Food and Drink
It is often said that eating could be considered a national sport in Malaysia and there are perhaps few better places in the world to indulge in this activity than in Kuala Lumpur, for KL is the culinary centre of Malaysian and indeed world-class cuisine. KL itself does not boast much original local fare but as the capitol city, the various migrant groups here have brought with them their own unique regional dishes creating a magnificent melting pot of flavours in one place.
When to Eat in Kuala Lumpur
Eating in KL is one of the joys of being in this city and this city eats 24 hours a day. The variety and quality KL offers is almost second to none when it comes to food. At breakfast (usual hours being between 6am and 10am) many KL-ites start their day at the ‘kedai kopi’ (local coffee-shop) and decide what to have once there. The Chinese kedai kopis usually have an array of hawker stalls offering various noodle and rice dishes whilst the Indian kedai-kopis will have stalls serving a variety of curries to go with the chapati or roti canai. There tend to be fewer Malay kedai kopis and if you do locate one try their nasi lemak – the traditional Malaysian breakfast of coconut rice, beef rendang and sambal, served with the trimmings of crisp-fried anchovies and roasted peanuts.
Brunch is a favoured meal amongst KL-ites and during the 11 o’clock break from work, you may see quite a few KL-ites popping out for a snack at either a café or a kedai-kopi. During the weekends, brunch is almost always turned into a big affair with families and friends gathering at kedai-kopis or restaurants indulging into a buffet spread or ‘dim sum’. For lunch, many KL-ites either return to another kedai kopi or try one of the many restaurants in the city. Many restaurants including the ones found in hotels often serve ‘buffet’ lunches, where for a fixed price you can sample lots of different regional and local foods and return to the spread as many times as you like.
The same really applies for dinner (usually between 7pm and 10pm) although most kedai kopi hawker stalls would have sold out by about 3pm. Many Chinese kedai kopis will however have a night-stall (usually opening from about 5pm onwards) with the chef frying dishes in a gigantic wok with ‘rocket’ flames. Waitresses are often employed during the evening to take your order and the Chinese method of ordering food whether you are in a kedai kopi or Chinese restaurant is simple - main dishes ordered usually include a meat, a fish and a vegetable dish. The waitress will usually be able to advise how best to serve each dish – often according to the chef’s mood that evening. You should also remind her of the number of people dining so the chef will know how much to cook for. Rice or noodles are also ordered to accompany the meal. Should you find yourself still starving after the meal, the usual method of getting around this is to order some fried rice (chow farn) or fried noodles (chow meen) as a top-up.
Many night-hawker stalls remain open all through the night and it is not uncommon for them to busy especially on the weekends with clubbers grabbing a bite before retiring in the early hours of the morning. A few restaurants in the city now also operate 24 hours a day should you suddenly fancy a burrito at 4am.
Malaysian Food
Malaysian food is perhaps one of the hardest things to describe to someone who has never tried it. Geographically placed at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, the Kingdom of Malacca was the greatest port in the East in the 16th century, providing a rich source of foodstuffs and spices. Through the centuries, the three major racial communities, the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians began borrowing and blending their respective cuisines to make Malaysian cuisine today very much a mix of all these cultures. However, the three cultures have also successfully managed to retain much of their respective culinary identities making eating today even more of an adventure. Added to this the rise of Kuala Lumpur as a cosmopolitan international city has added further dimension to the local flavour. An increasing proportion of expatriates and a new generation of Malaysians within the community has allowed restaurants to improve their international dishes and led to the more recent experimentation with modern malaysian cuisine – a fusion of Western and Eastern flavours.
Because Malaysians regard food as essential to life the standard of cooking tends to be extremely high, be it the infamous street-hawker stall or one of the trendier restaurants. Asian culture has also ensured that this quality is provided with exceptional value for money. There are just about no rights nor wrongs as to how one should eat Malaysian-style. Not many places in the world can serve a bowl of curried Chinese noodles, washed down with an ice-cold European lager, finished off with some Malay cakes and the ubiquitous cappuccino – but here in KL, anything’s possible – just prepare your taste buds for an explosion of senses.
