Kuala Lumpur - Taste of Malaysia
I just love this big vibrant melting pot of a city with it’s many different races and cultures, gleaming skyscrapers and colonial buildings.
Being multicultural, the seemingly limitless choice of food is incredible and the best place to experience it is with street food. It’s an interesting city to explore on foot and a great way to walk off the inevitable over indulgence of fabulous food.
Andrew and I spent a week wandering around downtown Kuala Lumpur, stopping here and there on impulse to savour the best of the local cuisines. We sampled Chinatown’s iconic porridge, gorged ourselves on mango at Jalan Alor’s night market, broke the fast at Kuala Lumpur’s largest Ramadan Bazaar and snacked on roti at a simple city restaurant.
Kuala Lumpur, Taste Malaysia
Chinatown - Jalan Petaling
Smoke curled through the lane and ahead I could see what appeared to be a metal drum on casters. It had four rows of inch wide ventilation holes circling the body and above the top row, a wide handle for moving the drum about.
Looking into the drum, there was a mechanism to rotate a tray which sat about a quarter of the way down. Heat from the gas fire and the fragrant, sultry aroma of roasting chestnuts radiated from the cooker. The Chinese stall keeper leant over, expertly stirring and scooping chestnuts as they roasted amongst a sand and sweet syrup mix.
Roasting Chestnuts, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur
Around us conversations in Chinese, Indian, Malay and Bangladesh were being held as the street hawkers set up for another day. They addressed us in English, calling attention to their goods, highlighting the quality of their "genuine" handbags, luggage, sunglasses and watches.
We were not here though for souvenirs, we were here for breakfast and as typical hikers, we were on the look out for porridge!
Stepping away from Jalan Petaling, we ducked into a side lane with numerous food stalls, some with their menus on display, others less obvious and requiring a look at what was being served to the locals who were snatching a quick breakfast on their way to work.
A Chinese lady beckoned for us to come in and we were happy to accept her invitation. This was the Hon Kee Porridge Stall whose signature dish, unsurprisingly was porridge, exactly what we were after. Or so we thought.
Hon Kee Porridge, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur
The Hon Kee Porridge Stall is now being run by the third generation and is one of the oldest food stalls in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown having been on this very site since 1949. They’ve created a name for themselves with their fresh raw fish porridge and other local favourites being the fresh frog porridge, crispy pork intestines porridge and salted egg plus century egg plus minced meat porridge. Now that’s a mouthful to read out loud let alone to eat!
We sat at a small round table on metal stools and with a clear view of the passing parade in the lane. There were locals heading quickly to work, stall owners bringing in more products and suppliers dropping off the raw ingredients to the food stalls. It was still very early in the morning and there weren’t yet many tourists around, certainly none at the stalls we had chosen to eat at.
Andrew chose the salted egg plus pork porridge and I went for the homemade pork ball porridge both garnished with chopped spring onions and served in bright yellow plastic bowls with matching yellow spoons. Our breakfast was accompanied by a sweet almost syrupy iced black tea which suited us given the early morning temperature of around 25 degrees celsius.
Restaurant - Leboh Pasar Besar
In October 1990, my friend Kathryn and I spent a week at a sleepy beachside village in Terengganu, Malaysia before heading out to the Perhentian Islands. Dulled by a long cold winter working in Canberra, Australia’s capital, and before continuing on to winter and work in London we were thrilled for the opportunity to visit this tropical area and soak up some sunshine.
Aside from the obvious delights of fabulous beaches, crystal clear water, giant turtles, jungles and monkeys, I have another enduring memory and that is of roti. Kathryn and I bought it daily from a beachside shack where the roti was made freshly as we waited.
I’d raved about this roti experience to Andrew and was eager to introduce him to this simple yet traditional Malaysian flatbread. After admiring the Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque, we crossed the Klang River to find less than a hundred metres from our hotel, a roti restaurant. You can just imagine my delight.
Roti Pisang, Kuala Lumpur
The restaurant had a counter with stoves along the street front, open to the pavement and the sign below listed a tantalising array of roti specialties. Temptations included roti canai biasa (plain), telur (egg), bawang (onion), planta (plant), pisang (banana) and roti milo. Stepping into the cool dark interior, waitstaff bustled around, showing us to a table though at this time of day, the restaurant was largely empty.
We ordered the roti pisang and were enthralled as the roti cook spread the batter thinly on the hot plate, his hands in constant action as he lifted, layered and turned the bread repeatedly. Within minutes, it was served with two small dipping bowls filled with spicy curry sauces. Confusion and laughter momentarily reigned as we tried to order black tea and after a few false starts it arrived, piping hot. Satisfied with the whole experience and proximity to our hotel, this rapidly became our favourite roti stop.
