The morning sun filtered through the sleeper car’s blinds as I sprang out of my bed and grabbed my bag. The announcement boomed over the train’s intercom that we had arrived in Kuala Lumpur. I had boarded the overnight train from the southern Thai city of Hat Yai to spend five, gluttonous days in Malaysia’s cosmopolitan capital during the height of Ramadan. Although many of the city’s restaurants will be closed from sun-up to sun-down, I knew I’d find plenty to explore and plenty to eat in this fast-paced tropical melting pot.
Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it’s sometimes abbreviated, is a vast web of neighborhoods with an array of architectural styles and diverse landmarks separated by lush parks and towering tropical trees, making it seem like the city rose out from the jungle. Grand mosques, Hindu temples, and majestic British colonial buildings mix in with the traditional Malay architecture to form the bottom layer of the city’s skyline. As impressive as these buildings are, the true signposts of your arrival are its glass and concrete goliaths. The most famous being the Petronas Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004.
As I stepped outside the terminal, the intense tropical heat and disorienting skyline greeted me. I hopped in a taxi to take me to my modest accommodation. As soon as I entered, the taxi driver alarmingly put on a gas mask and locked the doors. I nervously started chatting to him and he immediately began apologizing after sensing my discomfort. “I have such bad allergies to the cologne and perfume foreigners use, that I have to wear this mask in order to breathe,” he politely warned me. I assured him that my travel partner and I weren’t wearing anything. We laughed it off and the driver went on to talk about his city and how he felt it had the greatest food in the world. And like a foretaste for our stomachs, he warmly said, “You came during the holy month. There’s plenty to do during the day but when the sun goes down you’re going to eat more than you’ve ever eaten in your life at the Bazaar Ramadan.”
The holy month of Ramadan is celebrated throughout the Muslim world. During the ninth month of the Islamic calendar all healthy adults are encouraged to abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, along with being charitable, patient, and kind to others. Every evening at sundown the strict fast is broken in the ceremonial feast known as Iftar. This is when the city’s best restaurants open their doors to hoards of hungry people and serve their best dishes. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of brightly lit street food stands line the streets. This is what my driver referred to as, Bazaar Ramadan.
KL is a diverse city, with the majority of its population being Muslim Malays, Buddhist and Taoist Chinese, and Hindu’s, mostly from the Tamil region of India. Unlike most capital cities in Asia, its history is relatively short. Founded in 1857 as a mining town at the converging banks of the Klang and Gombak rivers — the name Kuala Lumpur itself meaning muddy confluence — it quickly swelled in population, mostly from Chinese miners. Tin became a booming industry, so much so that in the late 19th century the ruling British and Malay Sultanates moved the capital of the Federated Malay States from Klang to KL. They then ambitiously constructed a modern railway network linking it to every major city on the peninsula. Fire proof brick and tile buildings went up expeditiously, forever altering the harsh Malaria-infested jungle landscape.
Before the stresses of WWII pulled the reins on the city’s growth, waves of immigrants began settling here. People from Southern India’s Tamil region, Southern China, and far away parts of the Indonesian archipelago sought out the vast industrial and agricultural opportunities being created. The groups were segregated into clustered communities by the ruling British and Malay sultanates, making them easier to govern. In the long run this early segregation allowed each community to preserve their rich cultural heritage and traditions which is why today, the city’s neighborhoods are so different from each other. After Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957, more immigrants settled in the already established enclaves, further enriching these areas with new businesses.
After brushing up on the city’s history a few days before visiting, I had an idea why some of the best South Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern food in the world can be found here. With a tentative eating spree in my mind and several days to kill, my travel partner and I set off into the concrete abysse of curbside culinary perfection.
Our first day in the city was a special one. We started off by having lunch in the covered Petaling Street Market in Chinatown. Some of the oldest restaurants like Song Kee still serve insatiable noodle dishes with heaping portions of noodles with an incredibly rich broth. Once we slurped down every last string of goodness we gorged on moon cakes and egg tarts at the special Bunn Choon pastry shop.
