Kuala Lumpur 2012: Chinese

A dragon in a shopping mall?  Can't get more Chinese than that!  For my final post on Kuala Lumpur, we're taking a Chinese focus.

As I mentioned in my last post, we had heaps of kaya toast in KL.  Traditionally a casual roadside breakfast, many chains have now popped up serving up roti bakar (literally "toasted bread"), kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and other kopitiam favourites.

Kafe Daily Express
3rd Floor
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Jalan Ampang
50088 Kuala Lumpur

Kopi - really strong coffee with condensed milk, my favourite!

Kaya toast

Kaya is, as I'm sure most of you will know, a sweet coconut milk and egg jam - the taste of Malaysia, in my opinion!

Check out the butter! Woah!

Toast Box

Lot GK02, Ground Floor

Mid Valley Megamall, 

31 Lingkaran Syed Putra

Kuala Lumpur 59200

Malaysia

Toast Box is a larger chain (it's actually owned by the same group who own Din Tai Fung and BreadTalk), with outlets all over KL.  As you can see from the below photos, they provide a more standardised approach than Kafe Express, with perfectly square bread, and combo sets.

Kaya Butter Toast - RM6.80 in a set with 2 soft boiled eggs and a coffee

I had the peanut butter toast set, which came with a kopi and two soft boiled eggs (RM7.50).

Breakfast at Toast Box, MidValley Mega Mall

Soft boiled eggs remind me of being a kid, and I really think I only ordered them out of nostalgia!  (And the thriftiness of getting a combo set, how Chinese am I?)  I prefer hard boiled eggs, but sometimes my mum would make me soft boiled eggs for breakfast.  Just like back then, I cracked them into the little bowl, sprinkled them with soy sauce and pepper, and ate them up like a soup.  My reward for getting through the eggs was the yummy sweet toast!  


How do you eat your kopitiam breakfasts?  Like me, do you eat the eggs first and then the sweet toast? Toast first?  Do you order extra pieces of plain toast to dip in the eggs?

Peanut Butter Toast - RM7.50 in a set with 2 soft-boiled eggs and a coffee

As you can see, with peanut butter toast, the emphasis is firmly on the peanut butter! So good!  (Compare this to the skimpy peanut butter toast from the Port Vila market in Vanuatu.)

That particular breakfast was at the Mid Valley outlet, but I just wanted to show you a pic from the 1 Utama branch: BUTTER MOUNTAIN!

Butter mountain at Toast Box, 1 Utama

Kuan Yin Vegetarian Restaurant

No. 1804, Jalan 17/29

46400 Petaling Jaya

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 7957 4528

One night, we decided to go for a vegetarian meal, mistakenly thinking it would be a lighter option than all the rich meals we'd been eating.  Whoops!  Not when you order plates and plates of food, with deep fried mock meat, and oily stir fries!  (I do love mock meat!)  The below dishes were shared between just three of us.

Clockwise from top left: XO Sauce w Baby Green Beans (RM15); Special Home Noodles (RM7); Tau Fu-Chinese Toon Leaves (RM14); Vegetarian Chicken (RM14); Butter-Fried Frogs Leg (RM14) 

K.T.Z. Food
66 & 68, Jalan SS2/67
Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47300
Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 7728-8499

After that fabulous yet oily meal, we went for a little drive to get a refreshing Kiwi Loh - a shaved-ice dessert with sago and kiwi fruit.  I don't normally go for Hong Kong-style desserts, but this was truly wonderful!  Anyone know where I can get something similar in Melbourne?

Kiwi Fruit Loh - RM4.50

Home Cooking

As I've previously mentioned, we were staying with my friend Su, at her family home, and we were lucky enough to enjoy a couple of dinners cooked by her mum!  These meals were very different from the Penang Chinese food I'm used to, but all very delicious.

Top L: Beef stuffed with century egg, gai lan
Top R: Sea Cucumber, mushrooms
Bottom L: Steamed Fish
Bottom R: Steamed chicken

This next meal was for chap goh meh (the end of the Chinese New year period).

Top L-R:  Yee Sang, Deep Fried Pork Belly, Beef Stir-fried with Onions
Bottom L-R: Spring Onions with Lap Cheong; Chicken with Fungus, Deep Fried Fish

Kedai Kopi dan Makanan Chun Heong

Lorong Ara Kiri 2

Lucky Garden

Kuala Lumpur, 59100

Malaysia

Chinese hawker breakfast! Awww yeah.

