Kuala Lumpur's Top Snacks and Food Streets

The Malaysian food critic Chua Lam has previously extolled the virtues of Jalan Alor. As dusk starts to fall, the street cafés set out their tables one after another, offering grills, Cantonese Teochew cuisine, seafood, and specialty snacks, or "small eats"—a whole range of delicacies with unique flavors. Convenient to access, explosively popular, and open into the small hours.

Wong Ah Wah's chicken wings are known far and wide—and come highly recommended. You'll find this restaurant at the far end of Jalan Alor. Also recommended are the charcoal-grilled devil ray, the curried mud crab, the three-treasure soup, the mixed chicken-lamb-beef kebabs, the salted-egg fried squid, and the black pepper crab, which are all delicious.

Wong Kim Lian Kee, situated on Jalan Petaling in Chinatown, across the road from a Chinese drinks store, is an old, time-honored restaurant founded in 1927. The most famous dish is the house specialty Hokkien mee (Chinese Fujian-style noodles), which can't be found anywhere else—served in thick meat gravy, they're super-tasty! The wat tan scrambled egg and prawn noodles and lo shu fun fried rice noodles are also worth a try: delicious and moreish. The new "Kim Lian Kee" is right next door (opened by the same owner); yet it is often the old "Wong Kim Lian Kee" restaurant that the food guides recommend.

This restaurant, opened by a Chinese Malaysian, has been running nearly 60 years and has always been massively popular. The beef here is beautiful: The beef meatballs are pounded by hand and the brisket is delicately flavored. To go with it, you can choose from thin or flat rice noodles or lo shu fun rice noodles ("rat's tails"), or alternatively, yellow wheat noodles or Hokkien wheat noodles in clear broth or just dry, according to your taste.

A cultural hybrid of Malaysian, Indian, and Western cuisine. As far as the locals are concerned, you can find something suitable for every meal of the day in Old Town. The nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk) is worth a try. The white coffee and Asian-style milk tea are especially recommended. Most tourists buy sachets of instant powder to take home with them as gifts.

Top Hat has walked away with the "Malaysia's Best Restaurant" accolade for 5 years running. Local celebrities are often seen at the venue, which mainly serves Western cuisine. The owner exhorts customers to finish their meals within 5 minutes of them being served, in order to appreciate the flavor to the full.

Happy Meal, located on Jalan Petaling in Chinatown, across from Popular Bookmall, offers a limited supply of its specialty durian cream puffs daily. This combination of chilled whipped cream and fresh fruit pulp wrapped in puff pastry is supremely satisfying on a scorching hot day. 4 per box, 3.4 Malyasian ringgit per box. Also worth sampling are the Swiss rolls (mango or durian flavor), the black sesame bean curd cake, and the cheesecake—all best eaten within half an hour, they're no good if you leave them longer.

Charn Kee Tasty Corner is on Jalan Alor just a few steps down from Wong Ah Wah's. Naturally, the main recommendation here is the house recipe fish paste rice noodles. This is the only place you can get the authentic version of this dish! With all the extra ingredients, in particular fish balls, this is one tasty dish with a delightful squishy texture.

Restoran Meng Kee Grill Fish lies toward the end of Jalan Alor next door to Wong Ah Wah's. This place is incredibly popular and prices are right on the money, not expensive at all. Grilled food is Meng Kee's signature, especially the devil ray, which the locals basically order every time they come; the skin is crispy, the flesh tender and flavorsome, and it comes with the boss's special sauce. At 15 ringgit a portion, complemented by a refreshing lemon water, the flavor is unforgettable.

A chain restaurant serving Malaysian dishes, well loved by the locals. Signature dishes include nasi lemak and large chunks of curried chicken with a special chili sauce where the fragrant coconut milk complements the rice perfectly. The flavor is superb, prices are reasonable, and—crucially—the portions are plenty big enough. Also worth sampling are the curry noodles, with a curry sauce that's fragrant and sweet and has plenty of extra ingredients. Top marks from everyone who's tried it.

PappaRich is themed around traditional family life and the décor is steeped in the style of Southeast Asia. The Pappa curry lasa special is particularly recommended with its strong curry flavor and satisfying sourness. Seriously tasty.

Komugi Café is a bakery originating from Japan that offers breads, cakes, and milk puddings. However, what we like best is its fully handmade candy at 3.5 ringgit a piece. A special mention also goes to the mango candy, which melts as soon as you taste it, filling your mouth with a burst of mango sauce. So good you won't want it to end.

If you've had your fill of Malaysian food, why not try a change of tack? We all love Chinese food after all! There is a branch of KiKi Taiwan Cuisine on the 4th floor of the Petronas Towers. The flavors are authentic and we ordered 2 set meals, which came to around RMB 110 including a 10% service charge and 5% taxes, so it was pretty good value. We recommend the crème caramel milk tea, which has a lovely sweet flavor. The crispy sweet potato balls are also worth a try.

The Kung Wo Tong restaurant on Jalan Pataling (Chinatown) has been a firm fixture in Malaysia for several decades. On a scorching hot day, its signature herbal turtle jelly (kwei ling ko) is as refreshing as it gets. A small pot of honey is served to add to your bowl, but actually the jelly isn't at all bitter, so it's good without it. The rich flavor is better than anything I've ever had in China. 8 ringgit per bowl.

The bak kut teh (pork-bone tea soup) has those delicate hints of tea and herbal medicine; chew on the bone part and the juices and soup fuse together to give it its acclaimed delicious flavorings. I heard from a friend that if you soak a dough-stick in the soup for a while, it absorbs the essential flavors and you experience another taste altogether as you slowly chew it.

The rusuk panggang (grilled beef) isn't half bad: The beef is supple and fragrant with a layered texture, while the mixed vegetable rice and green mango salad have a distinctive flavor. The durian cheesecake is sweet and plump, made to their own house recipe, and only available here. The prices are reasonable and it's worth a recommend; the ambiance, surroundings, and service were also impressive.

Meat lovers simply have to try any one of the spit-roasted meats here—We can't recommend it highly enough! We love coming here for dinner once a month, as we like the personal service, the tasty food, and the gorgeous décor. We've tried countless restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, and this is the best we've come across so far. The menu is updated at regular intervals.