Avoiding an inevitable energy crash from the carbohydrate overload and tropical sun, we wandered around the Chow Kit Market. Less touristy than the Central Market, Chow Kit is full of wonderful shops and food stalls, selling literally everything under the sun. Just outside the market on the roadway Jalan Raja Alang you can find limitless small Malaysian restaurants surrounding the beautiful Kampung Baru Jamek Mosque.
At this point, briskly walking around the city is the only way to digest the insane amount of food you’ll likely eat in KL. Hopping around the different neighborhoods became our favorite activity and there was always something new to explore thanks to the efficiency of the metro system. After walking around the newer business district of the city we found our way to the city’s towering Menara Kuala Lumpur, one of the world’s tallest communications towers. From here you get one of the best views of the city and its famous landmarks.
As the sun started to set, loud calls began ringing out from the mosques, echoing throughout the city. Hundreds of hungry people began forming lines in the restaurants and street food carts. Ramadan Bazaar had begun.
During our first night my travel partner and I roamed the crowded streets in Bukit Bintang, looking for the most crowded restaurant we could find. We stumbled into a small nondescript place packed with people. As soon as we entered everyone looked at us like we were lost. Once the shock of our presence wore off, a family made room for us at a table in the middle and the waiter seated us next to them. Once we settled in, we followed everyone else into a line by the buffet. We loaded up on a mix of Syrian and Lebonese treats: falafel, shawarma, dolmas; even Persian dishes like crispy Tahdig rice and Fesenjan were open for the taking.
As we began filling our plates, two men came up to us and asked if they could dine with us. One introduced himself as the restaurant’s accountant, a Persian man of middle-age, and the other its manager, a young 30-ish man from Syria. “You’re the first westerners we’ve seen here in a long time,” the manager told us. They both wanted to practice their English and welcome us as guests. Their hospitality was confusing at first but our conversations soon turned into hours of exchanging stories about our homelands, our travels, and our food. They brought fresh dishes off the menu, straight from the kitchen, free of charge. As the last customers called it a night, we stayed. Midnight flew by and we had only begun our dessert of freshly baked Kanafeh and tea. Hearing their emotional and nostalgic stories left us absorbed in the moment. The manager left war torn Syria for KL in the hopes of finding a normal life and escaping the brutality that claimed the lives of people close to him. The accountant left Iran to pursue a life abroad and to find true love. As we parted ways just a few hours shy of sunrise we exchanged email addresses and wished each other the best. The restaurant, sadly, is no more, taken over or sold. Our new friends moved on to better things. And in the morning as we woke up from our food hangover we both acknowledged that we had one of the most impactful dining experiences of our lives.
Contrary to my initial descriptions of the city, there’s a lot more to KL than just eating. Day two started out at the KL Lake Gardens which contains one of the world’s largest aviaries. Here we started at the Perdana Botanical Garden, surrounded by an overwhelming variety of tropical plants and hibiscus. The park’s fresh air is contagious, and many of the city’s residents use it as a temporary escape from urbanity. Avoiding the heat, we headed to the Kuala Lumpur Bird and Butterfly Parks to spend an hour cuddling up to different species of colorful tropical birds.
Just outside the park is the National Mosque of Malaysia. A beautiful structure and a must-see landmark with strict visiting times for non-Muslims. To the north we walked past the National Monument, dedicated to the Malays who lost their lives in WWI and WWII. For those who love art and history, the Islamic Arts Museum and the National Museum of Malaysia are a must. Inside, visitors can explore exhibits about the country’s history and culture as well as get lost in the incredible collections of global Islamic Art.
With our sightseeing and museum hoping complete, we returned to Chinatown for wantan mee and Hokkien Mee noodles. A person could spend days sampling these Cantonese staples in Chinatown’s glorious food stalls.
Leaving Chinatown with full bellies, we were ready for our afternoon adventure. That is until we passed a Ramly Burger stand. Neither of us eat fast food, but we figured something this popular with the locals is worth a try. These juicy beef or chicken patties are covered in sauce, wrapped in egg, and served on a fluffy toasted bun. The burgers are an invention by founder Ramly bin Mokni. Ramly wanted to create a frozen and fast food chain that was guaranteed halal. Now these carts can be found everywhere in KL and throughout Malaysia and have become one of the nation’s staples.
