TRAVEL TIP: SECRET PLACES TO EAT IN KUALA LUMPUR

Kuala Lumpur at night

TRAVEL TIP: SECRET PLACES TO EAT IN KUALA LUMPUR

Kuala Lumpur is packed with loads of inexpensive local eating shops, many of which are well-documented in guidebooks and easy to find. For example, Jalan Alor – KL’s famous street stall food street- is just beside Bukit Bintang, KL’s main upscale shopping district.

All city shopping malls have food courts offering a huge variety of local foods. And ‘downtown’ the Chinatown / Pasar Seni area is jammed with local shops in plain sight.

But beyond these highly trafficked areas of the city, where do you eat in Kuala Lumpur?

Lake Garden Park, KL

What if you’re at Lake Garden park for the day, where do you eat if? What if you’re visiting Malaysia’s National Museum, which is isolated from downtown? Where else can you eat in upscale areas besides the shopping mall food courts, which have mediocre, slightly overly-priced food? Where can you find great vegetarian food?

Since I’ve been in and out of Kuala Lumpur dozens of times over the years, I’ve discovered several great, little-known eating spots that I visit whenever I’m in KL.

In this post I recommend great local places to eat in Lake Garden Park, near Petronas Twin Towers and at the National Museum. I spill the beans on my favorite Indian restaurant and on an amazing daily vegetarian feast. Here we go:

Petronas Twin Towers at night

A. near Petronas Twin Towers

vegetarian buffet at Chinese temple near Petronas

1. Vegetarian Buffet

An elaborately decorated Chinese temple, just one block from Petronas Twin Towers is home to daily vegetarian feasts from 11 am-2 pm. The massive eating hall presents an astounding variety of prepared dishes, buffet-style, in a semi-communal fashion.

Diners line up and serve themselves rice and any vegetarian dishes that strike their fancy, pay at the cashier, find a seat among the dozens of long tables, then carry their used plates to the clean-up area before leaving.

The hall also serves fresh fruits, freshly baked/steamed sweets, juices and teas. Meal prices are based on how much you select- usually totaling 3 RM-7 RM. ($1-2.35 US). Drinks cost 1-2 RM ( $0.35-0.65 US). Fruit and sweets are priced per piece, usually about 1 RM.

It’s best to arrive by noon, since hordes of local employees flock there for lunch. After 1 pm the variety of dishes available greatly decreases as the food runs out.

How to get there?

At Petronas Twin Tower’s main entrance on Jalan Ampang, you will see a long fountain and, across the street directly in front of the towers, the tall brown stone National Bank building. Stand facing outward from the towers, looking at National Bank. Walk to your right along the Towers property.

Continue straight along Jl. Ampang about one block. You will run right into the temple on the right side, which you can’t miss with its brightly colored roof and decorative carvings. From inside the temple entrance, go to the left side of the temple building and walk down the long outdoor corridor.

At the back is the dining hall. The food line is to the far right side as you enter.

Chinese temple near Petronas Twin Towers

2. Indian and Malay buffets

A much better alternative to Petronas’ two food courts (in terms of food quality, taste, and cost) are the small Indian and Malay food shops in Wisma Central building on Jalan Ampang, near the Chinese temple (above).

Right in front of Wisma Central is an excellent open-air restaurant serving Indian and Malay foods, fresh squeeze fruit juices and the usual drinks. In mornings until noon they serve all varieties of Indian bread meal sets such as dosai and roti canai. They resume those meals again at 4 pm until closing, about 11 pm. Meanwhile, they always offer biryani chicken rice, buffet-style rice, meat curries and vegetable dishes.

Inside Wisma Central, on the ground floor, are several other Indian and Malay places serving buffet-style meals, noodle soups, and typical drinks. An inside fruit stall sells tropical fruits cut up in bags for 1-2 RM ($0.35- 0.65 US).

Indian buffet-style restaurant

The outdoor front shop is open from early mornings until about 11 pm. The indoor shops are open during usual business hours, since they cater to nearby employees.

How to get there? 

Wisma Central is a small brown-colored shopping mall located less than one block from Petronas Twin Towers, between the Chinese Temple and the Towers. Follow instructions to the Chinese Temple. En route, you will pass Wisma Central on your right.

Look for the large sign on the building and the outdoor restaurant right in front. The building is slightly set off Jalan Ampang by a drive way and taxi stand.