The stalls at Chun Heong were (obviously) KL style, not the Penang style that I'm used to, so whilst there were some familiar items, there were also heaps of new dishes that I'd never seen before.  (I have been to KL heaps of times before, but on my previous trips we never did hawker breakfasts!)

Wan Tan Mee lady

Iced lime drink, iced barley drink, iced milk tea

I mentioned in my "Indian" post that you can say "kurang manis" to request less sugar in drinks, but at a Chinese place you wouldn't speak to the staff in Malay - it'd make more sense to speak in the local Chinese dialect (which in KL is Cantonese), or failing that, English.  I do understand the Penang Hokkien dialect, and can cobble together a few simple sentences, but can't actually say anything in Cantonese - I totally had to rely on Su to communicate here!  So, sorry, I can't give any useful helpful phrases. 

Wan Tan Mee, with pork, chicken and pork wan tans

Congee with crullers

Pork ball noodle soup

Whilst I am familiar with rice congee and wan tan mee, pork ball noodle soup was brand new to me - and I totally loved it!  Rice noodles (much like pho noodles), in a porky broth, smooth pork balls, a slice of Chinese sausage and a flavourful soy sauce pork mince.  Absolutely fantastic!  I would definitely travel back to KL just for this soup.

All the dishes were about RM3-4 each. What a bargain!

Delectable by Su
S-213, Level 2, The Gardens Mall
Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra 59200
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Website
Ph: +60 3 2283 5157

I should just clarify that the Su from Delectable is a different Su from the friend we were staying with!  They just happen to have the same name.  Delectable Su is a blogger who I've been following for years - a former student who made amazing fondant-decorated cakes as a hobby, and after graduating pursued her sugary dreams and opened a bakery!

She wasn't there the day that we visited, but I did buy a "Seven Sins of Chocolate" to try.

I must admit I wasn't sure what to expect from the dessert.  Whilst I've admired Su's fondant creations for years, I always pictured them as being quite sweet (and y'all know I'm not into really sweet desserts).  However, I really enjoyed the Seven Sins!  It was kinda like a dark chocolate trifle, with layers of chocolate cake, cream, cocoa, chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.  It wasn't overly sweet or dense, but still very chocolatey.

My only complaint was the box itself - some of the cake crumbs got stuck in the corners of the box and it was impossible to get at the yummy crumbs!

Sky Bar
Level 33, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 2332-9911
Website

Now, Sky Bar isn't strictly Chinese, but seeing as Malays and many Indians don't drink alcohol, I felt that the "Chinese" post was the best place for this.  On the top floor of the Traders Hotel, Sky Bar offers stunning views of KL city, including the Petronas Twin Towers.

The hotel's swimming pool area transforms into a trendy bar at night.  I wonder how many patrons have fallen into the pool after one too many!

Insider's tip: the best spots are the loungey cabana seats next to the window (on the right side of the pool in the picture above), which are really popular and need to be booked in advance.  A bit of advance planning is worth it though, for the views!

Left: "Be Passionate" RM67
Right: Raspberry Mojito RM42

I must admit I really didn't like my cocktail.  The Be Passionate sounded like something I'd love, with fresh passionfruit, passionfruit liqueur and Moët & Chandon (zomg!), but somehow the combination just didn't work.  The sharp taste of the passionfruit was exacerbated by the dry, almost metallic taste of the Champagne, to make a very sour, mouth-puckeringly unpleasant cocktail.  In fact, it would have been better with a less reputable, sweeter fizzy wine.  Bit of a disappointment for 67 ringgit!  The Raspberry Mojito, on the other hand, was much nicer.  Perhaps next time I'll hedge my bets with a cheaper, simpler mixed drink.

And that, my friends, was Kuala Lumpur!  Next up: Penang!

This is the third and final post from my series: 2012 Trip to Kuala Lumpur. Other posts in this series: Indian; and Malay. 

A dragon in a shopping mall?  Can't get more Chinese than that!  For my final post on Kuala Lumpur, we're taking a Chinese focus.

As I mentioned in my last post, we had heaps of kaya toast in KL.  Traditionally a casual roadside breakfast, many chains have now popped up serving up roti bakar (literally "toasted bread"), kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and other kopitiam favourites.

Kafe Daily Express
3rd Floor
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Jalan Ampang
50088 Kuala Lumpur

Kopi - really strong coffee with condensed milk, my favourite!