The Cuisines
Malay
Before traders and invaders arrived at these shores, the Malays lived a simple and peaceful life along the coasts and rivers of the country. Fragrant herbs and coconuts were abundant and were often added to the fish, vegetables and rice dishes that were their staple diet. Foreign influences to this basic diet can be seen with Northern Malay food (from Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu), where the food incorporates many Thai-flavours. Similarly with food from Penang, the use of the tangy tamarind, sour carambola and limes have given it a rather unique flavour that has become a Malaysian favourite. With all these Northern dishes, lemon-grass, pandan leaves (screwpine), kaffir lime leaves, daun kesum (a polygonum herb), galanggal, turmeric and wild ginger buds all add to a distinctive taste that is quite unique to the world. Southern Malay food has influences from Java and Sumatra, where cooks add lashings and lashings of rich coconut milk to the food – beef rendang being world famous for its mildly spicy, melt-in-the-mouth morsels of beef.
No matter where the region the food is from, some things do unite these styles – the Malaysian condiments that are necessary to every meal. Sambal belacan, a spicy shrimp-based paste marinated in chili and Cincalok, a shrimp-pickle that you are more likely to smell before you see it, are two common condiments to be found at the table. Malay food is often served with rice, either plain or coconut-flavoured and can tend towards the mild-curry side though not necessarily so, as non-chili dishes like nasi goreng (fried rice), ayam goreng (fried chicken), ikan goreng (fried fish) and mildly-spiced vegetables are also part of a Malay meal.
Perhaps what KL is famous for when it comes to Malay food is satay. Kajang, a suburb south of KL, has traditionally provided Malaysians with the best satay in the country. As one of Malaysia’s signature dishes worldwide, you simply have to try these skewered sticks meat before leaving. Choose from chicken, beef or mutton satay, dunk them into the spicy peanut sauce, and savour the unique BBQ-seasoned meats. For the more advanced amongst you, you can attempt to open a parcel of ketupat (rice-cakes steamed in pandan leaves) and using your used-skewer, stab out a rice-cube and dunk again. For those with no romantic commitments that evening, you may do the same with the raw onion slices.
Another classic Malay dish is nasi lemak, usually eaten at breakfast. This meal comprises of a mound of coconut-flavoured rice, a portion of beef rendang, sambal ikan-bilis (crisp-fried anchovies in hot chilli paste), roasted peanuts and freshly sliced cucumber (an antidote for the chilli). It may seem a bit much for breakfast but thanks to modern conveniences today, it can now be found at any time of the day in various Malay restaurants. At lunch and dinner times, many Malay kedai-kopis will serve a variety of curries and dishes to be accompanied with nasi (rice). Plates of rice are usually charged according to the number of dishes that you have on your plate to accompany.
Pork, is of course taboo for the Muslim Malays being ‘non-Halal’, but has been successfully integrated into Nyonya food (see below).
Chinese Food
There are thousands of Chinese restaurants dotted all over Kuala Lumpur owing to the large Chinese population in the city and the food here generally compares with Hong Kong. Dim Sum, which literally translates to ‘to touch the heart’, can be found at restaurants all over the city. Although traditionally served at breakfast, these tiny morsels of dumplings, meat and vegetables are served in little bamboo baskets and are more commonly eaten for brunch or lunch, washed down with a good Chinese tea.
Cantonese-style cuisine is the most common in KL as in most parts of the world but many Chinese settlers to Malaysia also came from the Hanna, Teochew, Hakka, Fuzhou, Hokkien and Szechuan provinces of China, thus providing this city with even more variations on Chinese cuisine. Popular local dishes include chow-kway-teow (fried flat noodles with pork or beef, egg, beansprouts and dark soya sauce), wanton-meen (noodles in soup served with pork dumplings) and char-siew-meen (noodles with roast pork) or its relative char-siew-farn (buttered rice served with roast pork). These dishes are often eaten at all times of the day, though being popular breakfasts and lunch snacks the hawkers tend to sell out by mid-afternoon. Note that just like pasta, noodles can come in a variety of types – thin, flat, round, dry (fried or seasoned) or in soup – and unless specified, the hawker will assume that you wish to have the authentic-style appropriate to that dish. Chup farn (mixed rice) is another popular choice at lunch and consists of a plate of rice with a range of dishes to choose from to accompany - the cost of which is determined by the number of dishes you choose.
