KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 -- Petaling Street has no shortage of "vibey" bars and restaurants, where tourists come in droves and atmosphere, aesthetic and alcohol tend to take precedence over culinary excellence.

Collectively, these outlets engineer the feeling - no matter how fleeting - that you, too, belong to the trendy, hip crowd, provided you can get with the vibe.

But that doesn't mean there's no good eating to be done around these parts.

Street food remains a dependable option in some pockets, but every so often, some genuinely good food hides in plain sight among the bars, waiting for the nights you find yourself enticed by a colourful cocktail, or more likely, peer pressure.

At first glance, Wawafish looks indistinguishable from an...