Kaya toast

Kaya is, as I'm sure most of you will know, a sweet coconut milk and egg jam - the taste of Malaysia, in my opinion!

Check out the butter! Woah!

Toast Box

Lot GK02, Ground Floor

Mid Valley Megamall, 

31 Lingkaran Syed Putra

Kuala Lumpur 59200

Malaysia

Toast Box is a larger chain (it's actually owned by the same group who own Din Tai Fung and BreadTalk), with outlets all over KL.  As you can see from the below photos, they provide a more standardised approach than Kafe Express, with perfectly square bread, and combo sets.

Kaya Butter Toast - RM6.80 in a set with 2 soft boiled eggs and a coffee

I had the peanut butter toast set, which came with a kopi and two soft boiled eggs (RM7.50).

Breakfast at Toast Box, MidValley Mega Mall

Soft boiled eggs remind me of being a kid, and I really think I only ordered them out of nostalgia!  (And the thriftiness of getting a combo set, how Chinese am I?)  I prefer hard boiled eggs, but sometimes my mum would make me soft boiled eggs for breakfast.  Just like back then, I cracked them into the little bowl, sprinkled them with soy sauce and pepper, and ate them up like a soup.  My reward for getting through the eggs was the yummy sweet toast!  


How do you eat your kopitiam breakfasts?  Like me, do you eat the eggs first and then the sweet toast? Toast first?  Do you order extra pieces of plain toast to dip in the eggs?

Peanut Butter Toast - RM7.50 in a set with 2 soft-boiled eggs and a coffee

As you can see, with peanut butter toast, the emphasis is firmly on the peanut butter! So good!  (Compare this to the skimpy peanut butter toast from the Port Vila market in Vanuatu.)

That particular breakfast was at the Mid Valley outlet, but I just wanted to show you a pic from the 1 Utama branch: BUTTER MOUNTAIN!

Butter mountain at Toast Box, 1 Utama

Kuan Yin Vegetarian Restaurant

No. 1804, Jalan 17/29

46400 Petaling Jaya

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 7957 4528

One night, we decided to go for a vegetarian meal, mistakenly thinking it would be a lighter option than all the rich meals we'd been eating.  Whoops!  Not when you order plates and plates of food, with deep fried mock meat, and oily stir fries!  (I do love mock meat!)  The below dishes were shared between just three of us.

Clockwise from top left: XO Sauce w Baby Green Beans (RM15); Special Home Noodles (RM7); Tau Fu-Chinese Toon Leaves (RM14); Vegetarian Chicken (RM14); Butter-Fried Frogs Leg (RM14) 

K.T.Z. Food
66 & 68, Jalan SS2/67
Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47300
Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 7728-8499

After that fabulous yet oily meal, we went for a little drive to get a refreshing Kiwi Loh - a shaved-ice dessert with sago and kiwi fruit.  I don't normally go for Hong Kong-style desserts, but this was truly wonderful!  Anyone know where I can get something similar in Melbourne?

Kiwi Fruit Loh - RM4.50

Home Cooking

As I've previously mentioned, we were staying with my friend Su, at her family home, and we were lucky enough to enjoy a couple of dinners cooked by her mum!  These meals were very different from the Penang Chinese food I'm used to, but all very delicious.

Top L: Beef stuffed with century egg, gai lan
Top R: Sea Cucumber, mushrooms
Bottom L: Steamed Fish
Bottom R: Steamed chicken

This next meal was for chap goh meh (the end of the Chinese New year period).

Top L-R:  Yee Sang, Deep Fried Pork Belly, Beef Stir-fried with Onions
Bottom L-R: Spring Onions with Lap Cheong; Chicken with Fungus, Deep Fried Fish

Kedai Kopi dan Makanan Chun Heong

Lorong Ara Kiri 2

Lucky Garden

Kuala Lumpur, 59100

Malaysia

Chinese hawker breakfast! Awww yeah.

The stalls at Chun Heong were (obviously) KL style, not the Penang style that I'm used to, so whilst there were some familiar items, there were also heaps of new dishes that I'd never seen before.  (I have been to KL heaps of times before, but on my previous trips we never did hawker breakfasts!)

