KUALA LUMPUR | 08 FEB 2023

So, it's been a couple weeks. We've just come back from a short trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to visit Paige's family, so we used it as a bit of a break from blogging here. Rest assured, we're back to the usual weekly programming now!

Since our last newsletter, we've only dined at two Perth eateries - namely Ichirin and Balthazar (more on them next week). This week, we'll focus on some of the things we ate in Malaysia.

‌‌If you have any new fantastic food finds, we'd love for you to let us know via DM or email. If you have different opinions to us on food, that's fine - let us know too! We love to chat all things food. ‌

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‌‌‌Eddy & Paige‌

What We Ate 🍴

A number of the places listed are franchises that you'll find throughout Malaysia - this was probably the biggest culture shock thing for me, given franchises in Australia are mostly limited to fast food outlets. The ubiquitousness of franchise stores probably makes sense, as mall culture is a big thing in South East Asia (in Singapore and Malaysia anyway) and it probably makes sense to have well established tenants in malls.

Anywho.

When it came to Malaysian or Chinese food, we found the majority of our meals were decent, given well.. we were in Malaysia. When in doubt, a quick check on Google Maps helped us temper expectations where needed.

#1 The Chicken Rice Shop (Mid Valley outlet)

A staple dish one must try when visiting Singapore or Malaysia - Hainanese chicken rice. According to Paige, The Chicken Rice Shop has barely changed since her childhood. Bonus points for ordering through a QR code system.

#2 Nasi bungkus @ Bungkus Kaw Kaw (Mid Valley outlet)

Nasi bungkus means "takeaway" rice. It made for a great afternoon snack between two, or a lunch for one.

#3 Chicken curry, kaya toast and assorted kueh @ Nyonya Colors

For a quick breakfast one morning, we dropped into Nyonya Colors - a casual restaurant serving up Nyonya kueh and delights. Check out SBS's article for more on Nyonya. For a banana ABC like myself (Eddy), it took a little getting used to, in order to stomach a "heavier" breakfast.

#4 Tonkatsu by Ma Maison (Mid Valley outlet)

Ma Maison's been on our radar for some time - most noticeably when we saw it for the first time in Jewel Changi last year. Albeit, the 30 - 40 SGD price point did put us off. The Malaysian price was more wallet friendly. It was a solid meal, probably rivalling that tonkatsu you can find in Japan (Ma Maison is a Japanese franchise anyway).

Our only  criticism is the pork had a bit of a "pork smell" to it. Boar taint possibly?

#5 Porridge Time (1 Utama outlet)

One of the things I'll probably miss most about Asia is easy access to staple dishes like congee. Note a serve of porridge here and comfortably feed two.

#6 Rotiboy (1 Utama outlet)

The hype for these are real. Mexican coffee buns. It's kinda of like a more savoury pineapple bun with a glorious salted butter. You can inhale a couple of these easily.

#7 Chili's (Mid Valley outlet)

We broke up all the Asian food eating with some "western" food from Chillis (and I enjoyed consuming many many calories while on my diet break). This was a nostalgia meal for Paige, who frequented Chili's in her childhood.

#8 32Parfait (Mid Valley outlet)

32Parfait is a popular Korean dessert chain, offering, you guessed it - 32cm tall ice-cream. We tried the mango and strawberry flavour (unfortunately other flavours weren't available at the time) and it was ok - probably not something we'd get again as it's "purely for the gram".

#9 Manhattan Fish Market

Another nostalgia meal for Paige. Manhattan Fish Market primarily serves up seafood. Fried potato is refillable

#10 Tokyo Secret (Mid Valley outlet)

Japanese food is still as popular as ever, in Malaysia. To kill time before checking into our Airbnb, we got some cake and drinks from Tokyo Secret. The menu here is reminiscent of a Japanese family style menu (pizza, pasta, cakes, drinks and more). They also have a bakery next to the store (not to mention the cute interior of the restaurant!).

#11 Lemon Garden @ Shangri-La, Kuala Lumpur

For one of our "fancier" meals and another nostalgia meal for Paige, we dropped by Lemon Garden in Shangri-La. The restaurant offers a massive spread of Asian (Malaysian, Chinese and Japanese) dishes and western dishes. They even rotate the dishes halfway through the evening 🤯. It came to around $70 AUD per person, with quality being decent.

#12 Merchant's Lane, Chinatown Kuala Lumpur

Our first and only "brunch' was at Merchant's Lane in KL's Chinatown. We loved the funky, industrial vibes.

The favourite dish was their "Italian chow mein" - stir fried spaghetti with Malaysian chicken rendang. We love fusion brunch.

#13 NoLabel.Cuisines @ Tiffin by the Yard

Tiffan by the Yard is an abandoned train station turned into a culinary playground.

The vibes are very Sydney and Melbourne.

We ordered a steak bowl, roasted cauliflower and a pizza to share. All of which had fusion elements which escape my mind as I write this. Flavours were great - so much so we're probably more inclined to incorporate some of these elements more into our cooking.

#14 Mood Mood

Our last meal in KL was at Moodmood - a pasta / wine bar. The star of the show was the dry aged duck with a beautiful crust 🤩.

#15 Nasi campur bali @ Kunyit (Bali)

On the way back to Perth, we swung by Bali. We spent the majority of our 20 hour long layover in our resort, The Anvaya Beach Resort (it was cheaper to stay at the resort than to fly back direct from KL to Perth).

When in Bali, eat nasi Bali. PSA - the sambal was spicy.

#16 McDonald's Malaysia

Last but not least. No food list would be complete without sampling the local Maccas.

Maccas in Malaysia, commonly known as "McD" slaps. Be sure to try their nasi lemak (rivals some of the stuff we find here), ayam goreng (fried chicken) and their congee. Then wash everything down with my favourite - iced milo.

That's most of the stuff we ate during our time in South East Asia. Is there anything you want us to go in depth into? Let us know in the comments below!