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Pulling milk tea at Nasi Kandar Pelita.
Where to find kung pao mantis prawns, pandan layer cake, curry fried chicken, and soft-shell crab burgers in the Malaysian capital
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Pulling milk tea at Nasi Kandar Pelita.
Kuala Lumpur is an experience of contrasts. Against the backdrop of the city’s dizzying skyscrapers, including the iconic Petronas Twin Towers (the tallest buildings in the world at the turn of the 21st century), you’ll find yourself wandering uneven back streets and navigating crowded night markets. Amid the traditional kopitiams (coffee shops) tucked into colonial-era buildings, you’ll find striking splashes of modern graffiti, an art form outlawed in parts of Asia but embraced here.
The flavors of the bustling cosmopolitan city are just as diverse. Malay specialists and generations-old street food hawkers form a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, with chefs cooking Chinese, Indian, European, and Nyonya dishes (the latter being a combination of Chinese ingredients with aromatic Malay herbs and spices such as coconut milk, candlenuts, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass). And great eating doesn’t stop at the borders of downtown but extends well into suburbs like Damansara and Cheras as well as coastal areas like Klang, Kapar, and Sekinchan. The pandemic has certainly taken its toll on the city’s dining scene, forcing some classic establishments to close. But much of Kuala Lumpur’s rich culinary heritage remains strong, as chefs fiercely guard family recipes and crowds of loyal customers line up for beloved dishes.
From quintessential nasi lemak to icy chendol, dockside feasts to rice paddy picnics, here’s how to eat your way through the Malaysian capital.
Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.
Prices per person, excluding alcohol:
$ = Less than 21 Malaysian ringgit (less than $5 USD)
$$ = 21 – 42 Malaysian ringgit ($5 – $10 USD)
$$$ = 46 – 84 Malaysian ringgit ($11 – $20 USD)
$$$$ = More than 88 Malaysian ringgit ($21 USD and up)
Ian Poh Jin Tze is a freelance writer and photographer passionate about extreme sports and globe-trotting. He spent the past year running Monk3yseendo, a lifestyle Instagram/blog predominantly focused on food, photography, fashion, and travel, and he has been published in the Singapore Airlines in-flight magazine, Asian Food Network, and Le Cordon Bleu. Although he was born in Singapore, he spends 300 days a year living out of his Rimowa.
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Note: Restaurants on this map are listed geographically.
186, Jalan Sungai Labu, Taman Seri Sekinchan, 45400 Sekinchan
Selangor, Malaysia
Among the rice paddies in the sleepy fishing village of Sekinchan, Ninja Kitchen is a unique home-based restaurant serving an omakase-style menu of seafood with Teochew influences.
