty and the meat was nice and tender. What I love is that some of their meat is halal! I've eaten here before and it never stops to impress me. My favorite dishes are the tomato rice platter and drunken noodles. I would definitely order/eat here again! read more

Kapitan - Drunken Noodles, Tomato Rice - Set, Kapitan Chicken, and Rendang Beef - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was so stuffed after leaving this place. The burger was great and the beef noodle soup was so filling. The Teh Tarik tasted like Finnish tea or just milky tea with sugar. The Bubur Cha cha is a taro dessert. If you're not into that kind of texture, don't get it. I was just so impressed that they could wrap a patty in an egg and it was a little messy to eat. The beef noodle soup was huge and they brought two bowls, but who's sharing? It has a limey and spicy taste to it which I enjoy. Do note: tip is already included in the total at least when I went. read more

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Some really good food here and many of these dishes are hard to find in Chicago. The service has always been good. Don't come here for the ambiance necessarily--it's a little cavernous and simple--but it's a large space and seems great for groups. Overall you'd can't really go wrong with the food, and I encourage you to ask for help if you need guidance, the staff is very helpful and knowledgeable. My thoughts: Kaya toast for a great dessert or sweet appetizer. Kaya "jam" is really a type of custard using pandan leaves which have a slightly grassy and coconut flavor. It's delicious and lovely. Toast with some butter that mixes in savory goodness with the sweet, rich custard. So good. My other favorite dessert is the cendol, which is refreshing, cold, and sweet with the rice flour jelly, coconut milk, and delicious palm sugar syrup. Cendol is so hard to find in Chicago and this is a solid option. The Nasi Lemak is a staple, it's very good. Kapitan chicken and rendang beef both delicious options. Satay chicken we always order for an appetizer, solid choice. Murtabak is great and we particularly enjoy the lentil sauce that's served with it. Lobak deep fried pork rolls are flavorful and a little fatty. A slightly heavier and richer appetizer, but just 4 bites. Nyonya pineapple was enjoyable, but too sweet for me. It's exactly what you'd expect: a chicken dish with lots of pineapple. Very sizable portion that's served in half a pineapple, which is fun. read more

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Came here for lunch on a Sunday and it seemed like there was only one person servicing the place. It's pretty spacious and there is good free parking in the area. I was able to try some things I've never had before. Bubur Cha Cha - little too sweet and the beans were more Al dente than I expected Hokkien Char Mee - great umami flavors and I liked the mix of protein and veg Murtabak - super flavorful and I liked the contrast of the soft egg with the crunchy rice paper Otak Otak - a little too fishy and pungent herbal flavor for my liking read more

This was my first time trying Malaysian food and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Kapitan. I tried the nasi lemak with chicken l and it was delicious and spicy. For dessert, my table shared a bowl of cendol (a sweet shaved ice dessert with coconut milk and pandan jellies) and a plate of mango sticky rice. The restaurant is beautiful and has a nice ambience with cool art/decor. The servers were also very helpful and attentive! I will definitely be going back again. read more

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my first authentic Peranakan/Malaysian food experience ...cant believe I waited this long. Very spacious restaurant and I was very surprised it was very slow on a Thursday. Our hostess was very sweet and attentive and brought our food as it was made.We got shrimp Shuimai, burger , Nasi lemak and Lamb rendang all of which were delicious . That area has lots of options but I think people should definitely try this interesting cuisine. read more

