On the third day of our KL tour we chow down in Chow Kit, lunch at KLCC, eat out of toilets and end the night bowling. As anyone would do on a holiday.
We'd spotted this cool looking open air Indian restaurant the day before, and head back for breakfast. Surrounded by trees it's like a little green oasis in KL's Golden Triangle.
Brekky - packet nasi lemak, roti canai and kaya toast.
Beside this place is a rival roti joint, we never did find the kitchen though.
Hookah pipes for your pleasure. They usually had customers later at night sitting around smoking and shooting the breeze.
Random Engrish.
On the monorail again. It's not just for tourists.
Random KL street. There was a surprising amount of green around, it hasn't all been concreted.
We hit Chow Kit market for snackages and brunch.
The guide books and travel supplements always depict Asian food markets as exotic and colourful. In truth they're both heaven and hell: it stinks to high heaven, and it's as hot as hell, but they are amazing places, exotic and colourful. Stick to the shade and block your nose, because there's usually always good nom noms at the market.
Chow Kit seems to have had better days, it's quiet and reminds us more of central market from a smaller town.
Lots of food ready to go.
Murtabak stall, gimme.
Super friendly murtabak dudes.
Murtabak under construction.
The finished article, complete with sweet sauce, delicious. There was a strong turmeric flavour and you can see the colour coming out in the yellow oil.
Random food stall.
So many fresh looking feeds to try.
Drinky-poo time.
An apam balik stall .
We learn from eating and Google that apam bilik is a pancake filled with peanut and sweet corn. It's sweet and filling, nice but not a mind blower. Love the crumpet-like texture of the pancake. This was less that $1, joy.
Tins of sweet corn proudly on display.
Kek stall. Kek (cake) is our favourite Malaysian word.
Gorgeous old food stall.
Market kuching reporting for duty.
Pat tart kuching.
Groovy old market buildings.
Noodle making machine.
Lovely old Chinese shop.
The 'upstairs' eating section, the Chow Kit equivalent of the Westfield's food court. Old timers seem to like this bit.
Random alley in Chow Kit.
After scouring the market we pick this joint for lunch.
Grab a plate of rice and help yourself. It's like Sizzler Chow Kit.
The food is so fresh. We'd like to dive into this picture and roll in it.
Our selections: fried tofu with mince, okra, pork (which the boss lady kindly cuts up for us) and a sweet pineapple or crunchy fruit in a mild sambal.
Groovy dining area. This part of the market looked like it was built in the thirties and the rest just seemed to evolve around it. The architecture had quite an age to it.
Ye olde biscuits at a ye olde market stall.
We're so jealous of the produce such as this tumeric and galangel, so fresh, abundant and cheap. Ingredients that cost a kidney at home flow like water here.
Kek ladies.
Dried fish doesn't stink so much.
Fresh seafood. It stinks.
Fresh greenery.
Meat sliced and portioned and ready to go, it's like the meat section at Coles but without annoying celebrity chefs.
We came looking for romance, but it's just a meat market. Wah wah waaaah....
Super friendly chicken seller.
Random food stall. The spice grinder to the right sure beats a blender.
Deep frying tofu en masse.
As a matter of fact, he could go a VB right now.
The universal hell of being a little bloke stuck with your mum in a dress shop.
A random street in KL.
OH&S.
The lovely tree lined streets as we walk up to KLCC, the fancy pants shopping centre beneath the amazing Petronas Towers.
Mr Kuching tending the garden outside KLCC. After we gave him a scratch he swivelled his date in our direction and sprayed, a pussycat business card.
If you want to eat with the locals and you like aircon and hygiene, then head for a shopping centre food court. The food doesn't seem as good as it does outside, but man, it's 33 degrees celsius and 80 percent humidity out there. KLCC has two food courts on different floors, but it's still a bitch to find a table at lunchtime.
A plate of nasi padang - the spicy Indonesian food from North Sumatra, it's a bit tame spice-wise but it's nice and fresh.
Alison orders squid rojak expecting something light, fresh and healthy. But this version of rojak includes chunks of bready stodge and a thick, lardy sweet sauce. It's naughty but oh so nice.
Terminator goes for goat curry with biryani rice, not as tasty as it looks.
Miss Economical Bihun opts for a young coconut, but gets an old coconut instead. Happens to the best of us.
We head out for dinner later and pass by the ice drinky-poo and food-on-a-stick cart near our hotel.
Earlier in the day we saw an ad for a 'toilet' restaurant, it's so crass and tacky that we just have to do it. Patrons sit on porcelain thrones, and eat from little dunnies and bed pans.
Squatters are available for a more authentic Asian experience.
One section has this plastic dude looking over the wall at the next table like a peeping tom. Creepy.
A good sized serve of crispy chicken ramen, served ala American Standard.
This was supposed to be topped with cream and made to look like a panda. The Oreo slush was OK but the kawaii factor was sure gone.
Little fish cake faces in a spicy Korean style seafood ramen.
There's something about a cheese covered toilet bowl of prawns and spaghetti that just drives Shawn wild.
Another version of spicy seafood ramen, with more tofu.
Poo icecream.
More poo
Strangeness abounds. We thought the strangest part of the restaurant was not the décor or food in toilet bowls, but the blasé attitude of the patrons who seemed to not care they were eating out of toilets, they even seemed a bit bored by it all. We wondered why they were there when there was far better and cheaper food outside. The mysteries of the orient, eh?
After eating out of toilets another way to beat the heat was to go bowling at the Ampang Super Bowl in Berjaya Times Square. The only person worse at bowling than Shawn was handicapped by a burqa. You could buy Tiger beers, bowl and enjoy the action.
We love Malaysia.
Awesome! been waiting for an update of your M'sia adventure. I love murtabak!
ReplyDeleteDo you guys ever feel abit self counscious/weary/uncomfortable in these 'street side' surroundings? I'm not talking about the food but rather some of the locals?
We find folks are generally nice wherever you go, if you smile they will to :-)
DeleteLove the markets photos!
ReplyDeleteEwwww, Mr Whippy type poos in a loo. How classy. The Mr Kuchings on other hand, very classy!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and pictures as usual! It looks like I would love Malaysia too if I ever get the chance to visit the place!
ReplyDeleteWe went to that toilet restaurant too!! Love, love, love the kuchings :)
ReplyDeleteDid you find it weird that everyone else thought it was normal? We love pussycats - can you tell?
DeleteGreat post (as are all your posts), very jealous, haven;t been back to KL for many years. Whatever possessed you to waste a whole meal time at that toilet place???!!! Very funny captions, eg:
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, he could go a VB right now.
The universal hell of being a little bloke stuck with your mum in a dress shop.
Hahahaha. Keep it up!
Stan.
Only our shrink knows why we eat at toilet restaurants.
DeleteDo you know the address of the toilet restaurant ??
ReplyDeleteSungei Wang Plaza - 3rd Floor ( Second Outlet - 10th Dec 2009 )
ReplyDelete3F-No 41 & 42, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.
Business Hour: Mon-Sun (11am - 10pm)(Last Call 9.30pm)
* Free Wifi Available
Reservation: YES (On weekdays only)
http://www.t-bowl.com/T-Bowl_SungeiWang.php
How about the location of the murtabak stall? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's in Chow Kit market.
ReplyDelete