A hot air balloon may be able to go round the world in 80 days but your legs can carry you around three mini worlds in one day in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a bubbling hubbub of thriving, colourful and distinct cultures and let’s cut to the chase, their food is goddamn good! Chinese for breakfast, Indian for lunch and Malay for dinner? Hell yeah! Teacake hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia with With Locals to seek out the best nom noms and oh boy, was it lip-smacking, tummy-loving good! Loosen your belt, we’re off on a Food Marathon!
Chinatown Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
With a disgruntled stomach kicking up a fuss and eagerly looking out for its first meal of the day, I hopped right on over to Chinatown for a yummy kick start on Madras Lane behind Petaling Street. I stayed at The Travel Hub Guesthouse which is just round the corner. Madras Lane is a wonderfully cozy and local backstreet place with very little foreigners so lucky you will be getting the real local experience. If you’re coming here from Monday to Friday, you gotta be early to get the good stuff! Workers will grab this grub at an hour some of you travellers may have not seen in a while, so ask yourself how much you really want it. If you come on a Saturday or Sunday though, you’ve got a better chance and will be able to be fed before 12.30pm. ‘What’s the Chinese good stuff?’ I hear you cry.
Yong Tau Foo
Yong Tau Foo is a scrummy Hakka Chinese dish that involves tofu or vegetables being stuffed with a ground meat mix or fish paste. Eat them with the sauces they serve up or thrown into a clear yellow bean soup. Line up with the rest of the eager beavers, pick which pieces you want and the servers will bring them to your table for you. The stall we went to charged 1.30 RM a piece = $0.30/£0.20. A soup like this for 7 Malaysian Ringgit? Yes please! Watch out though, it’s closed on Mondays. Not my absolute favourite though as I am all about the spicy and sour thrashing at my tongue.
Curry Laksa
Oh my word! Don’t come to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia without eating Curry Laksa. It’s a signature dish in the Chinese Malaysian community here for all the right reasons. It’s crammed full of noodles and packed full of flavour with a beautiful balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy in a heart-warming coconut milk-based soup. Ingredients vary from safe-sounding chicken and prawns to ‘blood cake’. Little explanation needed there guys. Good news though: there’s a safe amount of chilli in it for all of you who fear the spicy heat!
Asam Laksa
I’m going to go one better though and tell you to skip Curry Laksa if Asam Laksa is on the menu. The experience my taste buds went through with this particular dish was magic. Total Food Magic. Woop! What makes it so spectacularly special? The tamarind base and mint on top is to die for! The tamarind gives the soup its sour and zesty flavour and I personally am all over that kind of taste!
ABC: Air Batu Campur
Similar to Halo Halo in the Philippines, The Queen of Malaysian deserts ABC translates as ‘mixed ice’. The possibilities with this Malaysian delight are endless. I ate so many different variations throughout my stay here and never got a bad variety. Traditionally, ABC used to be just shaved ice and red beans but now, it’s play time for the chef behind that sweet station! You’re most likely going to find a large serving of palm seed in there with red beans, sweet corn and grass jelly. What I crave most is the evaporated milk they pour all over it and you may even find a big dollop of ice cream balanced on top of it. Yas! This particular ABC cost 3.50 RM = $0.80/£0.60.
Tau Foo Fah
Yep that’s right. You’ve just eaten desert before lunch. Screw it. Break the rules…and you know what? You’ve got more room for Chinese sweet stuff right? Get up from your plastic stool and take a stroll through Petaling Street. For some shoppers, a bargain-hunting haven. For others, a claustrophobic haggling nightmare. Try it out and see how you get on and if you are struggling, keep working your way through for the Tau Foo Fah in the middle of the maze! Tau Foo Fah is as soft as tofu gets. It takes some getting used to.as it really is quite a slimy affair. Once you’ve managed to balance it on your spoon, you may be debating how pleasant it feels for this slippery bean curd to be sliding down your throat. If you can’t take it, the sugary ginger syrup it’s swimming in rocks!
The dude at this infamous family-run stall is quite a celebrity and locals get their munch on here continuously throughout the day. Definitely worth a go!
Little India Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Indian Food! If I had to choose one type of cuisine to eat for the rest of the my life, Indian would be it. The spices they use blow my mind and all the wonderful vegetables and sauces that I can soak up my rice in, makes one happy Teacake. I picked up the pace as I walked through Kuala Lumpur Malaysia into my next mini world: Little India.
