We are repeat customers and order take out from here regularly. The menu has been updated recently. I'm so glad to be able to order a whole dish of beef rendang or lamb rendang. Lamb rendang was sooo wonderfully tender and delicious (this or the beef will be in our order every time from now on). My parents loved the tomato set to try a variety of dishes. They likes the shrimp sambal. my toddler and hubby are fans of the the keow noodles. Food is always well packed and hot! Great for family take out. read more

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One of my favorite places in Chicago!! Great ambiance, service and food!! I would recommend rendang nasi lemak

Excellent all around. We will be back. Food was delicious and excellent service and price point. Great experience.

We enjoyed the food - it hit the spot for chili shrimp (which comes with fried buns!) and pandan-flavored dessert. A couple of the other dishes were solid though not memorable. The ambiance was okay. The interior feels a bit unfinished and spare. We were there in summertime, and there were lots of flies, maybe 20ish. Most stayed away from our table but it still seems worth fixing. read more

We really enjoyed the food. We ordered an array of items and our favorites were the nasi lemak and the hokkein char mee. I second a previous review that describes it has a thicker, more syrupy lo mein. Our biggest gripe was the roti. While delicious, we only got a small piece. Save your money there. The customer service was great. We didn't dine in but they have a wall of windows that they opened up read more

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Came here because I read they serve hainan chicken but realized I should have read the description more closely. Their take of it is NOT a poached chicken with soft tender skin but rather a roasted version which comes with a crisp skin. The chicken itself was tender but did not have much flavor and the sauces (these were more traditional sauces that I expected) that accompanied the dish really carried the chicken. To be fair the sauces were tasty. Of note you also have to order the chicken rice separately which ran like $2.50/serving. A bit pricey but worth it cuz this was almost tastier than the chicken itself. Also tried the seafood laksa had a tasty coconut broth that packed a flavorful punch but the toppings left me a bit disappointed. I felt the chicken was dry and the picture on the website advertised a soft boiled egg. Overall the meal was tasty but I wouldn't order these items again. I would still be open to coming back to try some of their other dishes since they have an expansive menu with a lot of unique foods and dishes! read more

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What a wonderful taste of home, Kapitan's menu brings all the highlights and favorites of Malaysian and Singaporean food, with a specific focus on a multi-cultural group of people known as Peranakans or Straits Born Asians. For those who are less familiar with Malaysia and Singapore, the cuisine is the OG fusion cuisine that takes influence from Indian, Malay, Chinese, British, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Arabian cultures. The food here is a love letter to a cuisine that celebrates multi-culturalism that defines Malaysia, and cooking traditions that has been preserved over centuries. So what's a must try, well the original satay - beef or chicken, you'll notice the satay sauce isn't a peanut butter based sauce but a complex sauce of ground peanuts and a long list of warm spices. The Nasi Kuning - yellow turmeric rice with the mainstay Chicken Kapitan is a slightly spiced coconut concentrated sauce, it's delicious. The prawn sambal is served with asparagus, it's admittedly a little spicy for me but so good. Can't wait to try the National dish, Nasi Lemak (fat rice) which is a mild coconut rice with sambal. There's also the best of street food and night markets in Southeast Asia. Save room for the desserts, the seasonal pineapple tarts and kuih Kapit (loveletters) are great treats. Thank you for bringing this to Chicago. read more

When I say this is by far the worst restaurant in Chicago, I mean it's the worst. There were two severs in the restaurant. The one who took our order was very rude and did not know how to explain any of the food. She got my coffee after 30 minutes. We were the first ones there and waited one hour while watching other tables getting food and us not getting even the appetisers. We then asked her about her food and she said it's coming right out. After fifteen more minutes of waiting, we asked again and without an apology, the server said I know others were served and I've spoken to the chef about it, this was a miscommunication. We then got out Kaya Toast which were literally two slices of white Sara Lee Bread toasted with thick curry vanilla custard in the middle. The Murtabak was not good either. We again had waited twenty more minutes when we just gave up and asked the sever to cancel our order of the rest of the food, paid and left. We came for brunch and left looking for a late lunch place. Terrible service and food. read more