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I was looking for a place to eat near the Clybourn Metra Station, and Kapitan stood out to me. Having lived in Singapore before, I was attracted to its Peranakan cuisine, which is very popular over there. The restaurant itself is attractive and quite spacious as it's spread over two floors. On a temperate Sunday afternoon for lunch, it was mostly empty. There were many staples on the menu that I recognized from my time in Singapore and some that I did not, and my friend and I ended up ordering the kaya toast, poached Hainanese chicken, and the Hokkien char mee. I was caught off guard that the kaya toast did not come with soft boiled eggs as it's typical for kaya toast to come with soft boiled eggs (topped with white pepper and soy sauce) to dip in, but the toast was generously slathered with kaya jam and already delicious without it. It turns out that the soft boiled eggs are a separate item on the menu. The Hainanese poached chicken was juicy and delicious. It's not quite as tender as the Hainanese chicken abroad, but it was definitely a very solid rendition. The Hokkien char mee was also very good, and it was coated with a sweet soy sauce glaze. The teh tarik milk tea was also unique and delicious -- it had a deeper flavor and aftertaste unlike any other milk tea I've ever had. Overall, highly recommend this place and will be going again sometime! read more

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RATING: 7/10 My sister and I stopped into Kapitan after seeing they served Peranakan cuisine! We traveled to Singapore over the summer, and I have been craving Laksa ever since I first tried it there. We ordered the Roti and Dahl as well as the Curry Laksa. The Roti was perfectly fluffy yet crispy and light. The Dahl was hearty and comforting. I will mention that this dish was a bit overpriced given that it was a single piece of Roti and a small bowl of Dahl. I would have appreciated at least one more piece but that was another $5 which is a bit ridiculous. As for the Curry Laksa...just as good as I remember. The sweet and spicy broth was super satisfying and the shrimp tasted fresh! Definitely made me nostalgic. Overall, Kapitan is a great place to try Peranakan dishes that you don't see often in the city. It's a bit overpriced, but I'd say it's worth it to try some new flavors and explore a new culture! read more

Kapitan - Roti and Dhal - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I've been a couple times now and have been pleased each time. Yes, I admit we've primarily gone for the nasi lamek with various curries/proteins as the side. The peanuts are of course the best part as they're deliciously caramelized. But I also quite like the rendang and even the Kapitan chicken is quite good. The portions are reasonable for the price and service is friendly too. The only thing is that with the rather vague descriptions on the menu, I with there was either greater detail on the menu or pictures to help facilitate picking a meal. Looking forward to going back and trying more options! read more

Not great, not bad, although I think the menu could use some tweaking. I've been twice for lunch, and the flavors are interesting. On my first visit I had the Nasi Lemak with shrimp, which was quite spicy but pretty good. On my return visit I had the Kapitan chicken, which is their version of curry. I got a big plate of chicken in curry and a side of rice. I usually love curry, but I didn't like this one. I can't say exactly why, except that the seasoning they use became quickly overpowering and was rather one note. And why not make it a plate and add a side of veggies? Again, not terrible food, just not good enough for me to want to return. read more

Kapitan - From back to front, Lobak, roti and dal - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have been here a few times and always order the Singaporean noodles with beef. I've not tasted anything like it, and it's delicious. Super cute inside the restaurant if you wish to eat there, and the food stays very fresh for takeout orders. Don't be dissuaded by the lack of crowds, this place is one of the best! read more

Good vibe and nice folks but the kitchen--which is competent--underperforms on what turns out to be its over-ambitious Chinese Thai and Malay menu. Unlikely to return. read more

The inside of the restaurant was decorated super well. Service was excellent as well. A bit of a basic order (also not Malaysian), but the honey walnut shrimp was SO good. They didn't use walnuts but instead candied pecans and it worked extremely well. I was less enthusiastic about the Nasi Lemak, which was good but not amazing. The te tarik was good, but it's alsk really hard to mess that drink up. Mango sticky rice was too sour for my taste. read more

Kapitan - Honey Walnut Shrimp - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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When we stopped by this place we were the only ones eating. In this covid times, that is a blessing. The whole place is huge, plenty tables. plenty space. We lived in Singapore briefly in our past life and travelled to Malaysia a few times and i must say, i'm glad i could find such variety of food available to us here in Chicago. My wife preferred the other place called Penang in the NW burbs because it was spicier and has more authentic/stronger taste. Dont get me wrong we loved this place too. Chicken rice is good. Perfectly crispy chicken skin. Rendang is not as spicy but beef is tender. But it felt like it's a more scaled down taste than what we're used to. The taste is cleaner. Parking can be difficult, street pay parking only. Price, it's okay. If it was cheaper we probably would frequent this place more. We will definitely comeback and try several other dishes next time. read more