B. at Lake Gardens Park

1. local street stalls near Police Headquarters

KL’s Lake Garden Park is a wonderful, extensive tropical park full of landscaped gardens, a lake, several specialty gardens, the Islamic Arts Museum, Masjid Negara (Malaysia’s national Mosque) and the fantastic Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. There’s so much to do, you could easily spend an entire day, enjoying the lush vegetation, escaping from the hectic city, and marveling at all the great attractions. But where to eat if you’re there all day?

local food stalls in Lake Garden Park, KL

Luckily, there’s a collection of tasty food stalls that generally only locals frequent. Stalls are open mornings, lunch time and in evenings, so practically any time of the day you can get a delicious, inexpensive local meal.

How to get there?

The stalls are set beside a parking lot near the Police Headquarters. It’s at the junction of Jalan Cenderawasih and Jalan Tanglin, in the ‘upper’ part of the park. You’ll need to have a map of the park – park maps are located throughout the park- to locate the junction and figure how to get there from your present location. It’s on the same road as the Bird Park entrance.

Hornbill Restaurant at Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

2. Hornbill restaurant at KL Bird Park

For a more upscale dining experience, visit the bird park’s great wooden restaurant which overlooks the park from a hillside balcony. Meals are priced at 12 RM – 28 RM, not exactly a budget restaurant, but it offers superb scenery as well as an indoor a/c section.

C. at Museum Negara

1. Local cafe and cat haunt 

Although Muzium Negara is not far from downtown KL, it does take a while to get there and it’s pretty isolated, sitting alongside a big highway. The Muzium has four large rooms full of fantastically presented, educational displays about the history and culture of Malaysia. If you’re a museum buff, it’s easy to spend several hours there. In such a case, it’s good to know:

National Museum’s cafe (notice 3 cats?)

Muzium Negara has a great restaurant out back, serving local dishes, buffet-style, at normal local prices. A meal will run 3-6 RM ($1-1.65 US).You can sit inside with a/c or outside in the nice tropical heat.

The outdoor area is home to a dozen or so cats, who wait around for food from the staff and customers. If you love cats, you’re gonna love this little cafe! Several cats are friendly and affectionate, so you can pet and play with them or watch kittens racing around. They’re also quite good photo posers. On the other hand, if you’re not so fond of cats, sit inside where you can eat in peace.

D. ‘downtown’ Chinatown

1. My favorite Indian restaurant

‘Downtown’ KL has dozens of local food eateries, including Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Over the years, I found a small Indian restaurant that I visit every time I’m downtown. One thing that sets it apart is that it serves the various Indian bread meals all day long. Most Indian shops only serve those dishes in mornings and evenings.

At this restaurant, you can order dosai or roti even at lunch time. They also serve a great vegetarian rice set, with all the rice and assorted veg dishes you can eat. They always have several meat dishes as well, great drinks, and an assortment of Indian sweets.

my favorite Indian restaurant in downtown KL

How to get there?

This shop is located near Masjid Jamek train station, a few blocks from Pasar Seni. From Masjid Jamek station, walk southeast along Jalan Tun Perak (the overhead train runs along this road), away from Merdeka Square. At the first intersection, Leboh Ampang, turn left. In that first block, on the left side, you will pass several Indian shops selling music, clothes, spices, and so on. The first restaurant you reach is the one. Sorry, I don’t know its name!

entrance to Petaling Street – Chinatown – Kuala Lumpur

2. Chinese buffets in back alleys

In the heart of Chinatown, centered around Jalan Petaling, and in the midst of shopping stall frenzy, there are several local food shops within plain site. One of the most obvious is the ‘economy rice’ food court on the street crossing Jalan Petaling. That’s a great place to get a variety of Chinese dishes, including various noodle soups and the buffet-style rice, meat, vegetable meals.

Chinese vegetarian rice and veggie meal with coconut juice

If you enjoy exploring more off-the-track places and find little alleyways intriguing, dip down one of the alleys between the main streets. (There’s one across from the ‘economy rice’ food court) You’ll find many more food stalls back there, selling every kind of food, at slightly lower prices than the main shops out on the roads.

The alleys are definitely more grungy, but it’s an interesting experience to wander around there and eat, especially since the locals aren’t used to foreign customers. It feels kind of mysterious and edgy. If you enjoy that sort of ‘real local life’ experience, check out Chinatown’s alleys.

Note: The alleys are quite safe, and so is the food. Don’t worry about getting pick-pocketed, ripped off on prices, or getting sick from the food. Although the alleys themselves are dirty, the food is prepared just as hygienically as the main shops (all of which are a bit questionable according to western standards).

I’ve eaten at the alley stalls several times and found the food delicious, which is why I return. I’ve never been sick from their food. Happy eating!

You might also like:

10 Free Activities in Kuala Lumpur: section 1 / section 2 

Hiking ‘Dragon’s Backbone’ on Chinese New Year

Photo Gallery: Colorful Kuala Lumpur

Photo Gallery: Diverse Kuala Lumpur

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