Bak Kut Teh
Bak Kut Teh is a popular Chinese soup that is served in Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. Each city creates different types of Bak Kut Teh. In Kuala Lumpur you will find the herby one with only lean meat.
Its name literally means “meat bone tea” and it consists of meaty pork ribs, herbs, spices that are simmered for hours! The preparing method is similar to an old English quote: haste makes waste! The longer you simmer the soup the better it will taste!
This dish is a totally street food, as it is cooked in large amounts, which are eaten right away! Don’t try this soup inside the shopping malls!
Chee Cheong Fun
Chee Cheong Fun, also known as rice noodle roll, is the locals’ favorite KL food. And it is obviously that if locals love this dish then it is a must-try! Chee Cheong means pig intestine and fun – noodles. Noodles resemble the pig’s intestine and can be filled with shrimp, pork, beef or vegetables.
In Kuala Lumpur this dish is doused with dark brown sweet sauce and a bright red sweet sauce. If you eat light food you must know that rice noodle roll has no pickled chilies! Starting from RM4 per plate you will have a smoother texture of Chee Cheong Fun at the street stalls better and cheaper than in many restaurants.
Hokkien Char Mee
Hokkien Char Mee also known as Hokkien fried noodles has its origin is in the Chinese province – Hokkien. This stir fried dish is made of thick yellow noodles, sliced pork or chicken, squid and cabbages. It is served with dark soy sauce and any kid over 18 months will eat it with a huge pleasure in a playful way.
This dish is definitively a street food in KL as it has only a few ingredients and is served immediately! If you like this dish just know that it is offered in many food stalls in KL. Just grab a seat, order it and enjoy!
Wantan Mee
One of the most popular dishes unique to the Chinese community is Wantan Mee. This yummy mixture of incredible fine-textured noodles, mega-crispy fried wantons, well-barbecued cha-siu, subtly-flavored dressing of dark soy sauce, sesame oil and pork lard is preferred by locals and tourists as well. All the ingredients come together in a perfect harmony.
Kuala Lumpur is a very well known place for its old and irreplaceable food stalls. Many of them offers cheap, fresh and yummy Wantan Mee.
Cantonese Porridge
Cantonese Porridge is the best way to start a day, as it is a copious source of energy. This dish represents a mixture of a warm, smooth and thick porridge of rice, that is prolong cooked in water, and delicious pieces of fish, pork, beef or chicken.
In general it is served as a meal on its own. It is suitable for any ages, from toddlers to old people, because it is a light and healthy food. When someone has a fever or flu, porridge is the best cure for him. Recent study has proven that Cantonese porridge is the most effective remedy for ill people. Just give this dish a try and its flavor will haunt you!
Claypot Loh Shu Fun
Doubtless it is very unique the way the dish looks like, because it truly makes the first gourmet impression. Beside the fact that a claypot gives the best possible taste to any dish it also makes it look fantastic.
Claypot Loh Shu Fun is translated as “rat powder”, because of noodle’s resemblance to rat’s tails. Just imagine a mixture of noodles, ground chicken/pork/beef, carrot, garlic, shallots and chicken stock is topped with light, dark soy sauces and oyster sauce and the most phenomenal ingredient – the cracked raw egg. A perfect yummy dish!
Yong Tau Foo
This is a very nice meat, fish or both food in KL. One type of popular Yong Tau Foo is wrapped bean curd sheets with meat, pork or fish paste. After these sheets are wrapped they are fried up in a wok full of boiling oil. There is a vegetarian version of this dish: the filling will be tofu.
It is impressive that lately food stalls in KL began to offer a huge selection of unusual shaped vegetables, tofu, meatballs and fishballs. When we talk about Yong Tau Foo, people relate it to Ampang because this is the area where Hakka people who are the creators of this dish gather in the old days.
Chicken Rice
Chicken Rice is a common dish served by many street hawker stalls. This dish has two main ingredients: chicken and rice. The way chicken is prepared varies from a stall to another, as well as rice preparation. The best combination is: poached, drizzled in light soy sauce and garnished with bits of fried shallot and coriander chicken, and boiled rice with chicken soup, mashed ginger and butter.
This dish is usually served in two plates. One includes a juicy chicken and another good portion of delicious rice. Preparing chicken rice takes not too much time, but the final product is soft, yummy and full of positive energy!
Nasi Lemak
Nasi Lemak is a well known rice dish, in and outside Asian countries. The reason why it has spread around the world is simple: it tastes too good. It is considered as Malaysian national dish and, of course, Kuala Lumpur has the common way of cooking it. One portion consists of coconut milk rice, sambal, anchovies, peanuts and boiled or fried egg.
Some stalls also offer chicken or beef rending. Due to popular demand, many street stalls offer vegetarian variation of Nasi Lemak – instead of dried anchovies, this dish is made with vegetarian mock anchovies. The fact that this dish is affordable is wonderful, starting at RM4 per portion.
Roasted Duck
Roasted Duck is a yummy cuisine that can be eaten normally during lunch and dinner. It can be served with many other dishes, but mostly it is eaten with rice or on a bed of vegetables. If duck is well-marinated with spices then half the job is done! The second cooking step: duck must be steamed until the meat becomes tender. And the last cooking step: it must be deep fried until the skin will be crispy!
The first time roasted duck was cooked in England in the second half of the 20th century. But because people travel and eat a lot, this recipe was spread around the world very quickly. The street stall price is starting from RM52 for a whole huge duck!
Satay
When you say satay you first think of the wooden sticks. Satay, also known as Sate, means a wooden stick embellished with seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, vegetables or both. These little and cute sticks are eaten with sauce. Satay may consist of sliced or diced tofu, chicken, goat, mutton, pork, beef, fish, mushrooms and other vegetables.
Kuala Lumpur offers any type of satay you desire. And if you order meat satay you will receive juicy and chunky meat grill to perfection, not bulked out with fat and gristle in between the meat on the sticks. Satay is usually eaten with the peanut sauce that has the right amount of chili. Fresh fruit juices go very well with the satay!
Roti Canai
Roti Canai, also known as Roti Cane is a type of Indian flatbread. Roti is translated as bread. Europeans eat soft and fluffy bread while South Asian countries eat flat, light and crispy bread. Roti Canai is made of fat, flour and water. The amazing characteristic of this dish is that it is best eaten with fish or chicken curry or with lentil.
Children eat Roti Canai with delicious and semi-liquid condensed milk or with sugar. If you order a dish without rice or noodle then order Roti Canai as well! It should be eaten hot. And it is the most preferred breakfast dish in Kuala Lumpur.
Air Mata Kucing
From Malay word, air mata kucing is translated as cat eye water or cat tears. This name is explicable by the way ice cubes swim in it. Another funny explication of the name is: after you will try it in a sunny and very hot day you will have very pleased cat eyes!
This drink represents an iced fruit drink made from wintermelon, dried longan, luo hon guo and sugar and boil together. The best way to drink it is cold, chilled with pieces of ice. It will help you to recreate and to cool from the pitiless sun! Many street stall offers this drink and the price starts as low as RM1.5 per cup.