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Nasi lemak chicken ( no bone ) was the highlight in the menu , pork belly is very juicy & crispy read more

Kapitan - Nasi Lemak - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Sometimes you go to a city and they have Singapore Chili Crab. Pretty good stuff and very messy to eat. read more

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I was excited to try this out, but felt like the food missed the mark completely. We ordered the roti, Hainanese chicken and pan mee. The curry for the roti lacked the depth that you would find in Malaysia. The Hainanese chicken was strangely fried. I had never heard of Hainanese chicken being prepared in any other way besides poached. Upon Googling, there is a roasted version, but it's quite different from the fried version we had here. This led the overall chicken to taste quite dry inside. I will read the reviews more thoroughly next time. The pan mee was really light on flavor -- it just tasted of light soy sauce, but lacked in the seafood, meaty and chili flavors that are usually in the dish. I was pretty disappointed with this experience. I'm hoping that the dishes that I ordered were just a miss. read more

Kapitan - Pan mee - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

FYI, on Sundays the restaurant opens at 11 am CST (not 9 am as Yelp indicates)! We were so excited to find that Chicago's only Peranakan Restaurant was opening in the neighborhood! We have tried Serai before in Logan Square so we knew we were in for a treat! We ordered a few breakfast items and definitely was not disappointed. -Shu mai [5/5] (3 per order and came with dipping sauce) We ordered 2 orders between the two of us. Delicious!! -Lo Mai Gai [5/5] I definitely expected to unwrap the lotus leaves and smelly the yummy aromatics, so I was kind of disappointed when it came fully unwrapped in the take out container! Although, the delicious stuffed sticky rice was enough for me to overlook this minor detail. The rice is stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, chicken, and Chinese sausages. It is drizzled with what looks like hot sauce (was not spicy enough for me to taste). -Chee Cheong Fun [5/5] I was nervous ordering this because of the fish balls because from my experience sometimes they can be too overwhelming. However, we were pleasantly surprised that the dish was not fishy and had very delicious, and intricate flavors. -Bak Kwa Roti [3.5/5] This dish was made with pork jerky, pork floss, and cucumber between a bun. I have not had either the pork jerky or pork floss before this. The "sandwich" was good, but not something I'd order again. Plus side is that there's plenty of parking on Southport if and Clybourn. read more

tried this place years back and forgot i had not reviewed it! this was recommended to me by a Malay colleague at work after i was sad about Rickshaw Republic's closure, and it did not disappoint! recently went back after a trip to NYC where we had some excellent Malay food and were jonesing for more. the area is kind of random but close to a movie theater we frequent and a decent walk from our place. the restaurant itself is a pretty large space, would love to see this filled up lore because the food is so good and the service is lovely. highlights for me are the kaya toast, the nasi lemak (with rendang beef and sambal) and the teh tarik. sometimes with more kaya toast at the end for dessert. read more

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An excellent find for Singaporean cuisine in the Chicagoland area! Their roti parantha was excellent, but the star of the show was this whole roasted Chicken dish. The Sambal was great and overall vibes were awesome! read more

Kapitan - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ordered a bunch of dishes yesterday. Everything arrived hot and tasty. Favorites were rengdang beef, hokkien char mee noodles, clay pot tofu, and chee cheong fun. Portions are huge. Highly recommended. read more

The food is to die for! All of the stuff I had was cooked well and tasted good. The ambiance was fun and very colorful and it's huge so sit wherever by a window or in a corner, or just anywhere. I recommend the orange chicken or the 103. We had leftovers! read more

