We spent a month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July & August of 2023. We both love a wide range of foods, and we especially love Asian foods. We were really looking forward to the food in Kuala Lumpur (which I will shorten to “KL”). But somehow, we never quite found the groove. We would order curry and it didn’t taste like what we though curry was supposed to taste like in this part of Asia (I suppose we were thinking it would be like Thai curry). We would order Indian food, and it just didn’t have the rich, complex flavors we were expecting. Even our experience with Chinese food was hit or miss. We took a food tour our first week here, but we never quite connected what we learned there with what we were seeing elsewhere. Although there were a few highlights, we left feeling food frustrated.
We returned to KL in late November, 2024, and have been here almost 3 months. I am happy to report that we have found our groove. We’ve had a lot of outstanding food adventures this time around.
Food is important to both of us. I grew up eating pretty standard 1960’s era midwestern food – Wonder bread, lots of meat, heavy sauces and fried foods. I remember one time our family went on vacation, and a very sophisticated friend of my parents who lived on the East coast brought out raw scallops, sliced them thinly, squirted some lemon juice and gave me a bite. Wow! This was the kind of food I wanted to try. My experience as an exchange student in France, and a later trip there after college, were food extravaganzas. Paul grew up eating Japanese food (Japanese rice and pickles are his go-to comfort food) and the Eastern European food his dad grew up eating (meatloaf, stuffed peppers). He sought out Chicago specialties like Chicago hot dogs, Italian beef, deep-dish pizza and he still searches far and wide for a particular style of gyros he ate in a Greek neighborhood in the 1970’s. We both devoted energy during our marriage to trying new dishes and new ways of eating. I remember one time, when we were in Melbourne, Australia in 2017 or 2018, we were eating at Movida, a high-end Spanish tapas restaurant, sharing a bottle of red wine, and I looked at Paul and said, “This moment is exactly what I always dreamed my life would be like when I was a girl.” “That moment” was a blend of the food, the wine, the love of my life, and a fabulous setting in a wonderful international city.
But back to KL. Here are some of the highlights of our food adventures this time around. They range from every day staple food, to mid-budget delights, to celebratory splurges. We are lucky to have a more generous budget than many people; I am including price ranges so people who travel here know what they might spend. We realize not everyone can afford the very high end meals.
Daily fare
Although not the absolute least expensive place we've traveled (think, Vietnam, for one), KL is among the less expensive places for daily fare. More than half of our time, we've eaten at home, cooking in our kitchen, from food we buy at local groceries and markets. The rest of the time, we eat at restaurants, often in the nearby mall, or order food from Grab (like UberEats).
Preparing food at home
A few examples of prices. Last week, I bought two mangoes for MYR 5.45, which is a little over $1USD. The cherries from NZ cost MYR 25, which is about $5USD, and were so expensive the grocer wanted to make sure we knew how much they cost before we paid for them. 6 eggs (jumbo premium) costs MYR 4.50, which is about $1USD. A low-fat fruit-flavored yogurt for one is about MYR 2.90, or 65 US cents. 500ML of coconut water (about 17 oz) cost MYR 5.60, about $1.25USD. I paid about MYR2 (about 50 cents US) for a string of hot chili peppers when we first got here, and they are really, really hot, so we only need to use a little each time. We still have some left. We shop at a Mercado grocery in the nearby Sunway Putra Mall; the Mercado chain is known in KL to be a bit high priced, although the Sunway Putra Mall Mercado is not as pricey as some. We often get fruit at the MBG in the same mall. All of the prices in the photos below are in Malaysian Ringitts (roughly divide by 5 for USD equivalent).
We have found the flavor of the fruits and vegetables to be fresh and more intense than the flavors of similar items in the U.S. The groceries here are stocked with may different flavorful sauces, in bottles and in pastes.
What have we made at home? Pesto with extremely flavorful basil, stir-fried noodles, stir-fry vegetables with rice, & pasta, to name a few. Lots of fresh fruit, on the side.
As I mentioned, Paul's go-to comfort food is Japanese pickles with rice. We had difficulty finding the pickles, which surprised us because several of the big malls and department stores are Japanese-owned. We were told to go to Don Don Donki. Paul was reluctant, because in Japan the Don Quixote chain is like a Walmart - cheap and low quality. But, here they are a bit more upscale, and had a pretty good Japanese food selection, including many pickles (but not the umeboshi plums he craved). We've been a few times and had some satisfying meals.
We do sometimes splurge for Western items, which cost more. For example, a very nice bottle of French Burgundy might cost MYR 178, or $40USD. A good NZ white, however, is much less expensive. An 8oz. bag of Starbucks coffee beans is MYR 45, or about $9USD, and lasts us about a week.
