“Three days in Kuala Lumpur…” sounds like the start of a Hemingway novel. It is a humid crowded city, overrun by buildings and flyovers and malls. One thing that has remained constant in all the change is the food – street food, restaurant food, casual food – Kuala Lumpur is still all about great food and today rivals Singapore for the best food in Asia.
Mandarin Oriental Lobby
Executive Rooms at Mandarin Oriental
With only a couple of days to do it all, there’s no time to waste. I check into Mandarin Oriental (http://www.mandarinoriental.com/kualalumpur/) which must be not only one of the swankiest addresses in town but also the most convenient right bang next door to the KLCC shopping mall, spitting distance as they say. Apart from the stunning rooms what really took my breath away was the food on the Club floor. Exhausted from being with a serial shopaholic all day, I staggered back to the hotel at 5pm without lunch or breakfast, hoping for a cup of tea and a sandwich. Forget tea, the early evening buffet was on with wine and spirits and an amazing variety of great dishes – short ribs, salmon, salads, desserts – the works. I have truly never experienced a Club floor offering which comes anywhere close to this. The next morning, breakfast was at Mosaic, their all day dining which also has views on the park. Predictably a huge variety of local dishes, Japanese, Chinese and European classics are served with freshly squeezed juices. Lunch – we were invited to a special sit down at Lai Po Heen, their gorgeous fine dining Cantonese restaurant. Lunch began with Dim Sum – not just Siew Mai and Crispy Prawn dumplings but also exquisite steamed Prawn dumplings with shaved black truffle and golden fried Prawn and Mango rolls. This was followed by a double boiled soup made with Chinese herbs, so intense flavours and aromas, steamed grouper, Beef with black pepper, Jasmine tea smoked Chicken and then fragrant sesame fried rice with Crabmeat and Asparagus. It was a sensory feast and the best of Cantonese cooking. Mandarin Oriental has a host of other restaurants, but the Club floor, Lai Po Heen and Mosaic took care of our luxury cravings.
Mosaic at Mandarin Oriental
Lai Po Heen at Mandarin Oriental
To discover street food in one place, I head to Lot 10 Hutong food court (http://www.lot10.com.my/) Add: 50 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 60 3-2143 6092) in the basement of a busy fashionable area of Bukit Bintang. Why Lot 10 is so different is that it serves pork which a lot of other Muslim food courts don’t. Lot 10 is in fact, Malaysia’s first non-halal food court. It brings together hawker stalls from all over the country in one charming Chinese tea house ambience and it is air conditioned – a huge plus in this city. You will find all the KL favourite dishes here – Roti Canai and Roti Jala (lacy pancakes) and Chicken curry to Asam laksa, Satay of course (beef and chicken), Popiah (pancakes stuffed with vegetables, seafood and chicken), Mee goreng (fried noodles), Beef rendang, Nasi goreng, Char kuey teow (stir fried noodles) and my favourite Bak kut teh – a sort of herbal aromatic pork stew. Some names to look out for are ‘Klang Bak kut teh’ and ‘Ho Weng Kee Wonton Noodles’, considered one of the four best noodle places in Malaysia. Five spice beef brisket (a bit fatty but very tasty) is a speciality as is braised pork rib in black bean sauce noodles. Kong Tai is famous for prawn noodle and fried oyster. Then you have ‘Ice Room’ where shaved ice (Ice kachang) is topped with fresh fruit puree and beans – an acquired taste. There are pictures on the walls – owners of stalls with local celebrities like Michelle Yeoh and Chef Martin Yan and the prices are astoundingly reasonable. If you ask politely, they will even bring the dishes to your table so you don’t have to queue. It is advisable to go in a large group as we do- portions are large and you can then try more.
Jalan Alor – Street Food in Bukit Bintang
Lot 10
Ice Kachang
Central Market (www.centralmarket.com.my) is 120 years old, originally a wet market, but today houses a whole bunch of stores from tacky souvenir shops to some genuine crafts from the region. Eat at Precious Old China on the first floor. Its tacky 50’s which somehow works. Exceedingly casual and quite inexpensive, they offer Nonya or Straits cuisine which is a mix between Chinese and Malay. Try the Lemak Nenas, Prawn cooked in a laksa gravy and the Nonya Laksa. You’ll get a bowl the size of a swimming pool so it is advisable to share. Also try the Asam Prawn with tamarind and palm sugar. This is a good option for vegetarians – plenty of local greens (Kale, Okra, Kankong, Bitter gourd, Brinjal and Lotus) and also Tofu, prepared in various ways including some spicy Sambals. Huge portions served in a sloppy way but very tasty!
I don’t have time to try much more – what with shopping for shoes, visiting Isetan (www.isetankl.com.my) for Japanese ingredients, Muji (my favourite Asian store for everything from clothes to home stuff – all impeccably designed – (www.muji.com/my) and Uniqlo (www.uniqlo.com/my) for the boys…
Karen and her son Param with local friends in KL
There are particular restaurants and stalls famous for just one dish in KL. I avoid Petaling Street which is hot and humid and the food is very average. Bangsar Village (www.bangsarvillage.com) is a trendy neighbourhood worth exploring, with outdoor cafes and good local food stalls.
Fatty Crabs (www.fattycrabs.com) is just what you expect it to be – a menu full of Crab cooked in different ways, glass noodles, thermidor, claypot crab rice, fiery pepper crab, milky melt butter, soft shell chilli crab and so on. It is a clean white space which looks more like a contemporary fast food restaurant than the more ‘indigenous’ local flavour I am expecting but the Crab is to die for, whichever way.
Another successful foodie break…now I need a restful holiday.