a foodie's guide to KUALA LUMPUR 🇲🇾

to end off 2023, i took a short trip to KL with my gf and i can't believe after all the places i've been to this was the first time i've been to KL 😂 nonetheless, it was an amazing trip filled with good food! if there is a recurring theme to my travel planning, it is that my itineraries are almost always built around the food i want to eat 🍽️ so we plotted the places we wanted to go to eat and then tried to plan to go places in the nearby areas for the day and see what other activities or places we wanted to go to near the eating places!

we spent 3D2N in KL and had the priviledge to try many different excellent food and some subpar ones too 😝 so if you are heading go KL soon or am thinking to visit, below are the reviews of all the places we tried in KL ⬇️

🍚

HON KEE PORRIDGE ($)

famous local spot by a small alley/road at the famous Petaling Street Market selling traditional cantonese porridge at really affordable prices! the area is very busy as a hotspot for tourists in the evening but if you clme before sunrise, you'll find a whole different side - locals buying street food, eating breakfasts (like us), and grabbing takeaway food on the way to work 👍🏼 the porridge is fresh and the taste is nostalgic, something hard to find in SG (especially for this price)

*opens everyday 5am-230pm!

🍞

THE BREAD BAR ($$)

one of our favourites! a restaurant that specialises in bread dishes and omg the bread here is really 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 the ambience is dim and intimate, the service is one of the best we've experienced in KL, and the food is simply outstanding for the price point! we went for brunch and it is definitely perfect for starting off the day right 🤩

*opens everyday except wednesdays from 8am-5pm and 6pm-1030pm!

☕️

FEEKA COFFEE ROASTERS ($$)

nice lovely cafe that serves brunch! it has outdoor and indoor seating too and is very popular among foreigners from what we saw (50% customers were angmoh 🫣) service was so-so and the food was slightly above average! tbh it's just like any other cafe so nothing much to rave about other than it being a little more wallet friendly than SG cafes 🤷‍♂️ so i'll skip unless i'm in the area!

*opens everyday 8am-10pm!

🥘

THE CHOW KIT KITCHEN & BAR ($$)

this restaurant/bar is part of The Chow Kit hotel and the vibes are simply ✨vibing✨it screams modern peranakan and the entire environment was so lovely! if you're looking for good local food taken up a notch then give this plsce a shot! although i would not really recommend their cocktails as the one i ordered was a twist on milo dinosaur and it was so off-putting i didn't even finish it 😔 but hopefully the others on the menu are better!

*opens everyday 7am-11pm!

🐓

HEUN KEE CLAYPOT CHICKEN RICE ($)

this place was awarded the Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN guide in 2023 and omg the queue is MAD so do be prepared to queue 😀 but luckily for us we waited only about 30mins before getting a seat! one of the best claypot chicken rice i've had in my life (especially for only ~$8 for 2pax) this is a must-visit! you can observe the chefs cooking ~20 claypots simultaneously outside the restaurant so that was really eye-opening too!

only caveat: it's literally right beside a live birds shop and you can imagine having a BIRD FEATHER land on our claypot right after finishing our meal 💀 and we were seated indoors too with air-conditioning 😭

*opens everyday except thursday 11am-9pm!

🍛

VILLAGE PARK RESTAURANT ($)

have you even been to KL if you haven't been to this spot? this is literally the nasi lemak pilgrimage for anyone visiting KL! please make your way here because the nasi lemak really SLAPS 😍 except it to be very very crowded so avoid peak timings like us! we went around 3pm and it was still crowded but we didn't have to wait for a table 🤩 a bonus: their teh tarik is also excellent 👏

*opens everyday 630am-530pm!

🥙

SMALL SHIFTING SPACE ($$$)

small dining spot along Jalan Petaling that serves fusion food! honestly this was a huge miss for us cause the food was disappointing, service was one of the worst we've seen (basically non-existent) and for the price point it is definitely not worth it ❌ the dishes we ordered were overly saturated and unbalanced, the seating was uncomfortable, and overall the vibe felt very pretentious 😔 maybe other people would feel that it is better, but for me this place is a HARD PASS 😀

*opens mon & wed 5-10pm, thurs 5-11pm, fri & sat 5pm-12am, sun 4-10pm, and closed on tues!

🍣

THE TOKYO RESTAURANT ($$$)

a lovely intimate restaurant on the top level of Lot 10 mall! they serve japanese fusion food and i must say - the food is really good, the service excellent, and ambience perfect!✨ we made a reservation to celebrate our very belated anniversary here and mentioned it in the booking form and we were so pleased that the request was honoured when they served our dessert with handwritten wishes for us using chocolate sauce! a small gesture like this goes a long way especially as many places do not acknowledge such requests 👍🏼 i'd recommend this spot for those looking for a romantic night out after shopping/hanging around the main area of KL (near twin towers, KLCC, and many big hotels)

*opens everyday 11am-11pm!

🍸

PS150 ($$$)

this is a speakeasy along Jalan Petaling that we actually almost walked past without noticing as it was so well blended with the shophouses on the street 😂 honestly this is such a lovely bar as it felt like walking down a street in the 80s/90s (from the movies) when you enter the bar! the menu was an old exercise book from pri/sec school days and the drinks were all very nostalgic! the drinks we ordered were all very well balanced and perfect to end off the night with, and when combined with the lovely service and wallet-friendly prices compared to cocktail bars in SG (~$14 for a cocktail), this bar is definitely a must-visit for cocktail lovers! 💯

*opens everyday 6pm-2am!

so there you have it! these are all the food places we tried so the next time you head to KL, you can consider checking some of these places out! we really loved KL as it gave off a nice balance of vibes between a modern city like SG and preserving the old streets that SG used to be 😁 if you have any other recommendations or tips do let me know in the comment section below! if not, stay safe and happy travelling y'all 🐢

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