Standard local fare - dine in or take out
The other half of our ordinary daily fare are inexpensive local restaurants, either to visit or get take-out using Grab (like UberEats). Some of our favorites have included:
Dubyo, a Korean place in the local mall. The meal below, for two, plus two iced tea drinks, cost MYR49.80, about $11USD.
Secawan in Central Market
This delicious curry mee with a drink, cost MYR 18.50, or about $4.20 USD.
Sewatdee, a thai restaurant in the local mall. Our curries and drinks cost MYR56.8 for 2 of us, about $12.50 USD.
Kim Yong Gee, a Chinese restaurant located in Chinatown, where our filling noodle dishes with beef and drinks cost about MYR 80, or about $18USD.
Zok Noodle House, located in the Sunway Pyramid Mall, near the medical centre where we have seen doctors, the signature noodles cost MYR 61.70, about $13.50 USD. We visited near the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Dolly Sim Sum, a Chinese place in our nearby mall. Slightly higher price, but still in a great range, and good dumplings and Thai rice. The sweet & sour chicken is nice, with fresh pineapple & dragonfruit, cucumbers, and a very light sauce. The meal below, and two drinks cost MYR108.80, or about $24USD.
Sometimes we (usually Paul) craves pizza or burgers. We love the pizza at Pizza Roma, a local Italian restaurant that delivers. We usually order 2 12" pizzas with multiple toppings for about MYR 99, or $22 US. These are hand-tossed, Italian style. We usually eat half, and Paul has pizza leftovers for a couple of days for lunch. Paul has ordered from McDonald's (1 cheeseburger with large fries and coke), MYR 31, or $6USD. He has also ordered from Burger King MYR 54, $12USD for a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a coke.
Dessert Places
We've frequented two places that specialize in desserts worth mentioning. The first is called Nadeje, which makes crepe cakes. I had never had a crepe cake. Basically, it is a stack of crepes with flavored whipped cream in between each crepe, and a whipped cream frosting on top. Each slice comes with a tube to squirt more flavor on top. We've had chocolate and orange ones (orange in honor of Chinese New Year). At the nearby mall, you can get two slices of cake for MYR 39, or $8.75USD. Not only are they tasty, but they are less caloric than regular cake.
The same night we ate at Mesa on 51 for my birthday (see below), we went to the KLCC mall to see a Lion Dance for Chinese New Year. We had a small snack at the Salon du Chocolat, which is as delicious as it looks and sounds. The cost for one dessert, one small chocolate shot, and one cappucino was MYR 55, or about $12USD.
Delightful surprises - elevated dining that is reasonable on the budget
We've also enjoyed some places with exceptional food at a slightly higher, but still low (for us) price. These restaurants, for us, offer an elevated quality at very reasonable prices.
Dot's Cafe. This restaurant is at the top of our list. The food is created by Chef Brandon Rodrigues, a trained chef who offers private dining (which is where we first met him - more in the next section about that). He comes from Melacca, a city in Malaysia where Portuguese sailors inter-married with Malay women in the 1500's, resulting in a thriving Eurasian community usually referred to as Kristang. Brandon set out to offer the food his grandmother, Dorothy, cooked, but with a modern, creative twist. The result is food with exceptional flavor in every bite. The eggplant is roasted with a dark sauce and covered in pepper. We ate curry and lasagna with "devil sauce" a nice, spicy accompaniment to popping flavors. we had baked fish Portuguese style, with a lovely red sauce. The duck salad was phenomenol - zingy with spice, but a light vinegar dressing and fresh veggies. The drinks are inspired by fresh juices mixed with sodas. I even got a folk song recommendation - Jinkli Nona - and sang it for them the second time we visited! You can see the video here.
Below are photos from two visits. Our meal of Black Pepper Brinjal (eggplant), Devil's Lasagna, Portuguese Baked Fish, Smoked Duck Seyback (salad with duck), and two drinks (the Jinkli Nona, of course, and a Coconut Island), cost MYR 129.10, or $29USD. The first time, I drank the Lambong, which is ginger beer & mango (ask about it's interesting story when you go!) We have often made ginger beer & dark rum (Dark & Stormy), ginger beer & bourbon (Kentucky Mule) drinks in our home, so this felt like a natural extension with a Malaysian twist. We tried two desserts (one on each visit) - a lovely panna cotta in a tasty sauce, and an Asian egg tart. The egg tart had a perfect pie-like crust, and the rich eggy filling had a lovely cinnamon flavor. You'll notice in several of the photos that there are edible flowers on the food. Brandon loves gardening, and often incorporates flowers and plants into his dishes. Bottom line: if you are in KL, go to this restaurant! It is located at 20a, Jalan USJ 4/1, Usj 4, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, a little bit away from the tourist areas, but well worth a Grab ride there.