There are plenty of places to eat in this part of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia but for a genuine experience, navigate yourself through to the vegetarian restaurant Saravanaa Bhavan at 26 Leboh Ampang. Their Thali is a pic ‘n’ mix of divine mini mouthfuls. For a mighty cup of tea, Teh Tarik is Malaysia’s infamous drink but whilst you’re here, go all out and order one of their Masala Chais.
Take your time to soak up the temples, alluring smells and vibrant splashes of colour throughout this charming neighbourhood before moving on and if you wish, there is a mega Indian mall here to check out. It sells some clothes David Bowie would have been all over (God rest his groovy soul).
Time for a food break! Are there any architecture enthusiasts in the house? I hope so! I got a treat for you!
Kampung Bahru Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Make sure to make your way through this impressively resilient close-knit community of Malay Muslims. Their houses are essentially standing on a goldmine of land that the big modernistic boys over the road would love to buy…but nope, the locals are refusing to sell up and go anywhere. As one of the oldest communities here, the government has finally held their hands up and backed down. Makes for some seriously cool snaps too right?
Nasi Kerabu Dengan Ikan
Chonburi Seafood is a neighbourhood joint which is packed to the brim in the evening. They have lots of wonderful dishes to choose from. Choose what you fancy, if you have any room left in that stomach of yours. They’ll bring it right on over for you once you’ve sat down. This Nasi Kerabu Dengan Ikan was certainly tasty and Hey ho! It’s dessert o’clock again! You need to fit these in!
Apam Balik
Hop along to Chow Kit Market! The street food stalls here are soooooo good! Also known as Turnover Pancake, this super sugary but oh so devilishly-good street candy will satisfy your sweet tooth. What’s so awesome about the batter is the coconut milk in it (ooooh yeah) and if peanuts are your friend, this guy had a generous handful of them crushed up in each of them. Food happiness right here!
Pulut Bamboo
Get the vendor to grab one of these out of his glass box! Steamed rice with coconut milk and coconut filling. It’s a stick of tasty that you’ll be chomping on and finishing within a minute. Hope you’ve got room for one last thing!
Malaysian Fruits
Let’s finish on a healthy note! Going clockwise from the top we’ve got a lovely water apple, a mangosteen, longan and snake fruit. Grab some and see what you think!
Looking for somewhere to stay in Kuala Lumpur?
I recently stayed at the Paper Plane Hostel and love its funky and arty character. It’s budget friendly too!
Are you heading to Thailand before or after?
You can go on an amazing Night Time Tuk Tuk Food Tour In Bangkok!
This experience was made possible by With Locals, an awesome company who get local people to show you around their neighbourhood. This can be anything from food tours like this to exploring jungles or trying a new traditional craft. Thanks With Locals! Nonetheless, if this food tour was terrible, I happily would have said so. Opinions, as always, remain Teacake’s own.
Mmmmm…. this post is making me hungry. On behalf of the woman who plans her travels partially based on where she can eat the tastiest food…. thanks. :)
Thanks for this great info! I didn’t know this tour was available and definitely want to take it! Do they also give you much background on the regional origins of the different foods?
The guides are very knowledgeable. Without a doubt, if you ask them, I’m sure they will have the answers. My focus was honestly on the taste at the time and wanting to know every single ingredient in what I was eating haha >< Greedy Teacake.
Awesome stuff. Kuala Lumpur’s great cuisine is one of the main reasons to visit not just the city but the country of Malaysia for me. I can’t get enough Rendang, personally! :-)
Ooooooh yes the Rendang! Right on Joe. Another delicious dish for sure :D
wow, those photos are enough to make me want to head to Malaysia. definitely better than the local Malaysian takeaways!
yum! I think I need to head there just for a snack!
Hop to it girl! I’ll have a cup of chai waiting for ya when you get here haha :)
Wow these food pics are just super. If nothing else I want to visit Malaysia for food.
Thanks for sharing and now I am hungry :)
Hope to add Malaysia to my Travel blog soon – https://www.IamVagabond.com
Haha I think Malaysia is at the top of many travellers lists purely for the food. I want to go to Penang next for the Street Art!