After eating our hearts out in Chinatown and tasting the famous Ramly Burger we boarded the short train to take us 30 minutes north to the sacred Hindu site known as the Batu Caves. Its history dates back to the late 19th century, when the influential K. Thamboosamy Pillay built the first of many Hindu temples inside the giant limestone cavern. Dedicated to the Hindu god of war Lord Murugan, the temples became one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites outside of India. Today anyone can hike up the endless concrete stairs and enter the cave complex or even go rock climbing. Guarding the entrance, a giant 43m statue of Murugan stands in attention, protecting the vast cave system, its temples, and the unique flora and fauna that flourish inside.
After our busy second day in the city, we once again made our way to the Bukit Bintang neighborhood to walk around the famous Jalan Alor or “river road.” Like its name suggests, rows of stalls snake their way around the street, creating an endless stream of delicacies. This is where our Malaysian food journey began. Our idea of sampling the diversity of KL’s cuisines during the beginning of our trip was a wonderful experience but it would be unthinkable not to spend the majority of your time here eating Malay.
In Jalan Alor we sampled smokey satays with rich peanut sauce, the savory rice-fried chicken dish called Nasi Lemak, and my favorite: Nasi Kandar, a hodgepodge of assorted grilled meats served over a flavorful mound of rice and egg and generously topped off with a variety of curry sauces that devour everything in its path until it inevitably drips to the ground. This ridiculous gormandizing required a long evening stroll through the city to digest.
The next morning, again waking up with food hangovers, we ventured out to the 6-tiered Thean Hou Temple, a Chinese Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian national landmark and one of the largest temples in Southeast Asia. It was built in 1987 by the Hainanese Chinese community. Inside its arched red walls and angular roofs are beautiful prayer halls, with ornate ceiling designs that mesmerize the visitor. During the Chinese festivals, especially the Chinese New Year, the temple fills with thousands of people. Food stalls, Chinese theater and musical performances, and other cultural activities come alive, creating an incredible experience for everyone.
As the heat of the day passed and the sun fell behind the Malacca Strait, another Bazaar Ramadan began. Continuing our indoctrination into Malaysian culinary excellence we searched out the best Assam Laksa and Ikan Bakar we could find. Assam Laksa is a spicy noodle soup that’s full of shallots, herbs, and shrimp paste with a hint of sweet and savory flavors from the addition of pineapple and pungent spices. Ikan Bakar, grilled fish wrapped in banana leaf, was the perfect followup to the spicy noodles. Dipped in the salty and spicy dipping sauce and eaten over rice it’s hard to beat.
The morning brings intense tropical heat immediately after walking outside. Considering almost every home, hotel, and hostel here has its air conditioning blasting at all times of the day, exposure to the outside temperature can shock the nervous system. Kuala Lumpur, being such a hot environment, has plenty of small mobile stands serving fresh pressed sugar cane and various fruit juices for cheap, on-the-go, refreshments.
With Ramadan in full swing and lunch-time hunger creeping in, we headed over to the neighborhood of Brickfields, also known as Little India, to search for some authentic Tamil cuisine. Here we enjoyed rich Chicken Chettinad, coconut curries, Sambar, and the savory rice and lentil balls known as Idli; washed down with frothy mango and durian lassi’s. Aside from eating, there’s plenty to see and do in KL’s Little India. Wandering around the narrow streets and becoming absorbed in the maze of small jewelry shops, spice merchants, temples and mosques. The vibrant colors, sweet incense, and blaring Bollywood music give you a little taste of the sub-continent, all within a few city blocks.
To cap off the trip to Kuala Lumpur we visited the Petronas Towers. The twin highrises synonymous to modern Malaysia stand high above the central skyline. These iconic towers are fitting symbols of the city: Clean, grandiose, beautiful, and diverse in their elements of design. Sitting down for a dinner of grilled fish cooked in lime leaf, shrimp paste, and other aromatic greens served with sticky rice, we looked out over the city’s majestic skyline. Kuala Lumpur was a treat for our senses. To experience this city during the Muslim holy month was one of the most memorable moments in my five years in Asia. Someday, during the peak of summer, I wish to return to the garden city once again, to acquaint myself with the Bazaar Ramadan and further get to know the people who call it home.