The name itself has a good recall: one will immediately think of thick, glossy spreads, gloriously drizzled with gasp-worthy photoshoots that burst with high-end couture. No fast fashion, no kitsch. Vogue sits in the throne room of the sartorial castle, holding a sceptre, wearing a crown. Imagine Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly in ‘Devil wears Prada’ in her decked-out office, flicking the pages of her editorial notes, but this time, no Devil, just the tables, only the surreal atmosphere of full-on, swanky glam and perhaps, food fit for the fashionable kings.
Vogue Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Vogue Lounge Kuala Lumpur Bar
Chef Kazuhiko Kojima
Vogue Lounge is exactly what it is: a luxury dining space that replicates the visual revelry from its pages to an actual experience, thanks to the spot-lit images of iconic editions prancing on its main hall. There’s a theatrical drama to it, but that’s just appropriately Vogue. Condé Nast would serve nothing less than glitzy.
Kuala Lumpur‘s fashionable crowd is the first in Asia to be gifted this experience, but it is not alone, joining the ranks of the similarly slinky Vogue cafés in the upscale capitals of Porto, Riyadh, Moscow, and Kiev. The sprawling 18,500 square feet sits glamorously on the 38th floor of Menara SuezCap in KL Gateway, Bangsar South, alluring with hints of Art Nouveau plus a few secrets: a quick escalator ride to the rooftop affords the breath-taking view of Petaling Jaya skyline and a glimpse of the Petronas Twin Towers. If the day is clear, it is possible to peer into Genting Highlands too.
Blanc Manger
Hokkaido Sea Urchin with Ossetra Caviarjpg
Saikyo Miso Marinated Black European Cod
Vogue Lounge Kuala Lumpur Rooftop Bar
A sartorial gastronomy
The interiors deserve its own magazine spread, to be honest. But so much more, the food. An air of ‘East meets West’ hangs in the atmosphere, thanks to the merging of French-Japanese flavours, but Chef Kazuhiko Kojima impresses with a visually-inspired menu set against the lavish interiors of the Vogue backdrop. Plates to Instagram: the Hokkaido Sea Urchin donned with Ossetra Caviar and the glistening Roasted Magret French Duck Breast.
When done, submit into the white magic of Blanc Manger made with white chocolate, milk sorbet, and Rose Espuma. Up in the bar, head mixologist Hideyuki Saito serves the prim and proper with decadent cocktails—including several of his own. Toast up for the Vogue Tonic, a mainstay in the menu: a cold-brew chamomile tea and vodka, splashed on with ginger cordial and tropical fruits, or, for a more playful route, pick French 75, with elderflower, orange water blossom, and Tanqueray No 10 Gin.
Vogue Lounge KL is open on Tuesdays to Thursdays from 5pm to 1am, Fridays and Saturdays 5pm to 2am, and Sundays 5pm to 1am. www.voguelounge.my ◼
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© This article was first published online in Jan 2020 – World Travel Magazine.