KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — The Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur looks like it’s on track to open late 2026 barring any unforeseen circumstances.
The luxurious all-suite hotel owned by Tradewinds Corporation Berhad and managed by Hilton, has taken over the Istana Hotel along Jalan Raja Chulan.
The renowned brand will certainly bring prestige and elegant service to the city’s Golden Triangle.
The Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand is synonymous with culinary mastery in their dining concepts, which sees them partnering with Clare Smyth and Daniel Boulud in London, Michael Mina and Michael Anthony in the United States, Heinz Beck and Sidney Schutte in Europe and Dave Pynt in Asia.
In an ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) event held early December at Cannes, Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur, an exhibitor, teased that world-renowned Jean-Georges Vongerichten will be bringing his culinary mastery to three different concepts at the hotel.
The fact sheet for the hotel details an all-day dining JGV Premium with a Mediterranean slant for their refined dishes while JGV Casual introduces Italian food like pasta and wood-fire pizza for lunch and dinner.
The third concept is JGV Bar where one can unwind after a long day with cocktails, fine wines and champagne together with Vongerichten bites
On Hilton’s jobs website, a call for applications for a general manager for the JGV restaurants and bar has been posted.
For a Robb Report article detailing The 50 Most Powerful People in American Fine Dining, Vongerichten’s profile also included a mention that he will be opening restaurants in Malaysia.
Previously, Vongerichten had worked with Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Resorts for their Beverly Hills hotel, until his contract ended in 2023.
For more than 50 years, Vongerichten has built a sprawling empire of more than 40 restaurants around the globe, serving food that lightens up traditional French cuisine with vegetables, fruits, herbs and an unmistakable Asian touch drawn from his personal experience working and travelling around the region.
In New York, a total of 15 restaurants with different dining concepts pepper the city that includes two Michelin-starred Jean-Georges.
Originally from Alsace, Vongerichten tumbled into the culinary world when he scored an internship at a three Michelin-starred Auberge de l’lll, when his father jokingly asked the chef for a job for his son after a birthday dinner there.
That path led him to work at two more three Michelin-starred restaurants in France, a three-year stint with Paul Bocuse plus a few years of working in Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, before he returned to New York with his triumphant Lafayette in the 1980s that earned a four-star review from The New York Times.
Other dining concepts to look forward to at the Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur include an Indian restaurant Yaari by Gaa to be headed by Garima Arora who operates two Michelin-starred Gaa in Bangkok.
Similarly a job posting on Hilton’s website calls for a restaurant manager to operate Yaari by Gaa.
The hotel will also include Peacock Alley, an Art-Deco decorated lounge where one can relax over afternoon tea or cocktails, and the luxurious Coda to unwind with drinks
Keep updated with news on Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur on their website.
