Finding Good Food in KL on A Budget

Malaysia is a gastronomic wonderland. Good food is one of Malaysia’s quintessential qualities and we don’t disappoint when it comes to providing phenomenal culinary delights. While we have a vast selection of sumptuous and tantalizing food fare available at anytime of the day, there are some of us who have to eat within a budget at times. Fret not however, as amazingly affordable food can easily be found throughout the Kuala Lumpur landscape. These places often serve mouth-watering dishes for only half the price it would cost you to have a meal at McDonalds, while being equally as fast and is a hundred times tastier. It is almost impossible to not eat well when in Kuala Lumpur, no matter your financial situation.

Chinese Coffee Shop Restaurants

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Scattered throughout the city are Chinese coffee shop restaurants that serve delectable dishes at reasonable prices. Dishes such as Won Ton Mee, springy egg noodles served with a side of soup with pork dumplings and BBQ pork, can set one back around RM4.50 (~USD$1.50). Other food treasure varies from coffee shop to coffee shop, and usually depends on what each vendor specializes in. Other dishes such as the immensely tasty and popular Char Keow Teow (stir-fried rice noodles with light soy sauce, spring onions, eggs, cockles, prawns, chilli, and fishcakes) or Chicken Rice (Chicken flavoured rice served with steam or roasted chicken) also costs around RM4.50-RM5.00, depending on the sizes available. For those with big appetite, ordering two portions of different types of dishes would still only cost you around an estimated RM10.00. If you have a hankering for tasty food but don’t wish to splurge tons of money, Chinese coffee shop restaurants are your best bet. They can be found at almost any major streets in Kuala Lumpur as well as around the Klang Valley. Just ask a local where the best coffee shop is and they’ll be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Mamaks

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Another common eatery easily found in abundance on almost every street in KL is the Mamak restaurant. Mamaks serve predominantly Indian-Muslim food fare and offer affordable tasty delights that range from Indian styled flatbreads, fried noodles, to curried rice. These Malaysian cafés cum restaurants typically serve Nasi Kandar, which consists of a bevy of different types of curries, vegetables, seafood, and fried meats. This mixed curried rice dish typically sets one back for less than RM10. Roti Canai, Maggi Goreng, Tandoori Chicken, and naan breads also usually cost less than RM10. Drinks are extensive and reasonably priced as well, with most drinks ranging from RM1.50-RM2.00+. Different mamaks specialize in different things, some offering better dishes than others. Pizza naans, dry-curried chicken, teh tarik (pulled tea), mee goreng, mutton soup, and a plethora of other yummy goodness await the budget-conscious hungry traveller. As an added bonus, most mamaks around the city are open 24/7.

Street Side Stalls

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Another extremely viable option to enjoy good and cheap food is to visit one of the many street stalls that are spread all over the KL landscape. Street food is one of the best ways to sample a culture’s gastronomic pleasures, as it is often unpretentious, simple, and modest. Street side stalls selling Malay, Chinese, and Indian food and desserts are often affordable and delicious. They usually cost around RM10 for a meal with a drink, and maybe slightly more if you’re really hungry. In fact, some Malaysians will even tell you that the best versions of certain Malaysian dishes such as Nasi Lemak, Chicken Rice, or Beef Noodles, can be found in certain famous street side stalls. With a relatively low operating cost, these street side stalls charge very little in return for delicious food. Be warned though, not all street side stalls serve yummy hygienic food. A good way to see if the food is ok for consumption is to use a combination of your common sense and the popularity of the place to see if it’s worth dining there. Popular places in KL that have a concentration of street vendors include Jalan Alor and Chinatown.

Restaurants that Offer Set Lunches

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Since KL has a diverse variety of places that serve affordable good food, restaurants around town have long offered set lunches to compete with more affordable eateries, such as the ones mentioned above. These restaurants typically range from middle to upper class establishments and offer various set lunch menus (ranging from cheap to expensive; depending on the establishment) in hopes of attracting the working lunch crowd. Restaurants that typically offer good lunch deals usually include a main meal and a drink with prices averaging around RM10-RM20+, with the quality of food being generally quite palatable. Other more affluent restaurants will tend to offer three to four course set lunches at higher prices. It is relatively easy to find restaurants that offer set lunches around the city, and many establishments are more than happy to let you examine their set-lunch menu upon request. A quick tip, if the restaurant is empty, it generally means the food is not that great, however reasonable the prices might seem. Malaysians are diehard foodies and the congestion of a restaurant is normally a great indicator if the food is worth your time and money. It should also be noted that some restaurants offer set dinners as well, albeit for a higher price than their set lunches.

Annalakshmi (Honourable mention)

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While the aforementioned varieties of food joints are the most typical types of places KL’s residents usually flock to, one unique place in town falls into the ‘pay anything you want’ food category. Annalakshmi is an Indian vegetarian eatery in Brickfields that works on the extremely modest ‘you-pay-what-you-want’ principle. With all proceeds going towards the Temple of Fine Arts, this place is essentially a charity restaurant. The food here is all cooked by volunteers and is as tasty as it is tempting. Annalakshmi serves a daily buffet spread that changes everyday; all while focusing on providing healthy and wholesome food fare. While it opens for both dinner and lunch, it is typically busiest during lunch hours. The place is styled with classical Indian furnishings.

Written by Tien Chew

First published August, 2013