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One of the best and most satisfying ways to explore a country’s culture is through its food, particularly the street fare favored by locals. We got to sample Kuala Lumpur’s street food scene last April with Food Tour Malaysia and it was a very filling experience, in terms of the food we tasted and the things we learned about Malaysian life.
Case in point: the tour started in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur’s Little India, where the ladies in the group were given a strand of jasmine flowers to be tied around our wrists. According to our guide Charlie, Indian women traditionally used these sweet-smelling garlands to keep fresh throughout the day. It was a nice touch and a practical one too, as throughout the 4-hour tour we navigated a maze of Indian eateries, Chinese noodle houses, dry and wet markets, and numerous streets under both the hot sun and a sudden downpour.
I’m not going to repeat everything that was discussed on the tour — well, I couldn’t anyway, because I wasn’t religiously taking down notes, I was too busy eating! But also because you really have to try the tour yourself if you’re ever in Kuala Lumpur. Suffice it to say it was a fantastic experience, one of the highlights of our 10-day trip. The topics ranged from Malaysia’s different cultural groups (the main three being the Malays, the Chinese, and the Indians) to the monthly minimum wage in Kuala Lumpur (around MYR 2,000) to how most Australians don’t actually say “g’day mate.” (And while we’re on the topic, most Filipinos don’t really say “mabuhay” in normal life, either.) The range of nationalities in the tour group was pretty broad as well, including English, Aussies, Dutch, Filipino, and a Swiss girl who was on day 2 of her round-the-world trip.
Most important: the range of food! I’ve always loved Indian cuisine so they had me at the first meal, a mash-up of dishes from an eatery in Brickfields where we were the only non-locals around. And, to be honest, I’m just saying “dishes” because I don’t remember the names of the food we ate; I just remember how good they were! My other favorites from the tour were the curry puffs, deep-fried lentils, and cendol, which is similar to the Philippine halo-halo. But the best thing ever was actually accidental: the black tea + ginger + condensed milk concoction that we decided to order while taking refuge from the rain inside a restaurant that was not one of the food tour’s usual stops.
You can book the food tour here or through Urban Adventures here. Highly recommended.
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“Walking Food Tour of KL” was created by LSS for travel site Small-Town Girls, Midnight Trains. All rights reserved.
I would love to do this but my trip to KL next time round will include my sister’s baby. Maybe next time. 🙂
Yeah, it’s probably not a good idea if you have a baby in tow. But you’re right, there’s always next time! 🙂 Enjoy KL!
Food tours are awesome! I went on a great one in Wellington, NZ (I wrote about it here: http://travelplacebo.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/a-zest-for-travel/ ). If I ever go to KL I’ll definitely have to give this one a try 🙂
I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand and now I have one more reason — the tour you joined sounds lovely!
I love food, period. 🙂 When I went to Singapore, I was amazed at all the food choices they had! Plus they were super cheap too!
Oh, I *love* eating in Singapore, especially at the hawker centres and food courts, because there’s something for everyone.
chilli crabs!!! and I got addicted to homemade ice lemon tea. mmm… 🙂
I don’t know why but iced tea in other ASEAN countries is just different from iced tea here in the Phils. And I’m not talking about the obviously commercial iced teas here but even the ones in fancy restos. Maybe because we’re not naturally tea drinkers so we haven’t mastered the craft yet.
In fairness ha, I still love our very own frozen iced tea. 🙂 The iced teas here in the states are either sweetened or unsweetened which to me, just tastes different too. It’s a hit or miss for me.
Actually…for the record…I drink Nestea iced tea all the time hahaha! So, not dissing it, but it’s just different. Hmmm…that’s actually a nice idea, comparing iced teas in different countries. #lifegoals 😀
That would be a project for you and a future post. 😉
a walking food tour is such a brilliant idea…!! I’d gladly join anything like this…you are so right you can learn a lot about a place based on the local cuisine!! love the photos, the food .looks sooo inviting :))
Sssshhh, I had to convert a lot of the photos to B&W because the colors clashed so much and I didn’t know how to fix them. 😀
“Sigh” looks tasty.
Very! 🙂