At dinnertime, families and friends would often gather at their favourite local restaurants and order an array of dishes (meat, fish and vegetables) with a bowl of rice each. If you like seafood, the local shores offer such a fantastic array of ingredients that even many Chinese in China probably have never seen. Huge tiger prawns, crabs, squid, scallops, sea cucumber and a vast selection of fish allow you to order just about anything and have it cooked in any style possible.
Another local favourite is ‘Steamboat’, a Chinese-style fondue, where a cauldron of broth is placed in the centre of the table and raw meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables and noodles are brought to the table for you to cook yourself. This meal is best enjoyed as a group and was originally designed to keep the family warm during the cold winter months in China.
A last point here is that should your chopstick skills not be up to scratch, rest assure that many Malaysians do use forks and spoons to eat even when they are having a Chinese meal.
Recommended Chinese Restaurants
Indian Food
Immigrants from India arrived on these shores with their own batch of recipes, some from the north whilst others from the south of the sub-continent. Northern Indian cuisine tends to be more world-renowned, perhaps because they tend to go slightly easier with the chilli. Tandoori chicken - marinated in yoghurt and spices and baked in clay-pots is perhaps the most famous of all North Indian cuisine. Other North Indian specialities to be found in KL include dhal (lentil) curries and lassi yoghurt drinks all served with a range of breads like roti canai, chapati, parathas and naan.
Spicier south-Indian cuisine seems to have made more of a mark in KL, possibly because Malaysians like their food hot. A popular saying here is that there isn’t much point in having a spicy dish if it doesn’t set your mouth on fire. Many Indian kedai-kopis serve ‘banana-leaf curry’ at lunchtime where rice is served on a banana-leaf and the various curries and pickles are placed alongside. Although you will see many fellow diners using their hands to eat, most places will have forks and spoons available – don’t worry - it is NOT rude to use them.
Vegetarians
With so many religious groups living in the city, there are several restaurants catering specifically to the various dietary laws. Many Chinese and Indians living in KL are vegetarian although few are strict vegetarians and only adhere at various religious times of the year. Nevertheless, vegetarians do have some choice in restaurants and should one not be immediately obvious, almost all restaurants in the city now cater for vegetarians and will notify the chef at your wish.
Kedai Kopi (Coffee-shops)
At just about every corner of KL, you are likely to find a kedai-kopi (coffee-shop but not to be confused with western-style cafes). Mostly run by the Chinese and Indians, the Malaysian kedai-kopi is the hub of activity from dawn till about 3pm when many workers take their breaks. Spontaneously, they burst into life again in the evening at dinner times. Many KL-ites congregate at these kedai-kopis to eat, drink and catch up on the latest happenings around the city. At the kedai-kopi, you can find many hawker-stall chefs tossing noodles, slicing roasted-meat and frying noodles from a wok above a roaring flame. Find an empty table or ask to share if its busy and order your drinks from the waiters who are usually darting around from table to table. Have a good look around to see what stalls are present and with the hardest task of deciding what to have over, just shout your order to the stall-chef who would then bring over your meal when ready. The real difficulty with kedai-kopis is trying to list them - every KL-ite has their own list of personal favourites. Kedai-kopis are rather personal in this respect and you should find one that feels comfortable and serves a teh-ping (iced-tea with milk) or kopi (coffee) to your liking. However I have tried to list some of the more notable kedai-kopis in the city that should give you a good head start. A point worth noting is that if a kedai-kopi seems to lack custom it is probably best avoided – after all the locals are (avoiding it).