Wan Tan Mee lady

Iced lime drink, iced barley drink, iced milk tea

I mentioned in my "Indian" post that you can say "kurang manis" to request less sugar in drinks, but at a Chinese place you wouldn't speak to the staff in Malay - it'd make more sense to speak in the local Chinese dialect (which in KL is Cantonese), or failing that, English.  I do understand the Penang Hokkien dialect, and can cobble together a few simple sentences, but can't actually say anything in Cantonese - I totally had to rely on Su to communicate here!  So, sorry, I can't give any useful helpful phrases. 

Wan Tan Mee, with pork, chicken and pork wan tans

Congee with crullers

Pork ball noodle soup

Whilst I am familiar with rice congee and wan tan mee, pork ball noodle soup was brand new to me - and I totally loved it!  Rice noodles (much like pho noodles), in a porky broth, smooth pork balls, a slice of Chinese sausage and a flavourful soy sauce pork mince.  Absolutely fantastic!  I would definitely travel back to KL just for this soup.

All the dishes were about RM3-4 each. What a bargain!

Delectable by Su
S-213, Level 2, The Gardens Mall
Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra 59200
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Website
Ph: +60 3 2283 5157

I should just clarify that the Su from Delectable is a different Su from the friend we were staying with!  They just happen to have the same name.  Delectable Su is a blogger who I've been following for years - a former student who made amazing fondant-decorated cakes as a hobby, and after graduating pursued her sugary dreams and opened a bakery!

She wasn't there the day that we visited, but I did buy a "Seven Sins of Chocolate" to try.

I must admit I wasn't sure what to expect from the dessert.  Whilst I've admired Su's fondant creations for years, I always pictured them as being quite sweet (and y'all know I'm not into really sweet desserts).  However, I really enjoyed the Seven Sins!  It was kinda like a dark chocolate trifle, with layers of chocolate cake, cream, cocoa, chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.  It wasn't overly sweet or dense, but still very chocolatey.

My only complaint was the box itself - some of the cake crumbs got stuck in the corners of the box and it was impossible to get at the yummy crumbs!

Sky Bar
Level 33, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 2332-9911
Website

Now, Sky Bar isn't strictly Chinese, but seeing as Malays and many Indians don't drink alcohol, I felt that the "Chinese" post was the best place for this.  On the top floor of the Traders Hotel, Sky Bar offers stunning views of KL city, including the Petronas Twin Towers.

The hotel's swimming pool area transforms into a trendy bar at night.  I wonder how many patrons have fallen into the pool after one too many!

Insider's tip: the best spots are the loungey cabana seats next to the window (on the right side of the pool in the picture above), which are really popular and need to be booked in advance.  A bit of advance planning is worth it though, for the views!

Left: "Be Passionate" RM67
Right: Raspberry Mojito RM42

I must admit I really didn't like my cocktail.  The Be Passionate sounded like something I'd love, with fresh passionfruit, passionfruit liqueur and Moët & Chandon (zomg!), but somehow the combination just didn't work.  The sharp taste of the passionfruit was exacerbated by the dry, almost metallic taste of the Champagne, to make a very sour, mouth-puckeringly unpleasant cocktail.  In fact, it would have been better with a less reputable, sweeter fizzy wine.  Bit of a disappointment for 67 ringgit!  The Raspberry Mojito, on the other hand, was much nicer.  Perhaps next time I'll hedge my bets with a cheaper, simpler mixed drink.

And that, my friends, was Kuala Lumpur!  Next up: Penang!

This is the third and final post from my series: 2012 Trip to Kuala Lumpur. Other posts in this series: Indian; and Malay. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Kuala Lumpur 2012: Malay

If I had to describe Malay food, I'd say it's characterised by bold flavours with lots of spice; by being quite rich and a little oily; and obviously containing no pork or alcohol.

We don't seem to have lots of Malay Malaysians here in Australia, (most migrants from Malaysia seem to be, like me, of Chinese background), so it can be really hard to get delicious, authentic Malay food.  Most often, when you get Malay food here, it's cooked by a Malaysian-Chinese chef in a restaurant that serves pan-Malaysian food (e.g. Old Town Kopitiam, Cinta Ria etc).  And whilst lots of them do a good job, you can't beat native food cooked on its home turf!


Devi's Corner
14 Jalan Telawi
4 Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Yup, back to Devi's corner!  Whilst Devi's is an Indian establishment, at nights they have a Malay satay stall with both ayam (chicken) and mutton (kambing) satay.

The satay stall at Devi's Corner

Lady preparing condiments for the satay

The charcoal grill

Satay!

