10 Best Street Food at Kuala Lumpur Chinatown @ Petaling Street (local chef recommendation)

Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, is known to all Malaysians to be Kuala Lumpur’s food haven. Many of our best street food is concentrated here. A handful of them are only available here.

As a cooking instructor who teaches Malaysian cuisine, I am often asked where to go to sample Malaysia’s local street food. So I created a short tour in the form of Youtube video for my students:

1. Raw Fish Porridge @ Yuui Kee/ Hon Kee Porridge

Unlike Japan, in Malaysia, fish are rarely served raw. These shops are the exception. Raw, slice crap fish is served together with a bowl of hot porridge. The heat from the porridge would gently cook the fish!

HON KEE PORRIDGE
ADDRESS: 93, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
PHONE: 016-666 0603
OPENING HOURS: 4 am – 2.30 pm, opens daily
YOOI KEE PORRIDGE & CHEE CHEUNG FUN
ADDRESS: Tang City Food Court, 21 – 27 Jalan hang Lekir
PHONE: 012-320 5311

2. Cincau Soya Bean @ Kim Soya

While soya bean is available around the world, what makes it special at this stall is that it’s served with cincau, or grass jelly. Some people even nickname this drink Michael Jackson!

KIM SOYA
ADDRESS:4 9, Jalan Petaling, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur,
OPENING HOURS: 10 am – 11 pm, opens daily

3. Air Mata Kucing Petaling Street

A unique drink made with monk fruit, winter melon, and dried longan; this refreshing herbal drink is well-known at Chinatown. Because this drink is not easily available, every time I am at Chinatown, I will surely get a glass of it.

AIR MATA KUCING PETALING STREET
ADDRESS: Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
OPENING HOURS: 10 am – 10 pm, closed on Tuesday

4. Curry Laksa @ Madras Lane

Curry laksa is one of the must-try noodles in Malaysia. It’s made with heaps of tropical spices like lemongrass, shallots, galangal, and gigner. Some of the earliest stall in Malaysia selling curry laksa is at Madras Lane. One of it even helped earned Malaysia #2 spot at Lonely Planet’s Eatlist.

MADRAS LANE CURRY LAKSA
ADDRESS: 170, Jalan Tun H S Lee、50000 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor

5. Malaysian Mochi @ Madam Tang Mochi

This chewy dessert coated with roasted peanuts is locally known as Muah Chee. Madam Tang has been selling this dessert for many decades and infused local flavour such as pandan into it.

MADAM TANG MUAH CHEE QUEEN
ADDRESS: 42, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur,

6. Peanut Pancake @ Apam Balik

This peanut pancakes has man names: Apam Balik, Ban Chang Kueh, Tai Kau Min, etc. It’s made from flour, sugar, and roasted peanuts. While the ingredients seems ordinary, the taste and texture is spectacular – especially eaten hot.

PETALING STREET APAM BALIK
ADDRESS: Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur,

7. Black Hokkien Noodles @ Kim Lian Kee Hokkien Noodles

KIM LIAN KEE
ADDRESS: 92, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
OPENING HOURS: 11 am – 11 pm
PHONE: 03-2032 4984

8. Yong Tau Foo @ Madras Lane

If I could only eat one thing in the list, it is this Hokkien Noodles. The plate of yellow noodle is created almost 100 years ago in Kuala Lumpur using a lot of dark soya sauce, and cooked with charcoal on high heat. The black noodle is full of umami flavour and an elusive flavour we call ‘wok kei’.

MADRAS LANE CURRY LAKSA
ADDRESS: 170, Jalan Tun H S Lee、50000 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor

Yong Tau Foo, literally means ‘stuffed tofu’ but it is actually tofu/vegetables stuffed in fish paste. One of my personal favourite, this stall sells freshly fried Yong Tau Foo that attracts crowds. I love eating this together with Curry Laksa.

9. Egg Tarts @ Buun Choon

Buun Choon egg tart is another stall that has been around Chinatown for many decades. If egg tart is something common to you, I suggest trying their pandan flavoured egg tart. There is plenty of other local pastry that you can try.

BUUN CHOON EGG TARTS
ADDRESS: 80, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
OPENING HOURS: 8 am – 5 pm, Closed on Sundays
PHONE: 016-228 7625

10. Clam Lala Noodles @ Lai Foong Lala Noodles

If you like clams or prawns, and can tolerate alcohol, this seafood noodle restaurant is perfect for you. The soup is rich in umami flavour and wine. On top of the amount of ginger and chili used in making the soup, this soup would surely excite your palate.