Roti Pisang (banana), Kuala Lumpur
Ramadan Bazaar - Jalan Raja
We returned to Merdeka Square shortly after the monsoonal downpour had ceased and before the sun set over the city.
It was the last night of the Holy Month of Ramadan which is celebrated throughout the Muslim world. During this month, adult Muslims are encouraged to abstain from eating and drinking between dawn and dusk.
Ramadan Bazaars pop up in neighbourhoods all over Kuala Lumpur offering classic Iftar meals along with street foods from around the world. We were at the largest of these Bazaars, the six lane Jalan Raja, positioned between the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Government Offices) and the Merdeka Square had been transformed into a delightful picnic ground.
Ramadan Bazaar, Jalan Rajar, Kuala Lumpur
Gone were the vehicles and in their place, mobile food vendors lined either side of the road with gaily lit food trailers. Down the centre of this broadway, large gazebos had been raised, with many small fans and lights installed below their rooflines. Beneath the gazebos on the road itself, woven plastic matting had been rolled out to cover the wet concrete. More matting ran the length of this popup picnic ground for later arrivals and as the evening wore on, there was barely a place to sit.
Hundred of families, young couples, children and babies sat chatting and laughing amongst themselves, taking photos or texting friends and family not yet there. As dusk set, prayers were quietly murmured and picnics were brought out supplementing the tempting meals offered by the food vendors.
We chose naisi goreng (fried rice) and found a seat behind the food trucks from which to enjoy both the food and celebratory atmosphere that surrounded us. More people arrived, they were prepared for the daily rain and knowing they’d be lucky to get a spot on the mats, had brought with them plastic sheets to place on the pavement, lawns and playing fields. After such a downpour however, the grass was saturated though this didn’t stop the excited children from splish splashing on the grounds.
Nasi Goreng (fried rice) Ramadan Bazaar, Kuala Lumpur
In stark contract to the Sultan Abdul Samad building which mixes Moorish style architecture with a blend of British and Islamic touches, the Royal Selangor Club across the Merdeka Square is Tudor in style. It was the Club’s grounds where the children played.
Night Market - Jalan Alor
As the sun went down, red Chinese lanterns, seemingly floating fish and strings of tiny fairy lights were strung across the cobbled lane, now restricted to pedestrian access only. The lane was lined with open fronted restaurants, spilling outside, each with as many tables on the street as there were inside. Crowds meandered along, intrigued by the vast array of street food on display. Stall holders had set up their popup restaurants under gazebos and were hard at work preparing, chopping, mixing, cooking and serving the hundreds of visitors milling about.
Night Market, Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur
A whole rotisserie sheep spun slowly above a hot bed of coals, there were barbecue chicken wings, stir-fried noodles, satay sticks of every description, chicken rice, curry laksa, wanton mee and char way teow. All kinds of seafood were displayed, cockles, chilli crab, oyster omelette, spicy marinated grilled stingray and salted-egg squid. The freshest of tropical fruit was stacked high, mangoes, durian, watermelon, guava, jackfruit and rambutan caught my eye.
The atmosphere was buzzing with Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai and many others actively competing for our attention. Menus were thrust towards us from every direction, the cuisines on offer were diverse and I was in my element.
We walked the length of Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur’s most famous street food paradise. Being tall, Andrew was at an advantage in the crowds, whereas I was guided by my nose and what was immediately in front of me.
Fresh Fruit, Night Market, Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur
Choosing a stall, we selected different satay sticks, pointing at minced, sausage and chopped meat skewered firmly on sticks. The stall holder invited us to come in behind their makeshift kitchen where we were happy to escape the crowds to sit for awhile with the staff at a tiny folding table. The same stall offered fresh fruit either sliced or juiced and after indulging in the satay, we gorged ourselves with the best mango ever. Wandering back down Jalan Alor with full tummies, Andrew spotted chocolate ice cream which necessitated another stop. Somehow, we squeezed the ice cream in.
The first time I visited Kuala Lumpur was as a six year old when my family were returning to our home in Sabah, Borneo. I’m well acquainted with its delights having now visited eight times, it’s one of those places that you can return again and again and each time, experience something new.
All the locations in this article are near the city centre and aside from eating there’s many other sights to take in as you wander the streets.
Have you visited Kuala Lumpur? Share in the comments below your favourite Malaysian food experience whether in Kuala Lumpur or somewhere else.
Planning a trip to Kuala Lumpur
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