Super sedap!  I hadn't tried mutton satay before, but I really liked it - the caramelized, charred bits of fat were especially good.

I never, ever eat satay in Australia, as it's just too disappointing here.  Malaysian restaurants in Australia don't seem to grill their satay on charcoal, which is absolutely essential for the fab smoky flavour.  I'm told that many restaurants here actually deep-fry their satay, which gives a totally different effect.  No thanks!  In fact, the last time I had satay was seven years ago, also in Kuala Lumpur, with my aunty and cousins who called the satay man around to their place!  (Blogged here).

Madam Kwan's
Pavillion Mall
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 2143-2296

We stopped at Madam Kwan's for a rejuvenating lunch during a big day of shopping in KL's many malls.  I think it's more of a pan-Malaysian restaurant than strictly Malay, (they have Malay and Chinese dishes), but I'm including it in my "Malay" post because it's halal, and because their specialties happen to be Malay!  (Also my upcoming "Chinese" post is getting dangerously long!)

Madam Kwan's do a good ice tea - they serve it unsweetened, with a little jug of sugar syrup on the side to add to your taste.  Great idea!

Nasi Bojari - Madam's tri-coloured rice with assam prawns, beef rendang and deep fried chicken drumstick - RM22.90

Nasi Bojari is one of Madam Kwan's specialties.  I'd never heard of it before, and after a little internet research, I've learned that it's an adaptation of an Indonesian dish.  Here, the rice is spiced, and served with assam prawns, beef rendang and a deep-fried chicken maryland.  I absolutely loved it!  The chicken was juicy on the inside and addictively crispy on the outside.

The other two dishes we ordered were simple Chinese fried rice/noodle dishes, both done well, with the distinctive wok hei taste that you want from your stir-fried dishes.

Fried rice - with egg, salted fish and chicken - RM15.80

This one is a Chinese dish, which I've often seen in Hong Kong restaurants here.  (I believe it's "Ham yee kai char fan" in Cantonese, but don't quote me on that!)

Char Kway Teow - Flat rice noodles stir fried with chicken, egg and beansprouts - RM16.80

They happily adapted the char kway teow for our non-seafood eater.  This wasn't quite as good as hawker stall char kway teow, but still a satisfying lunch.

It's interesting to note that Madam Kwan's is very expensive compared to hawker stalls - their char kway teow is RM16.80, whereas a hawker would only charge about RM3.  There seems to be a massive price differential between hawkers, casual restaurants and upmarket restaurants in Malaysia - I imagine that the rental, staff and infrastructure (crockery, interior design, printed menus etc.) for a "proper" restaurant must be very expensive.  As an Australian benefiting from the excellent exchange rate, all the food was cheap for me (lucky!), but I did wonder how the locals manage it.


Village Park Restaurant
5, Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Utama, 47400
Petaling Jaya
Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 7710-7860

Village Park is a very popular casual restaurant, famous for their nasi lemak.  (You can see the price difference between this place and Madam Kwan's - almost a quarter of the price!)

Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken - RM6.00

This was so good! You can see how fried the fried chicken is.  I think it must be marinated in spices, as the chicken itself is so crispy, juicy and tasty!  The sambal was also satisfyingly hot and spicy.

Soto Ayam - RM5.00

For those not in the mood for fried food (really, that happens?), and after something altogether more restorative, the soto ayam (chicken soup) is a good choice.  Look how rich that stock looks! Yum yum.

I ordered my new favourite drink: Neslo.  Otherwise known as a Malaysian Mocha, this is a mix of Milo and Nescafé.  It sounds like it could be gross, but is actually super-delicious!  (I asked for extra Lo on my Neslo, hehe).

Neslo!

To finish up, we shared a kaya toast.  According to the friends with whom I ate, it wasn't as good as usual, but I found it pretty tasty nonetheless!

Kaya Toast - RM1.80

Speaking of which, we had heaps of kaya toast in KL, which will be coming up in my next post!

This is the second post from my series: 2012 Trip to Kuala Lumpur.

If I had to describe Malay food, I'd say it's characterised by bold flavours with lots of spice; by being quite rich and a little oily; and obviously containing no pork or alcohol.