The following are two attempts at modernising the kedai-kopi but many would agree you simply cannot beat a good kedai-kopi.
Hawker Centres
Hawker centres are a modern day solution to group together the various hawker stalls that once ruled the sidewalk in an attempt to rid the bustling city streets of these obstacles. Although successful in cities like Hong Kong and Singapore, Malaysians have not taken to the concept as well as their counterparts have really because although hawker centres provide a large eating area and usually a large variety of stalls to choose from – they lack the congeniality that a kedai-kopi provides. Eating in a hawker-centre has the ambience not unlike a large cafeteria but you should not be as quick to dismiss the food served here. Many hawker-centres are busy all through the night and it is not uncommon to visit one after a few drinks in a bar or after having been clubbing all night. Again, some of the more popular stalls resident in hawker centres have been listed.
Food Courts
In contrast to hawker centres, food courts have taken the city by storm – its main selling point being the air-conditioning. Food courts can be found in most shopping centres in and around the city and provide a sanitized hawker-centre environment in the luxury of the 21st Century. Many stalls that operate at food courts are not particularly well noted in the city for its food but do get very busy at lunchtimes especially with the office crowd. Some of the newer food courts operate a bizarre token system where you have to change your cash for tokens before buying your food from the various stalls. This system is designed to remove the need for stallholders to handle cash but seems more of an inconvenience than anything else.
Restaurants
Restaurants come and go as fast as lightning in KL, with fierce competition ensuring a healthy turnover of restaurants , allowing the customer to try new foods and new styles without denting the wallet. Apart from the traditional Malay, chinese and Indian restaurants, KL has always had its fair share of restaurants serving French, Italian, American and Japanese fare but an interesting development has been the introduction of modern malaysian cuisine involving the mixing of western and eastern flavours. Many newer restaurants especially those found in areas like Bangsar have menus that reflect this new cosmopolitan side of KL and at these restaurants you will find firm local favourites like curry laksa (curried noodles) interestingly served with garlic bread and a glass of chardonnay or pasta dishes served with local malaysian sauces. Unfortunately like most other cities around the world, bookings at many of KL’s finer restaurants are now essential unless you are prepared to wait and phone numbers have been given for such establishments.
Many hotel venues have also been listed in this guide because it is a fact that many KL-ites do enjoy eating at hotel restaurants and indeed some of the city’s best cuisine is often found here. Surprisingly, dining at these venues may not cost as much as you would think and the following establishments are well known among locals. Most hotels in the city have popular buffet lunch or dinner spreads in their main restaurants allowing you to choose from local, regional and international dishes all for a fixed-price. These restaurants are also very handy should you require a thoroughly good feed as they allow unlimited returns to the buffet spread. Telephone numbers are given where bookings may be essential.
Continental / Modern Malaysian Restaurants
Drinks
Alcohol is taboo to the Muslim Malays in the country but there is a surprisingly thriving bar-scene in KL. Busy from 5pm onwards they are mostly packed with Chinese, Indian and expatriate residents and often have happy hour drinking times depending on the day of the week. Many of the bars in KL are theme-based and mostly range from sports-bars complete with large-screen TVs to cigar-divans where you will be spoilt for choice with the finest Cuban cigars. Alcohol tends to be quite expensive in KL due to government taxes levied as well as the fact that each order usually includes a service charge. This makes the cost of drinking in KL comparable to most major cities around the world.
Pubs also exist in KL owing to its British colonial heritage but few actually provide the same ambience as you would find in a pub in London. Being little more than most other bars in the city, pubs provide a more local environment and are often more subdued locations to drink – as long as there isn’t some Filipino band playing that night. Beers can cost less in such establishments due to the lack of entertainment that other bars in the city provide but beware that many newer pubs in KL are now successfully playing on the ‘Pub’ trend and as such a pint of Guinness at an Irish Pub in Bangsar for example can cost up to RM25 (£3.50) – you are after all paying for the ‘authenticity’ of having ‘a pint’ there complete with the wooden flooring.
