Food Trail in Kuala Lumpur
During Malaysia’s colonial era, Indian immigrants were brought in to work on the train depot in Kuala Lumpur, and many made Brickfields their home. Brickfields is now known as Kuala Lumpur’s Little India due to the high population of Indian residents and businesses in the area.
We at TSL believe that locals are the best guides, as they know the top places to visit and eat in their own country. Fortunately for us, we were brought around Brickfields by Charles and Gabby from Food Tour Malaysia.
Through this food trail, we were able to discover places we would have never tried on our own, as many of the best food places in Malaysia come from street stalls you’d often miss when travelling without a guide.
We also visited two iconic places at the end of the trail!
1. Ammar Vadai
Our first stop was Ammar Vadai, a makeshift tent that sells Vadai just opposite the road from KL Sentral. Vadai is a popular tea time snack for all Malaysians, not just among the Indians in the community. We tried 4 varieties of snacks including the doughnut vadai, lentil vadai, fried banana fritters and my favourite of the lot – red hot curry puffs.
The great thing about this place is that you can see everything made and fried from scratch so you know exactly how fresh it is. When eating from roadside stalls, hygiene is an important concern, so it’s comforting to know that my food is being served piping hot and straight from the wok.
2. Selvam’s Corner
Even though we arrived at Selvam’s Corner past lunchtime, the place was still packed with locals who see it as THE place for home cooked Indian food at Brickfields. Just look at that crowd!
We tried a plate of rice with a mixture of dishes including a dry chicken curry, stir fried beansprouts and seasoned cabbage. To be very honest, I didn’t find this to be anything special. The rice seemed extra fluffy compared to what we get in Singapore, but maybe that’s purely in my head.
Address: 248 Lorong Chan Ah Tong, 50470 Kuala Lumpur
3. Ah Keong’s ABC stall
Here’s yet another place we would have missed without our guides, and what a gem it is! The amiable husband and wife team have been serving up shaved ice desserts for the past 15 years since taking over from the husband’s sister, who also passed along her 43-year-old dessert recipes.
Ah Keong’s version of chendol is simple – just shaved ice, coconut milk and gula melaka, but this was honestly the best bowl of chendol I’ve ever had. The taste of the gula melaka and coconut milk was so rich and smooth, I actually ended up ordering 2 bowls.
They also specialise in Ais Batu Campur, also known as Ice Kachang in Singapore. This was another excellent dessert. What makes their version so special is that you can top it with freshly scooped young coconut. The meat of the coconut was so tender and refreshing, definitely the perfect last stop for us after trekking all over little India in the afternoon.
Address: In front of 7-Eleven, Jalan Padang Belia, 50480 Brickfields Kuala Lumpur
All the stops we made with Food Tour Malaysia are within walking distance from KL Sentral monorail station, opposite Nusentral Mall.
4. Restoran Kin Kin
After our food trail, we still continued eating our way through KL. Our next stop was naturally Kin Kin Restoran. After hearing about all the hype over at the Singapore outlet, we had to try out the original outlet while we were there. After all, the original should be even better than a branch in Singapore right?
For 7 Ringgit (around S$2.80) I can see why everyone loves this! They were extremely generous with their ikan billis and minced meat, but the main attraction was of course the dried chilli flakes you scoop into your bowl at your own discretion. I found that 2 scoops was the perfect amount for me to enjoy the savoriness of the meat, saltiness of the ikan billis and chewiness of the noodles.
Address: 40 Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
This place is within walking distance from Medan Tuanku monorail station.
5. Jalan Alor
Located a short walk away from Bukit Bintang Station, Jalan Alor is a vibrant food street where locals and tourists alike come to enjoy the best that Kuala Lumpur has to offer. With so many stalls selling almost exactly the same thing, it was hard for us to decide which restaurant to pick.
Thanks to mobile data roaming and a quick Google search we finally decided on Wong Ah Wah (aka WAW), located right at the very end of the food street. We knew we had made a good choice because the place was packed despite not having any touters accosting you to dine at their restaurant.
The real stars at Wong Ah Wah are the barbequed chicken wings. Even though they look very similar to the ones we get back in Singapore at hawkers like East Coast Lagoon or Bedok Block 85, these were more savoury in terms of marinade and extremely juicy!
Address: Wong Ah Wah, 1, Jalan Alor, Off Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 50200
The restaurant is within walking distance from Bukit Bintang monorail station.
Planning a Short Trip to Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur is a literal melting pot of cultures and I thoroughly enjoyed trying out the Malaysian variations of food that we also get in Singapore. Aside from food, it’s also a great place for shopping and I managed to get a few items from brands like H&M and Forever 21 for slightly cheaper than what I would have paid in Singapore.
This trip was made possible thanks to Tune Hotels and AirAsia. If you’re looking for an affordable no-frills accommodation option in Kuala Lumpur, be sure to check out our review of Tune Hotels as well.
If you’re a frequent flyer to Kuala Lumpur I would love to hear your recommendations for the best places to eat and visit over in KL so feel free to leave a comment below!