We don't seem to have lots of Malay Malaysians here in Australia, (most migrants from Malaysia seem to be, like me, of Chinese background), so it can be really hard to get delicious, authentic Malay food.  Most often, when you get Malay food here, it's cooked by a Malaysian-Chinese chef in a restaurant that serves pan-Malaysian food (e.g. Old Town Kopitiam, Cinta Ria etc).  And whilst lots of them do a good job, you can't beat native food cooked on its home turf!


Devi's Corner
14 Jalan Telawi
4 Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Yup, back to Devi's corner!  Whilst Devi's is an Indian establishment, at nights they have a Malay satay stall with both ayam (chicken) and mutton (kambing) satay.

The satay stall at Devi's Corner

Lady preparing condiments for the satay

The charcoal grill

Satay!

Super sedap!  I hadn't tried mutton satay before, but I really liked it - the caramelized, charred bits of fat were especially good.

I never, ever eat satay in Australia, as it's just too disappointing here.  Malaysian restaurants in Australia don't seem to grill their satay on charcoal, which is absolutely essential for the fab smoky flavour.  I'm told that many restaurants here actually deep-fry their satay, which gives a totally different effect.  No thanks!  In fact, the last time I had satay was seven years ago, also in Kuala Lumpur, with my aunty and cousins who called the satay man around to their place!  (Blogged here).

Madam Kwan's
Pavillion Mall
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 2143-2296

We stopped at Madam Kwan's for a rejuvenating lunch during a big day of shopping in KL's many malls.  I think it's more of a pan-Malaysian restaurant than strictly Malay, (they have Malay and Chinese dishes), but I'm including it in my "Malay" post because it's halal, and because their specialties happen to be Malay!  (Also my upcoming "Chinese" post is getting dangerously long!)

Madam Kwan's do a good ice tea - they serve it unsweetened, with a little jug of sugar syrup on the side to add to your taste.  Great idea!

Nasi Bojari - Madam's tri-coloured rice with assam prawns, beef rendang and deep fried chicken drumstick - RM22.90

Nasi Bojari is one of Madam Kwan's specialties.  I'd never heard of it before, and after a little internet research, I've learned that it's an adaptation of an Indonesian dish.  Here, the rice is spiced, and served with assam prawns, beef rendang and a deep-fried chicken maryland.  I absolutely loved it!  The chicken was juicy on the inside and addictively crispy on the outside.

The other two dishes we ordered were simple Chinese fried rice/noodle dishes, both done well, with the distinctive wok hei taste that you want from your stir-fried dishes.

Fried rice - with egg, salted fish and chicken - RM15.80

This one is a Chinese dish, which I've often seen in Hong Kong restaurants here.  (I believe it's "Ham yee kai char fan" in Cantonese, but don't quote me on that!)

Char Kway Teow - Flat rice noodles stir fried with chicken, egg and beansprouts - RM16.80

They happily adapted the char kway teow for our non-seafood eater.  This wasn't quite as good as hawker stall char kway teow, but still a satisfying lunch.

It's interesting to note that Madam Kwan's is very expensive compared to hawker stalls - their char kway teow is RM16.80, whereas a hawker would only charge about RM3.  There seems to be a massive price differential between hawkers, casual restaurants and upmarket restaurants in Malaysia - I imagine that the rental, staff and infrastructure (crockery, interior design, printed menus etc.) for a "proper" restaurant must be very expensive.  As an Australian benefiting from the excellent exchange rate, all the food was cheap for me (lucky!), but I did wonder how the locals manage it.


Village Park Restaurant
5, Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Utama, 47400
Petaling Jaya
Malaysia
Ph: +60 3 7710-7860

Village Park is a very popular casual restaurant, famous for their nasi lemak.  (You can see the price difference between this place and Madam Kwan's - almost a quarter of the price!)

Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken - RM6.00

This was so good! You can see how fried the fried chicken is.  I think it must be marinated in spices, as the chicken itself is so crispy, juicy and tasty!  The sambal was also satisfyingly hot and spicy.

Soto Ayam - RM5.00

For those not in the mood for fried food (really, that happens?), and after something altogether more restorative, the soto ayam (chicken soup) is a good choice.  Look how rich that stock looks! Yum yum.

I ordered my new favourite drink: Neslo.  Otherwise known as a Malaysian Mocha, this is a mix of Milo and Nescafé.  It sounds like it could be gross, but is actually super-delicious!  (I asked for extra Lo on my Neslo, hehe).

Neslo!

To finish up, we shared a kaya toast.  According to the friends with whom I ate, it wasn't as good as usual, but I found it pretty tasty nonetheless!