I inhaled the food from Kapitan so fast that I had no choice but to retreat to the couch, half suffering from food coma, half suffering from overeating. It was just so good though that I couldn't stop--- plus let's face it: we've all given up since COVID and I'm nowhere in the same shape as I used to be in so who cares? Serai is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago so when I heard that the owner of Serai opened a new restaurant, especially so close to my neighborhood, I knew I had to check it out! I practically ordered half the menu and pretty much loved all of it. The murtabak, inche kabin wings, koay teow mee, dry pan mee and laksa were the standout dishes. The murtabak is so good, even without the dhal. If we didn't already order so much I would have wanted to get two orders of the murtabak and two orders of the wings-- they were just so good. The wings in particular were flavorful and crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. I love the chao koay teow at Serai, and these were just as good, slightly different since this has the mee noodles mixed in too, which I also like. We didn't even mix in the broth for the dry pan mee and loved the underlying flavor of the pan mee. My bf was raving about the laksa in particular-- it's all in the broth! It was creamy, coconut-y, rich and delicious. I typically never order fried rice because 1.) my mom makes the best fried rice and 2.) most places have shit fried rice (looking at you TAO Chicago). However, I like the idea of crab fried rice so I decided to take a chance, and it certainly paid off. Even for take-out presentation was great, with the fried soft-shell crab in a separate container, drizzled in sauce. It was delicious-- not soggy, not over-seasoned, and perfectly portioned with eggs, crab and veggies! My bf also really liked were the fried pork belly- it was some legit pork belly-- crispy even with delivery. We had the kuih too, which regularly rotates out. We did a mix of ondeh-ondeh and pulut. Eating these brought back memories of my childhood, as many SE Asian desserts are very similar, and I especially loved the pulut. I called them directly for delivery and it arrived right on time. I'm already making my list for other items that I want to try next time: oh-chien, pie tee, duck fried rice, kaya toast, bubur cha cha, cendol... read more

Kapitan had been getting a lot of buzz on every "Top New Restaurants in Chicago" list I saw, and I had been really looking forward to trying this place out for a while. Kapitan is the only "Perankan" restaurant currently in Chicago; Perankan cuisine contains influences from Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, and Singaporean cuisine among others. Kapitan had just recently opened up, and the interior is very large. It was empty on the weekday night we went in which was nice. We ordered the Chili Shrimp item for appetizers to start off with. This dish was really good! The chili/garlic/ginger sauce had kick to it, and was balanced by a more savory/sour taste as well. At $24.95, the dish was a little pricey for the quantity, but overall was good. For the main dish, we ordered Nyonya Curry Chicken and Hokkien Char Mee. Nyonya Curry Chicken is a true "Perankan" style dish. The curry was really good; it was coconut-ty, and had a classic complex Malaysian flavor, with hints of Indian and Chinese flavor. It came with a side of turmeric rice, which was perfect for the curry dish. Finally, we ordered the Hokkien Char Mee, a classic Malaysian dish. The noodles here were perfectly dark in color, and had the classic charred flavor to it, without being overly burnt. It definitely hit the spot. Overall, the food here is unique, flavorful, and represents a local ethnic regional cuisine that you really cannot find anywhere else. My main complaint with this place is how pricey it is relative to the quantity of food. I'm not sure if the prices are just inflated due to COVID, but it is definitely pricier than similar quality restaurants, and the dishes tend to have smaller portions. This place is definitely worth checking out at least once. read more

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Great to have a place with Malaysian cuisine in the city! Everything was great (take out order).

I love the curry laksa. It's the best thing I have ever had in my life no joke. The ambiance is also very traditional to Malaysia. Service is very helpful and nice to you. read more

My mom is Peranakan and we often order from Serai so we were thrilled that the owners opened Chicago's only Peranakan restaurant in our neighborhood! For dinner on NYE we ordered takeout: the Murtabak, Pie Tee, the Wings, Laksa Lemak, Mee Siam, and some Kuih for dessert. Everything tasted so authentic and delicious. I have always liked Mee Siam and Murtabak so those were my favorites. It felt like we were in hot and humid Malaysia in thr middle of the Chicago winter! Their Kuih sells out fast and I wish they had some of my favorites like ondeh ondeh/ some of the more colorful/sweeter kuih choices. The restaurant space is large (I hope we can dine in once the pandemic is over) and was a little hard for us to find, we drove past it at first b/c there wasn't any large signage on the street level that we could see from the car. We cannot wait to try more of Kapitan's menu, especially kaya toast which is my bfast fav! read more

Tried because I was a big fan of Serai, Malaysian food, and was sorely disappointed by my meal here. Ordered two entrees, a Ramly burger, and a few appetizers. Ended up being almost $100. All dumplings were one very small piece, like a sashimi. Extremely small portions for the entrees. Overpriced. read more

Kapitan - Small portion, overpriced, & disappointing. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I had always liked Malaysian food because it blends flavors from multiple cultures, but I thought what I ordered from Kapitan today was exceptional. My husband and ordered 2 appetizers ( Javanese style Murtabak egg stuffed with savory beef filling + Nyongya style wings) , the Ramly Burger, the Laksa noodle soup, the sambal shrimp, and we ended up finishing everything! Not only the menu offers signature Malaysian entrees, it also includes some malaysian street food items as appetizers and malaysian breakfast staples, which we cannot get from anywhere else in Chicago. The city is lucky to have Kapitan. Can't wait to go back to try their other items. read more