Zenmai Sushi
Paul is a bit of a sushi snob. He's just spent too much time in Japan, where the sushi is always fresh and pretty much perfect. But even Paul loves Zenmai. It is located in several of the more upscale malls. We've eaten at two of them - Berjaya Times Square and Pavilion Mall. The one in Pavilion is located on the top floor in "Japan Street". The evening we ate there, Chinese New Year was still going on, so we had the Yee Sang (Prosperity Toss), a Malaysian-Chinese New Year specialty featuring raw fish and salad with a yummy dressing. We also had a special mango-topped lucky dragon roll as well as tempura, & other sushi. That time, we spent MYR 92, or about $21USD.
Halab
We lived in Michigan for over 20 years, and we have had really good middle eastern food. We found a place in KL that has excellent food, and all of our favorites: hummus, falafel, baba ganoush (actually, what we would call baba ganoush, they call moutabal, and it was delicious; what they called baba ganoush, we did not like as much); pita. Plus, mango shakes (the mango drinks are everywhere, here. We actually first went to this restaurant at the Lalaporte Mall in 2023, but recently went to the street-level restaurant in Bukit Bintang. The pitas are especially nice - warm, puffy, small and fresh. They also have kebabs and other dishes, both vegetarian and meat based. Their menu is extensive and varied. Portions of the mains are very large. The meal of everything below, plus falafels and grilled meat and vegetables cost MYR 166, or $37USD.
Paradise Dynasty
In 2023 we took a day trip to the Genting Highlands, and at the mega mall at the top of the lift, there were many steamed dumpling restaurants. We chose Paradise Dynasty and we thought the dumplings were amazing. They fold frozen chicken broth, pork balls, and other flavors into the dumpling dough, then steam them. When you bite, the warm broth spills into your mouth. They are amazing. We also loved their garlic cucumber salad and spicy hot pot dish. Beware - the spicy hot dish is REALLY spicy! Total price of this meal (plus, I think, we ordered some fried rice, but not sure) was MYR 169, or $38USD.
Oh Yeah, Banana Leaf in Brickfields
As I mentioned, we never quite found Indian food that we thought was special when we were here in 2023. Our favorite chef, Brandon Rodrigues, gave us a few recommendations. We chose Oh Yeah, Banana Leaf because we wanted to try a good banana leaf version and we wanted to visit Brickfields, and Indian neighborhood in KL. There are several wonderful Hindu temples there. We were not disappointed. We ordered way too much (the portions were bigger than we expected) but we had a second dinner a few nights later from leftovers. The wait staff were really helpful and nice. The food had lots of flavor, was pretty spicy, and it was a nice variety. We especially liked the butter chicken, the fish curry, and the rogan josh. Paul loved the very large order of onion pakora. The lamb was really tender. The pepper chicken was less interesting to us. Once again, a mango drink (mango lassi for me) and a coconut drink for Paul. Total price, MYR 130, or about $29USD.
Celebratory splurges
We arrived in KL just before Thanksgiving, ushering in Christmas, New Year's, then in January Paul's birthday followed by my birthday. We had traveled a long way to get here. We wanted to celebrate Christmas and New Year's in style, and go high-end. I had read of several places with great Christmas/Christmas eve dinners and New Year/New Year's eve buffets. By the time I started trying to book about a week before Christmas, most of them were sold out. I was able to book us a table on Mesa on 51 for Christmas Eve. I was a little taken aback when I saw the price for the 5-course set menu: MYR 1577 for the two of us, a whopping $350! But, we reasoned, we really did want a fancy meal. All of which was arguably affordable but after we got there, taken in by the incredible view, attentive wait-staff, and amazing food, we also ordered a bottle of French Pomerol wine, and after the meal had after-dinner alcoholic drinks (a Bailey's and a Grand Marnier). So that added a lot more. I won't say how much. The tapas were really, really good. Tasty, well-prepared, and just the right amount. The chef was very creative with each dish - familiar Spanish dishes such as paella and crab, but with interesting flavors. There was a good variety to the meal. Paul said in part we were paying for the location, view, service, and atmosphere. This is true. The only place we ever ate in KL with a similar view was the top of the KL Tower, which cost $200USD in 2023, and the food was not nearly as good. Also, Mesa on 51's sister restaurant, Marini's on 57, a rooftop Italian restaurant, has a Michelin star. Mesa on 51 just opened last year so I wouldn't be surprised if it gets one, too!
