Food Tour Malaysia: What To Eat In Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is a top travel destination in Asia. It has everything travelers want and more: a rich history, great shopping, beautiful architecture. But wait. What about the food? In fact, food is a vital part of Malaysia’s history and in order to fully understand local Malay culture, you need to try the food! Food Tour Malaysia invited me on a tour through Kuala Lumpur’s past and present to discover what Malay food is really about. Here’s what the food tour Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur has in store for you.
About Food Tour Malaysia
FTM, or Food Tour Malaysia, is a dedicated provider of food tour experiences in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Ipoh. Devoted to offer tourists an experience like a local, FTM offers a wide variety of tour options to suit your needs. You can choose from walking tours starting at KL Sentral, an “off-the-eaten-track” tour in the KL suburbs with a van or a full day tour in Ipoh. I was part of the suburb tour and guided by Charles, a local of Indian decent. Together with 10 other foreign visitors we were in for a lot of fun and lots of delicious food. Charles told us that Malaysian cuisine was made up of three major influences: Chinese, Indian, and Muslim, just as the country’s population itself. We were in for a truly varied food experience.
STOP #1: Chinese Cuisine
For our first stop, Charles took us to a locals’ favorite in the suburbs of KL. The place is unique in the area as the owner rents out the space to individual food stalls giving visitors a rich selection of dishes to choose from. We had satay (Chinese kebabs), noodles, fish and lip-smacking dips. Everyone enjoyed the atmosphere in the tiny restaurant and the food was absolutely delicious. Charles also gave us a local drink that would open our taste buds to the rich flavors.
Stop #2: Malaysia’s National Dish
Every country has its own signature dish. In Malaysia, it’s Nasi Lemak. This dish is basically rice, a boiled egg and spicy sauce wrapped in banana leaf. Charles took us to a popular night food market on the outskirts of town. The lady who owns it used to be the only restaurant open at night. Becoming hugely popular among the people of Kuala Lumpur, the neighboring eats soon followed suit creating a vibrant night food zone. I enjoyed the dish but have to say that it was not my favorite. However, when in Malaysia, you just have to try Nasi Lemak!
Stop #3: Street Market Waffles
On our way to our next stop, Charles led us through a small local market selling fruits, vegetables and everything one would need. An elderly man sold popular Malaysian waffles there and Charles all gave us one to try. It was filled with sweet corn and nuts and was a flavorful sweet treat in between our main meals of the food tour.
Stop #4: Indian Hand Eating
Our final stop led us to a popular Indian restaurant. Traditionally, Indians use their right hand to eat without forks and knives. I was particularly excited about this part of the tour as I have never had authentic Indian food before. Charles ordered us to thoroughly wash our hands before sitting down to receive our dishes. We were presented with a variety of rothis and naans. I especially loved the sweet banana rothi. My favorite dish was the rothi canai, an Indian-influenced flatbread popular in Southeast Asia. This flatbread is then dipped in various types of curries and it’s absolutely delicious. I also had Indian tea. I have to say that this Indian restaurant was my absolute favorite during the food tour.
Food Tour Malaysia Experience
This food tour was one of the best I ever had. Our tour guide Charles lead us to delicious places that I would’ve never found on my own. On top of that, he provided interesting historic information on the different types of foods which added to the experience. Moreover, Charles also showed us how to correctly eat the dishes and which beverages perfectly accompany and enhance the flavors. After the food tour, I knew a lot more about Malaysia than I did before. I absolutely enjoyed myself and will gladly book one of the many other tour options available when I’m back in Malaysia.
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He means Malay, not Muslim food. 🙂 Muslims come from all races, so there’s not really such a thing as ‘Muslim’ food unless you mean, ‘halal’.
Malays are the majority locals who formed the indigenous pre-colonial kingdoms in the peninsula – in fact each state has its own ‘Malay’ cuisine. Malays also eat with our hands.
Quite separately from that, ‘mamak’ cuisine, is Indian-Muslim cuisine in Malaysia. And there are now many Chinese Muslim restaurants, run by Chinese converts to Islam – but the cuisine is Chinese.
To illustrate further: There is also Peranakan cuisine, which is an ethnicity in Malaysia that’s a hybrid between Malay and Chinese. Their food is not necessarily halal because they are not typically Muslim, despite the cuisine having strong Malay influences.