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I heard that Serai opened up another Southeast asian restaurant and I knew I had to try it. I love Serai and had high hopes for Kapitan. Kapitan delivered on those expectations. We got take out a few Sundays ago, and ordered a bunch of things. We got the Nasi Lemak, the Murtabak, the Duck bun, Laksa, Tumeric Fried Rice, and Mee Siam. I thought the Laksa was really tasty, and the Murtabak, and especially the sauce that the Murtabak came with, was to DIE for. I enjoyed everything else as well, but these were the stand outs. Next time I will try the duck fried rice and the Char Mee. read more

Absolutely delicious. Chili shrimp, roti with Dahl, pork belly, pork rolls, Singapore noodles, we're all very special dishes.

Come to Kapitan. Order the Roasted Hainanese Chicken, give them 30 minutes to make it, enjoy some of the juiciest, flaky skinned chicken you can find in Chicago. Read about this place on Chicago Eater and I am so glad I came here! The Nyonya Curry Seafood has deep, flavorful seafood bites that was delicious over fried rice. The jumbo shrimp in the curry was perfectly cooked. The chicken satay was juicy and the peanut based sauce was spot on, a great appetizer. Can't wait for you to find Kapitan! read more

Their roti and Dahl are excellent!!! The kuih(traditional rice cake dessert) is phenomenal! read more

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

Having lived in Singapore, I knew I had to keep my expectations low but unfortunately, this restaurant really missed the mark. The roti was clearly the store-bought frozen kind (the curry it was accompanied by was great though - probably my favorite item), the beef rendang had a great texture but lacked aromatics plus had several large pieces of fat which was off-putting, and the Hokkien char mee was just a saucy mess that lacked the flavor of hawker food. IMO, the restaurant should condense its menu to have better quality control. Would not recommend if you've had authentic Malaysian/Singaporean cuisine. read more

Horrid What Hainan chicken rice comes in 3 little 2 oz container Only for people who do not know the food Satay was ok Overall taste was ok Not worth it Overpriced read more

Great food! Really helpful server, who explained the menu in a very detailed manner. The ambience was good too.

I really wanted to give Kapitan a good review . Unfortunately they are having some issues. Its not the food, its quite good. Not the waiter, who seemed earnest and overworked. Its the kitchen. Menu items are brought out of order. We waited 30 minutes without food and then our entree arrived before our appetizer and soup. Staff did not seem to understand why this was a problem. read more

pretty good Singaporean/Malaysian food! the crab fried rice is pretty good, liked the soft shell crab they have as well as the flavors of the fried rice chili shrimp is another one of my favourite, the sauce is really good, i can eat two bowls of rice with it the rendang beef is great too! some people might find it a bit too much with the amount of spices the satay beef is alright. The laksa is a bit mediocre, doesn't have the coconut mixed with spicy sauce type of taste i'm used to my daughter's favourite is the kaya toast, the kaya jam is really nice, refreshing and sweet read more

Accommodating to a last second giant party of 17 with wheel chair accessibility. Respectable and deserving of five stars.

We loved the kaya toast with soft boiled egg so much that we ordered a second round. The last time we had kaya jam was when we visited SG back in 2015! Seems to be the only place you could get it in chicago. We also bought kaya jam to take home! Very good service and we will be back to try other dishes. The server was very nice and attentive. read more

This place is a true hidden gem in Chicago, and I don't use that phrasing often. It can be really difficult to find good Southeast asian food in Chicago other than Filipino food, so I was really excited to check this place out, with high expectations. The rendang was some of the best I've had in a long time. The meat was very tender, which was nice because sometimes other places can make rendang a little dry. The flavoring was something really special; it had a little bit of a kick but wasn't too spicy, and the curry was a really good consistency. The chicken satay was also really good and tender as well. I debated on initially getting the chicken satay because it's a common staple in Thai restaurants, and I wanted to mainly get dishes that I've had difficulty finding in Chicago. But I'm really glad I got to try it, and I definitely think it was worth ordering. The food came very quickly and the staff was all very friendly and personable. I definitely recommend coming here/supporting small Asian businesses and I will be back with friends to try more dishes! Shoutout to Teresa who was our lovely waiter for the evening! read more

What a great spot! We had drinks, appetizers, and dinner. All were well done. My Malaysian partner thought the Oyster Omelet and Hainan Chicken were perfect (I agree), but that the Beef Rendang didn't have the deep flavor of the multiple layers of spice he was expecting. I thought it was tasty pot roast, a little too sweet for me. We will definitely be back. read more