I had booked us the New Year's Day buffet at the Four Seasons. Paul and I really wanted the Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings, because I had read they have an American head chef, Executive Chef Junius Dickerson, and we had not had any turkey on Thanksgiving. But, we were unable to book that, so we booked New Year's Day buffet instead. Afterwards, I saw that we could order the turkey and all the trimmings as take-out. Price of this 4-6 person turkey feast: MYR 711, about $150USD. Because it was so much food, we made four meals of it. The meal included a entire roast turkey, stuffing, truffle mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, carrots with hazelnuts, and fingerling potatoes. Each dish was just marvelous. You could tell especially, that the turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing were the inspiration of an American chef, but everything was just elevated, for example, the truffle butter in the mashed potatoes and the lovely texture of the cranberry sauce. The meal included mincemeat pie with caramel sauce, but because I didn't know if we would like that, I ordered a small chocolate dessert, and a small NY style cheesecake. The first night we ate the food as prepared. The next two nights, we had turkey sandwiches. Finally we had a turkey stir-fry for a fourth meal. That made the price feel a bit more reasonable. We thought the mincemeat pie was well made and tasty, but too rich for our liking so we only ate a bit of that. The other desserts were divine.
On New Year's Eve, we stayed in and prepared some fruit, cheese, & champagne for our midnight view out of our window of fireworks all over the city. That was very inexpensive.
The New Year's Day buffet at the Four Seasons did not disappoint. First we saw beautiful decorations. There were large buffet tables in three different rooms, with different stations, including appetizers, cheeses, main courses, crab and lobster, drinks, and desserts. We were only sorry we no longer have the ability to eat such large quantities of food, so we tried to be careful not to put too much on our plates and sample as much as we could. I was especially impressed by the cheese table - I've never seen so many different cheeses in one place. Everything tasted really good. When we first arrived, we happened to run into Chef Junious Dickerson, who was just asking if people were having a good time. We told him how much we loved the turkey dinner and he seemed pleased. Just before we left, a young waiter brought us a box of chocolate truffles. He said they were from Chef Dickerson, who wanted us to have them! They were as delicious as they were beautiful. Total cost: MYR 653, about $146USD.
For Paul's birthday a few weeks later, I racked my brain to come up with something special. I landed on the idea of hiring a personal chef from a site called Take a Chef. For MYR900, about $200USD, a trained, experienced chef will come to your home and cook a multi-course dinner. I was able to select the chef, discuss the menu with him in advance, tailor it to our tastes, and pay online. About 2 hours before the meal was to begin (we were allowed to set the time), Chef Brandon Rodrigues and his sous-chef Randy arrived at our apartment. They brought containers full of sauces and prepared items. Then, they began cooking. They explained each dish. The dishes were a mix of Malaysian components, French cooking, other Asian cuisines, and Brandon's own culture, the Kristang Portuguese-Malay culture of Malacca, where he is from (yes, this is the same Brandon who owns Dot's Cafe). Each bite was refreshing, delicious, and unlike anything we've eaten before. We enjoyed the flowers and plants he incorporated into the cuisine. We felt very pampered. But even more, spending time getting to know Brandon and Randy was really special. We know these talented young men will go far in the food industry!
My birthday was only 10 days later. So, Paul decided to treat me, again, to Mesa on 51. We had marvelous tapas, once again. Our meal included olives, wonderful fresh breads, padronas peppers, an egg/potato tart, and other delights. This time, there was a roving violin player. It was lovely and each dish, truly delicious. The staff surprised us with a Happy Birthday cheesecake slice. Our view overlooked the Chinese New Year celebrations by the Petronas Towers. The price was about the same as Christmas Eve dinner. I had worried about the cost, but Paul assured me my birthday was worth the price. I had that feeling again that evening - same one I had at Movida in Melbourne - that this was the life I had always hoped to have. How lucky am I?
So that's a wrap on how we got our food groove back, in KL. There were places we didn't care for, or didn't think were worth the price (none of them mentioned here), but for the most part, we have eaten well these past three months.
Maybe more importantly, we have made some friends. Chef Brandon Rodrigues, his sister Nicole, and his assistants Randy and Iman have been great to get to know. I asked Nicole for a song recommendation - something from their Kristang community I could learn to play on my ukelele. Nicole recommended "Jinkli Nona", a very popular folk song from their community, often played at weddings. It is a "boy meets girl" song, and quite charming. There are many renditions of the song on YouTube. One I really like is this one, led by Trevor Nerva with dancers doing the dance. It is a great rendition of the song and dance as it is traditionally performed.
Finally, I found this modern version, with some English interspersed, by singer John Klass, a Singapore celebrity. I loved it, but based on the comments people really like it or hate it. It is not a traditional version by any stretch.
I learned the song and played it for Brandon & Nicole at Dot's a few days ago, which was really fun. Here is a more polished version that I made and posted on Youtube.
This hits home with us. We have been in Thailand for a couple of weeks and we love Thai food but just keep ordering the same things we like. There is more out there. I need to understand all the curry. It is fantastic in so many countries but what do I like best. I need to get in our Asian groove again.