Yummy Eats (Kuala Lumpur Edition)

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With Tyler not feeling well during our time in Kuala Lumpur, we ate most of our meals in Chinatown, where our guesthouse was located. Thankfully, the neighborhood is home to many delicious dishes and we had our fair share of restaurants to pick from. We did venture out a couple times for some variety, including lunch at an Indian restaurant and brunch at an iconic kopitiam, a traditional coffee shop, where we brushed shoulders with quite a few locals.

Wantan Mee from Koon Kee

Egg noodles served with char siew (barbecued pork), cabbage and a small bowl of wantan dumplings on the side. Though it was good, we weren't overly impressed with this dish, especially when compared to everything else we tried in the city.

Claypot Loh Shu Fun from Chinatown Seng Kee

Minced pork meat served with a raw egg over noodles in a claypot. Mix it all together and enjoy! Watch out because the servings are quite large, even for us food lovers! One medium claypot would have been more than enough for the both of us. We ordered two. Hey, who knows when we'll be back here, right?

Brunch at Yut Kee

We couldn't pass up on the opportunity try Yut Kee, a legendary kopitiam in the heart of KL that's been open since 1928. We arrived mid-morning on a Sunday to a packed restaurant. After putting our names down and waiting in line for a good half hour, we were seated with a family of three. There's no way you'll get a table to yourself on weekends but that's part of the charm! We ordered two famous dishes: the roti babi, which consists of minced pork and onion stuffed in pockets of fried dough & the pork roll stuffed with pistachios and peach served with their homemade apple sauce. We both thoroughly enjoyed the pork roll (hello, crackling!) but weren't wowed by the roti babi. Nevertheless, the experience alone made it worth it! Fortunately for us, we visited Yut Kee just in time. The eatery was forced to relocate (after 86 years in the same location!) due to an exorbitant rent.

Note: the pork roll is only available Friday-Sunday. Make sure to get there before noon as it sells out quickly!

Hokkien Mee from Lian Bee

A hole-in-the-wall stall you'll definitely miss if you're not looking for it. Hidden in a back alley, don't let the lack of cleanliness deter you from eating here (I did spot a couple rats on both visits). Their hokkien mee, noodles served with dark soy sauce, pork and tons of deep-fried, crunchy pieces of lard, is incredible. It's no wonder they've been operating for over 60 years!

The chef at work - Lian Bee, Kuala Lumpur

Note: try the pork soup -it's a great complement to the noodles.

Chicken Biryani at Vishalatchi

For a little something different, we ventured over to Vishalatchi for some Indian food. As soon as we arrived, we were served a humongous portion of the chicken biryani along with the vegetable side curries it comes with. That would have been enough for us but we got a bit too carried away with additional orders of crab, shrimp, calamari, cauliflower (and more!) we were talked into by our server. So what should have been a cheap meal turned out to be quite expensive. Thank goodness it was delicious!

Laksa Curry at Madras Lane

We missed out on laksa curry during our few days in Singapore so we made sure to give it a try when we were in Kuala Lumpur. Though they differ from place to place, the one we tried included vermicelli, bean sprouts, snake beans, eggplant alongside cockles and fish in a hot curry broth. I did not like this dish simply for the cockles, which gave the whole soup a very fishy taste but don't worry, Tyler was happy to have it all to himself.

Beef Noodles from Shin Kee

Shin Kee deserves their title of “noodle specialist” if only for their minced beef sauce, a family secret, which keeps customers coming back. Choose your noodles and wait for the delicious bee-f-antastic bowl to appear, which is served with beef cuts and beef balls along the minced beef sauce in a clear broth. I told you it was bee-f-antastic.

Apam Balik

We weren't quite sure what these were when we found them walking along Petaling Street but after seeing what looked like a peanut filling, we were sold. So what are they? Pancakes filled with peanuts, sugar and creamed corn kernels. Yum. A great late night snack.