Oh my gosh, where to start?! My Singaporean partner and I came in and couldn't hold back. We tried their chee cheong fun, nasi lemak with kapitan chicken, roti dhal, inche kabin wings, and kueh talam. I also had their teh tarik (if I closed my eyes, I was back in SEA). The spices, the flavors, the portions were all AWESOME. My husband was so excited that it tasted like home! Every bite felt like my favorite dish until I gave up and just said I loved it all. On top of that: cool space, super sweet service, and such a great find!! Can't wait to come back. read more

Have gone in person and/or taken out several times since this review. The restaurant is clean and spacious, and has windows that can open during warm weather, so we have felt comfortable during the pandemic. The laksa soup broth is amazing, I could drink it without anything in it. The nasi lemak, rojak mera, tumeric fried rice, and kiuh have become the go to staples we always order, before adding other dishes to try. I recently tried the live Singapore crab and it was delicious but be warned, it can be a bit messy. There is a warmed cocktail (I think it has five spice or tea) that is one of my favorite drinks ever in Chicago. read more

The worst !!! Never again !!! The service, attitude & behaviour of the waitress was horrid. I was not even given a plate. I actually had to request one at the bar & was told to pick any one of them from one of the empty tables. Unbelievably bad food, Rojak Merah apparently was the Chef's version - The Murtaba, so they called it was nothing I have ever had - totally hilarious how stupid do they think we the customer are ? Oh - let me tell you about the best part The Chilli Shrimp taste like plastic the buns a joke - returned the whole dish back (of course we paid for it - did not want the drama or argument - they were just not worth the time or energy). Food was too pricey. Lacking everything, important in the food industry - taste & service. The satay, beef rendang & laksa were the only bearable items we had thus the 1 star. Its a sad story of a Wannabe Restaurant. read more

Kapitan is a fantastic addition to the Chicago food scene. We had the Lobak, wings, and roasted duck bun as appetizers. Followed all that with the Three Chili Chicken and Hokkien Char Mee. The Three Chili Chicken was super flavorful with a great spice. My favorite was the Hokkien noodles though -- my eyes almost popped out of my head with the first bite. I don't know what they're putting in that sauce, but it's addictive. Highly recommend taking a trip to Kapitan! Wonderful service and totally reasonable prices too. read more

I was surprised by the quality and flavor of the food. Portion sizes were ample. We dined in with two dishes (Nasi Lemak and Mee Siam, with shrimp and tofu) and had leftovers. Bill came out to $50 including tip and tax for two. Best Malaysian food I've had in the city. Will return for more. read more

Food is really delicious!!! Highly recommend this place! Would definitely come back and order for delivery! read more

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The night i went here, my heart was shattered into a thousand pieces. The menu is a lie. Everything we got had no depth of flavor.. the chee Chong noodles were slathered in hoisin, the chicken wings were not seasoned, & the chili crab was devastatingly over cooked & oversauced & maybe even not fresh? It was legitimately inedible. & $65. I'm so sad. Also, the service was horrifyingly lackluster, due to there being 2 workers trying to serve 30 covers. Just so disappointed even more so bc this was my birthday dinner. I will not return. read more

The place is huge and on a Wednesday, when most places have decent crowd, there was one family dining. We should have walked away. Ordered a bunch of dishes including their burger and crab fired rice. Mediocre at best. Tipping point was their Shumai which had an after taste and just smelt bad, like the meat was stale. Never going back. read more

Excellent Malaysian food. We were looking forward to having Chili Crab but decided not to when we found out it was Singapore Chili Crab as opposed to Malaysian Chili Crab. Instead had Sambal Shrimp with Okra and Kapitan Chicken. Both excellent and spicy though I was disappointed that Kapitan chicken didn't come with bone-in. More than enough food for 2 of us so we had leftovers for lunch next day. My wife ordered Kuih which she liked a lot but not the type of dessert I like. Service was prompt and attentive. Place was fairly empty when we started dinner at 6:45 on a Friday and didn't get much busier by time we left at 8:30 pm. read more

Great, delicious Malay cuisine. Think Thai/Vietnamese with expanded flavors. Dishes are fresh and clean-tasting. Went with a group of 8 snd shared dishes -- all were very good. read more

Everything was soooo good!! We ordered wings, otak otak, hainanese chicken, rendang lamb and mango sticky rice - loved everything and every bite! Can't wait to go back and try other dishes. Excellent service also. I'm so glad it opened in this area, the dishes are so unique and soooo good!! read more

This was the worst place ever to have lunch. Extremely unprofessional service. Had to wait for our food for more than an hour. People who came after us were served before our table. No body had the courtesy to inform us about why it's taking so late. At the ended when we decided to cancel our order they still charged for the appetizer which should have been on the house and on top of that they added the gratuity. They shouldn't have added the gratuity for such pathetic service. Extremely disappointed!! read more