This post is making my mouth water. Last time we were in Singapore we did the same thing. We tried to eat all the major food styles in one day and spent so much time in hawker stalls, because we love them! All the food you’ve shown makes me want to book a ticket to Asia, but I guess I’ll have to settle with European food. Great post.
Yes Singapore is amazing for all the food you can try in one day! My tummy was just as happy there and is was in KL!
What the fantastic food for the event! I imagine I can even enjoy that for 3 day marathon. The pictures have made my mouth watering , ;-)
Chinese, Indian, Malay. What a sampling in a Food Marathon…awesome photos!. If we had one in the Philippines, it would be Chinese, Spanish, and Malay. I would eat enough for a week in both events!
Oh my heavens! This is unbelievable! I literally would be stuffed to the brim and loving every moment of it! After Thailand and Cambodia and reading about this amazing blend of Malaysian cuisine I now understand the importance of those elastic waist elephant pants! Going to pin this to, as I just might find myself in Malaysia later this year. :)
Bwahahaha you crack me up! Most definitely, we can thank Asia for those elephant pants! Hilarious >< Thank you so much for pinning it. Happy Travels!
A great one about my country!!! Thanks for promoting!
This post was fabulous. Mouthwatering but fabulous non the less. The pictures are amazing and the writing in brilliant..
now I’m hungry. I want to try aaaaaaall the food! It looks so delicious! The concept of “With Locals” sounds really great, I’d love to go on a tour with locals. Definitely will check them out when I go to Kuala Lumpur
Oh this makes me hungry! I loved all the food in Malaysia, no matter which cuisine, it was sooooo delicious! Wrote down these dishes for a future visit…
Reading this just before heading for lunch was a great idea..or not! Now I’m starving :)
With all the different cultural influences KL is definitely one of the best places to eat on the planet!
Wow these foods look scrumptious! I love trying all different types of foods. Would definitely think about doing one of these tours when we visit.
yumm!! This looks delicious! I think I could settle into Malaysia pretty easily if it would mean eating like this every day. ;-)
I love the variety here and it all looks so tasty. I heard that Malaysia is great for being a mixing pot of cultures.
I’m not a very adventurous eater, but some of those dishes look absolutely delish!
This is not the blog post to read just before dinner! Everything sounds good, especially the Yong Tau Foo. Then again, I love Indian food, too. If I go, I’ll definitely consult this post for where to eat.
Love blog posts about food touring. The curry laksa sounds like a plan next time I’m in KL.
Wow, I stayed a few days in Kuala Lumpur and couldn’t try as many different dishes as you did. I especially missed the dessert part, what a shame! A good excuse to go back one day and do it all over again. What a few from the muslim area to the Petronas towers. You really caught a unique perspective.
Damn sorry to hear you missed the dessert! It does look all a bit scary to be honest but my friend who has lived there for a while assured me it tasted great. He was right! What I love is that every ABC is totally different too. If you’re a local, it must be quite a task to hunt down your favourite ><
Wow, all that food looks O-mazing! My wife is from the Philippines and raves about Halo Halo, so I’m sure she would die for ABC!
I am just beginning to explore SE Asia and its cuisine… It looks like there are some veggie options for me, so I definitely hope to make my way to that part of the world again.
I could eat mangosteens all day every day! Can’t get enough of tropical fruits, and briyani rice!
Only 2 weeks till I’m in kl, to start my Asia adventure!
Definitely going to take note of those tips, can’t wait for the markets and delicious food.
Have an amazing time Jared! You’re going to be eating some amazing cuisine!
It was sooooo not a good idea reading this right after having just soup for lunch… It all looks so jummy and seems quite typical, right? I’m going to try and not dream about this the rest of the afternoon now :p
I should not have looked at this post when I’m starving! haha. Love all the variety of foods in Malaysia! I can’t wait to travel there!!
Should write a big warning on the post picture to make sure you guys don’t pass out haha!
By the looks of all the things you ate in KL, that’s barely a half-marathon!
But it’s great that you visited Kampung Baru which some travelers tend to overlook. It has that gritty look considering it’s nearby the “rough” Chow Kit neighborhood but the local Malay food there is cheap and top notch!
Hi Alice,
That slippery bean curd dish has my name on it! Horrifying for my wife this food would be – she retches at sweet, crazy Thai snacks – but it’d be my dream. Second to none, KL street food is. So much variety and so many choices too!
Ryan
Yummy! I am drooling and hungry now. Thanks for the lovely food tour.