T’was a rainy Friday evening when we visited GalahGala in TTDI to try out their exclusive menus for the Lunar New Year festive season. We have been patrons of the seafood restaurant since their opening more than two years ago, and it remains as one of our top recommendations for halal-certified Chinese-style seafood.

The restaurant is located on the first floor and offers a semi-outdoor or fully air-conditioned dining spaces. Bamboo and rattan accents complimented the shades of green and gold throughout the spaces. The interior design is heavily inspired by the ocean and fishing villages, with overhead pieces resembling waves and lampshades akin to fishing traps. Service was also top-notch, we were quickly escorted to our booth and settled in with a pot of chrysanthemum tea.

Curated Menus for Groups of 6 or 10

Our group of six opted for the more premium RM1288 package, which includes their must-order Sang Har Noodles with U3 prawns and steamed Soon Hock. The set comes with 7 dishes including dessert and Yee Sang for the mandatory toss-toss during this festive period.

Prosperity Yee Sang

GalahGala’s Prosperity Yee Sang had some unusual toppings such as tangerine segments, julienned yellow peppers, red grapes and thick-cut jiçama batons accompanying standard components like seasoned jellyfish, wakame salad, cabbage and fresh salmon sashimi. Tossing everything with the sesame seeds and plum sauce brought both diners and dishes together.

Cheesy Lychee Prawn Balls & Golden Shrimp Balls

Exclusive to the more premium menu, the Cheesy Lychee Prawn Balls and Golden Shrimp Balls were beautifully presented on little pedestals. The former looks very interesting, mimicking the sweet red fruit though it does not contain any lychee, instead filled with prawn paste and pockets of oozy cheese. The Golden Shrimp Balls are wrapped in a tangle of crisp wonton wrappers, reminiscent of a creation on Culinary Class Wars. Personally I thought both bites were quite one-dimensional and salty, and would have been better with a bright sauce.

Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Dried Scallops

Soup is a must-have at every Chinese dinner. The double-boiled chicken soup here comes as a light broth with a deeply savoury flavour from the mushrooms and scallops, light yet nourishing at the same time.

Signature Sang Har Noodles

The heart and soul of GalahGala is its Signature Sang Har Noodles. Enormous live freshwater river prawns are flown from India with an assurance of quality, freshness and consistency with each prawn. The superior stock used to prepare the gravy underwent meticulous development to deliver an alcohol-free rendition of this beloved dish; and the attention to detail is very evident. The egg gravy was packed with umami flavour from the prawn’s head butter and forearms, GalahGala’s rendition forgoes the use of rice wine in traditional preparations of this dish and making it accessible to everyone.

The eating experience changes over time; As the crisp noodles soak up all that golden goodness and partially softening, providing a variety of textures from crunchy to creamy. Each of the U3 prawns is butterflied to reveal the real treasure within — copious amounts of head butter and the reason why these prawns are so coveted.

Steamed Soon Hock with Signature Soy Sauce

Soon Hock (also known as marble goby) is a fish prized for its exquisite flavour, pearly white flesh and delicate texture, commanding high prices and often reserved for special occasions. A whole fish is butterflied, and simply steamed with high quality soy sauce to highlight the natural flavours and freshness. Our fish had tender, flaky flesh that simultaneously had a springy bite and a melt-in-the-mouth texture, definitely one of the highlights of the meal.

P.S. the cheeks are the best part of a fish.

Dual-flavour Roasted Chicken

Many of GalahGala’s menu offerings are served in a two-way cooking preparation, such as the Dual-flavour Roasted Chicken and Yuan Yang Kai Lan.

The poultry offering comes with chicken roasted to golden perfection, with shatteringly crisp skin and juicy, well-seasoned meat; I really enjoyed this. However, the true star of the platter was the Thai-style shredded chicken salad — bright, acidic, refreshing, crunchy, tender, spicy, herbaceous… the list of descriptors can go on and on, absolutely divine and pairs perfectly with a bowl of steamed rice.

Yuan Yang Kai Lan

Greens can sometimes be an afterthought at Chinese restaurants, outshined by other more sumptuous and elaborate dishes. No such case here, the humble kai lan elevated in two styles that showcase the crunchier, more fibrous stems and tender verdant tops. The dark green leaves are almost-impossibly finely shredded and flash-fried to produce a light, airy and crispy vegetable, that contrasts with the more toothsome stir-fried stems with garlic. This vegetable dish is a staple on GalahGala’s menu and is found on almost every table, be it as part of a set menu or a la carte dining.

The set menu is rounded off with the fan-favourite Mango Pomelo Sago — one of the best renditions of this classic sweet soup I’ve had — a thick, creamy mango sauce with sweet and slightly astringent citrus sacs make for a not-too-sweet finale to our dinner and ending things on a high note.

Every Prosperity Gala set menu comes with refillable rice, tidbits and a pot of Chinese tea. See below for the menus and details. GalahGala has two outlets in TTDI and KL East Mall, with private dining rooms for more intimate gatherings. The limited-time menus are available until 16 February 2025.

Thank you Beatrice and GalahGala for having us over!

GalahGala Seafood Restaurant TTDI (halal-certified)
L-3-2, Level 1
TT Gardens,
Jalan Mohd Fuad 3,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur

Operation Hours: 11.00AM–3.00PM, 5.30PM–10.00PM (closed on Tuesdays)
T: +6014-930 4513
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