KL’s food haven status is reflected in its’ eatery varieties: from hip cafes to family restaurants, from street hawkers to the city’s favourite haunt, the food courts.
Whether it’s open-air Medan Selera or in the lower ground of air-conditioned malls, diners are spoilt for choices with the variety of affordable food and beverages under one food court.
Suria KLCC and Pavilion have Signatures Food Court and Food Republic respectively, the busiest food courts in KL, both offering a wide range of cuisines for shoppers and office crowds.
In Signatures, Diners can choose from mamak-style food and rice dishes to Café Milano’s pastas, teppanyakis and fast food favourites like Subway and Fuel Shack, while dining overlooking the KLCC Park.
The vast and always full Food Republic has more than 30 food stalls. The open dining concept offers a browsing of endless food options, including Yong Tau Foo, Express Teppan-yaki, Toast Box, Ayam Penyet, Laksa Sarawak and finish off with John King’s egg tarts.
In the basement of Lot 10 mall in Bukit Bintang, the world-renowned Hutong food court boasts popular delicacies like Kim Lian Kee’s black Hokkien noodles, Soong Kee’s beef noodles, fish noodles from Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles House and durian ice cream from Durian Lagenda. This premier non-halal joint is designed after the charming streets of old Beijing with accented vibrant colours and individual stalls.
Close to the city centre near the KL General Hospital is the Kampung Baru hawker centre. Very popular during lunchtime but more amazing at night, it is known for its Malay cuisine and East Coast specialities, where you can get hard-to-find dishes like sotong sumbat and nasi air. Some popular stalls include Al Fiyah Lontong Jawa Asli, Gulai Kawah Selera Timur and Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa.
Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman area has some of the best food courts in town. Semua House’s basement food court, which serves both halal and non-halal options, is small but packs a punch for the lunch mobs. KL staples like nasi campur, vegetarian Punjabi/ Indian dishes, and roasted chicken and pork rice are available.
Walk over to the building behind Semua House and you will find the famed City One Plaza Food Court. Located on the second floor, this is probably the best place to get value-for-money Northern Indian and Pakistani food. From aunthentic briyanis and kebabs to samosas and fresh cookies out of the oven, the quality of food here rivals much fancier restaurants around KL.