Kaya Toast - RM1.80

Speaking of which, we had heaps of kaya toast in KL, which will be coming up in my next post!

This is the second post from my series: 2012 Trip to Kuala Lumpur.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Kuala Lumpur 2012: Indian

As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent the first three nights of our Malaysia trip in KL, staying with my brother's girlfriend, the awesome Su.  (Hi SU!)  Because this was my first non-family trip to Malaysia, we had a much more active holiday than I'm used to - lots of walking and sightseeing.  Normally when I go with my parents we just shop and eat. Aah... the true Malaysian pastime!

Today's post is focused on all the Indian delights we enjoyed whilst in KL.

Whenever I go Malaysia, the first stop has to be for roti canai.  Devi's Corner in Bangsar was an awesome destination for our first Malaysian breakfast! 

Devi's Corner

14 Jalan Telawi 

4 Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Drinks: Milo Ais RM2.00; Teh Ais1.40; Teh O Ais Limau RM1.40

We absolutely gorged ourselves on different types of roti (all cooked to order), and funky drinks.  We had milo ais (iced milo), teh ais (iced tea) and teh o ais limau (lime ice tea).  Don't forget to ask for your drinks to be kurang manis!  (This means "less sweet" in Malay.)  Standard drinks in Malaysia are crazy, super-duper sweet!

Roti Canai - RM1.30

The classic roti canai, served with various curry sauces - fish, chicken and dahl.  Mmm... flaky goodness!

Roti Telur Bawang (egg and onions) - RM2.70

Same as above, but with egg and onions.

We also ordered a roti kaya (not pictured), which for some reason still comes with all the savoury sauces.  (Only Sandra dared to dip the sweet roti into the curry sauces!)

Paper Tosai - RM2.70

I'd never had paper tosai before, but loved the light and crunchy texture.  This one also came with different sauces, including a delicious coconut chutney/sambal thingo.

Devi's seem to be open pretty much all the time - lunch, dinner, late night suppers, and more!  They also do a mean tandoori chicken and fab chappatis, which we had on our last night in KL before we left for the airport.

Sri Nirwana Bangsar

43 Jalan Telawi 

3 Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Ph: +60 3 2287-8445

Also in Bangsar, Sri Nirwana serves up awesome banana leaf.  There's always a big queue, but it seems to move quite quickly!

The standard order is rice on banana leaf, with a few sides/sauces, and you can order extra things like fried chicken, curries etc.  (I don't remember the prices sorry, but let me assure you - it was all very, very cheap!)

When we visited, the sides were a cucumber salad, a potato and cabbage curry and crunchy deep-fried bittergourd pieces.

They also come around with salted chillis, and pour curry sauce (chicken, fish, whatever) directly onto the rice.

We ordered fried ikan tenggiri (mackerel) and chicken masala to go with.  Those little tubs of soup are called rasam, which is very rich with spices.  Apparently it's very nourishing and health-giving - good if you've got a cold or are feeling run down.  You can also see another teh o limau ais in the background!

Batu Caves

I'd never been to the Batu Caves before, and was fascinated to see the series of Hindu temples and shrines built in the caves of the limestone hill.  Although I must say that climbing hundreds of stairs in Malaysia's heat and humidity was not my idea of a fun afternoon!  (I'm sure I was overheard saying more than once: "Why can't we just go to a mall and drink Coffee Bean?!")  The climb was definitely worth it though.

Inside the cave itself were many shrines, people singing religious songs and worshiping.  We saw quite a few people carrying small kavadis, and making offerings.  The Batu Caves is the focal point of Thaipusam, and I'm told during the festival, it gets absolutely packed with worshipers carrying massive kavadis, and onlookers.  I'm sure it would have been an amazing sight.  Unfortunately, even though we were in Malaysia during Thaipusam, due to our flight timings, we missed both the Penang and KL festivals. Boo!

The Batu Caves are also famous for their monkeys!  There are loads of them, all the way up and down the stairs and the surrounding trees.  They're super cute but can be very cheeky - stealing food and things like that.  We saw one monkey eating chips from a packet while we were there!  This one just ate a banana.

It saddened me to see many tourists hassling the monkeys - pulling on their tails and squealing.  Aiyo, how can?!  Apart from being cruel, it's just dangerous - this area is home for the monkeys, and of course they'll bite and scratch to defend themselves.  Grr!

