Open flame, bright citrus and a coastline stretching across three countries: this is the culinary territory W Kuala Lumpur is staking out this October with the launch of HOJA and HOJITA.
The pairing marks a departure from the standard hotel dining formula. Instead of a broad international menu, HOJA zeroes in on the Pacific coast cuisines of Colombia, Peru and Chile, while HOJITA, its adjoining cocktail bar, digs into the spirits that rarely surface on Southeast Asian drinks lists.
The Chef Behind The Menu
Chef Diana Matute leads the kitchen, marking a milestone as the property’s first female Chef de Cuisine. Matute was raised in Lima, and that upbringing runs through everything on the HOJA menu: seafood sourced fresh, citrus used generously, vegetables cooked low and slow over fire, and native ingredients handled with real care. Years spent working in kitchens abroad shape her technique, but the emotional core of the food traces back to home.
Inside The Open Kitchen
Guests who want to watch the kitchen in motion can reserve a spot at HOJA Mesada, a 26-seat counter set against the open fire station. For a deeper dive, HOJA Privado offers five or eight courses built entirely around the chef’s own stories and ingredient choices from the region.
A Bar of Its Own
Set within the same space but carving out its own late-night mood, HOJITA turns the spotlight on Latin American spirits that rarely get airtime locally: mezcal, pisco, cachaça and Colombian sugarcane distillates among them.
Avai. M, who leads the bar’s creative direction, has built the cocktail list around flavour rather than spirit type, grouping drinks into smoky, herbaceous, floral, savoury and citrus-forward categories. Vinyl sessions and a Latin-inflected soundtrack give the bar a rhythm distinct from the restaurant surrounding it. Avai describes the intent simply: push guests past the handful of spirits they already know and into the wider traditions behind them.
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