Kapitan - The leftovers - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

They know how to cook here! So glad we found them. We tried chicken nasi lemak, chicken satay, pork belly and a shrimp noodle dish sorry I forgot name, everything tastes great, we'll be back, what a great find. Love the service and ambiance too. read more

I am so happy right now. I was just in food heaven eating my dinner I picked up from Kapitan. The roti and dal were as good as any Malaysian restaurant. Hard to mess that up. The tomato rice plate was absolutely delicious. It comes with beef Rendang, Sambal shrimp and Kapitan chicken. I love the ability to taste so many different flavors in one dish. The pie tee was my favorite small plate. The crust that it came with had the most perfect texture and taste. Add the veggie filling, shrimp and hoisin sauce and you have the best possible bite. The otak otak was also very good. It was spicy but not too hot and definitely a flavor bomb. The rice that it sits on adds a nice balance. And for my favorite main dish, we had the dry pan mee noodles. Talk about flavor, the anchovy filled dish is soooo yummy. It's the right kind of salty and I love the mix of toppings with some greens, an egg and the fish balls. I would order this every time. If you eat or order from here, you will feel what comfort food really means because the array of flavors just brings you back to a feeling of home. read more

Kapitan - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very positive experience. Lovely food, great cocktails, an awesome value priced french sparkling wine and lovely service from a very personable waitress. Recommended !!!! read more

Born and raised in Malaysia, I can attest that most dishes are quite authentic, except for my beloved nasi lemak, somethingreally missed in the sauce and Sambal, and ginger powder on the rice was unusual. I would appreciate coconut milk rice but acknowledge that some ingredients may be hard to find in the States. Char-Kurtteow, teh-tarik, satay chicken, beef rendang and roti canai are top notch. Will return to try other dishes for sure. read more

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What a treat it is to find an unpretentious, high quality Malaysian restaurant on our recent travel to Chicago The facility is airy, open and inviting, with colorful artwork on the walls, a fully stocked bar along one side and a multi level open space. It's a good environment to savor Malaysian cuisine, a subspecies of southeastern Asian dining that doesn't get enough love or exposure in my opinion, largely because it is overshadowed by Vietnamese or Thai themes. But it's really a lovely blend of the savory and sweet, heavily emphasis on seafood and noodles and very satisfying This particular place does it really well, and the staff is motivated and friendly and, which is nice, unafraid to show off their highly appetizing menu entrees. There is a shareable section, similar to the gum sum portion on a Chinese menu that yielded excellent satay, a savory Lobak (which is a five spice park roll wrapped in bean curd and deep fried) and one of the best duck buns I've ever had Along those lines , the Mi Goreng was done just right and the Nyonya curry seafood was also a generous portion served with rice and combining green beans, ladyfingers (okra in American, I guess) shrimp cooked in shell and some salty whitefish. Careful with this one if you are watching your sodium intake; for me it went down well with water and Kopi-O, which is Malaysian black coffee. So yes we recommend this one for anyone in Chicago looking for a good Asian dining experience, one that can stand up with pride against anything offered in Chinatown or Lakeside read more

Kapitan - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Kapitan is a hidden gem! Food was so flavorful and amazing! The tomato rice platter was delicious and the duck buns were fantastic! Their menu is large and we enjoyed everything we ordered. The stand out items were the Lobak and Nyonya Curry Laksa Lemak. We asked for recommendations, which was the right move because everything was spot on and it was going to be hard to decide what to order! Would definitely recommend this place. We'll be back with friends to try more of the menu. It is worth coming back to Kapitan! read more

Authentic, delicious Malaysia influenced cuisine. Their menu has really expanded and has a diverse selection. I personally love the Curry Laksa and Lamb Rendang. We also started our meal with Lobak and Roti Canai and both were wonderful. The interior is very comfortable and open with nice art on the walls.Highly recommended! read more