Anyway, off my soapbox now.  Check out this adorable BABY MONKEY!

This is the first post from my series: 2012 Trip to Kuala Lumpur.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent the first three nights of our Malaysia trip in KL, staying with my brother's girlfriend, the awesome Su.  (Hi SU!)  Because this was my first non-family trip to Malaysia, we had a much more active holiday than I'm used to - lots of walking and sightseeing.  Normally when I go with my parents we just shop and eat. Aah... the true Malaysian pastime!

Today's post is focused on all the Indian delights we enjoyed whilst in KL.

Whenever I go Malaysia, the first stop has to be for roti canai.  Devi's Corner in Bangsar was an awesome destination for our first Malaysian breakfast! 

Devi's Corner

14 Jalan Telawi 

4 Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Drinks: Milo Ais RM2.00; Teh Ais1.40; Teh O Ais Limau RM1.40

We absolutely gorged ourselves on different types of roti (all cooked to order), and funky drinks.  We had milo ais (iced milo), teh ais (iced tea) and teh o ais limau (lime ice tea).  Don't forget to ask for your drinks to be kurang manis!  (This means "less sweet" in Malay.)  Standard drinks in Malaysia are crazy, super-duper sweet!

Roti Canai - RM1.30

The classic roti canai, served with various curry sauces - fish, chicken and dahl.  Mmm... flaky goodness!

Roti Telur Bawang (egg and onions) - RM2.70

Same as above, but with egg and onions.

We also ordered a roti kaya (not pictured), which for some reason still comes with all the savoury sauces.  (Only Sandra dared to dip the sweet roti into the curry sauces!)

Paper Tosai - RM2.70

I'd never had paper tosai before, but loved the light and crunchy texture.  This one also came with different sauces, including a delicious coconut chutney/sambal thingo.

Devi's seem to be open pretty much all the time - lunch, dinner, late night suppers, and more!  They also do a mean tandoori chicken and fab chappatis, which we had on our last night in KL before we left for the airport.

Sri Nirwana Bangsar

43 Jalan Telawi 

3 Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Ph: +60 3 2287-8445

Also in Bangsar, Sri Nirwana serves up awesome banana leaf.  There's always a big queue, but it seems to move quite quickly!

The standard order is rice on banana leaf, with a few sides/sauces, and you can order extra things like fried chicken, curries etc.  (I don't remember the prices sorry, but let me assure you - it was all very, very cheap!)

When we visited, the sides were a cucumber salad, a potato and cabbage curry and crunchy deep-fried bittergourd pieces.

They also come around with salted chillis, and pour curry sauce (chicken, fish, whatever) directly onto the rice.

We ordered fried ikan tenggiri (mackerel) and chicken masala to go with.  Those little tubs of soup are called rasam, which is very rich with spices.  Apparently it's very nourishing and health-giving - good if you've got a cold or are feeling run down.  You can also see another teh o limau ais in the background!

Batu Caves

I'd never been to the Batu Caves before, and was fascinated to see the series of Hindu temples and shrines built in the caves of the limestone hill.  Although I must say that climbing hundreds of stairs in Malaysia's heat and humidity was not my idea of a fun afternoon!  (I'm sure I was overheard saying more than once: "Why can't we just go to a mall and drink Coffee Bean?!")  The climb was definitely worth it though.

Inside the cave itself were many shrines, people singing religious songs and worshiping.  We saw quite a few people carrying small kavadis, and making offerings.  The Batu Caves is the focal point of Thaipusam, and I'm told during the festival, it gets absolutely packed with worshipers carrying massive kavadis, and onlookers.  I'm sure it would have been an amazing sight.  Unfortunately, even though we were in Malaysia during Thaipusam, due to our flight timings, we missed both the Penang and KL festivals. Boo!

The Batu Caves are also famous for their monkeys!  There are loads of them, all the way up and down the stairs and the surrounding trees.  They're super cute but can be very cheeky - stealing food and things like that.  We saw one monkey eating chips from a packet while we were there!  This one just ate a banana.

It saddened me to see many tourists hassling the monkeys - pulling on their tails and squealing.  Aiyo, how can?!  Apart from being cruel, it's just dangerous - this area is home for the monkeys, and of course they'll bite and scratch to defend themselves.  Grr!

Anyway, off my soapbox now.  Check out this adorable BABY MONKEY!

This is the first post from my series: 2012 Trip to Kuala Lumpur.

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