Kuala Lumpur Travel Guide for Food Lovers

By Mark Wiens 45 Comments

Kuala Lumpur travel guide for food lovers

The famous duo of Petronas Towers probably pop up in your mind when you think about Kuala Lumpur…

…And while the Petronas Towers are pretty sweet to check out (I stared at them for about 30 minutes on my first visit, then got some street food and ate while looking at them), there are also many other things to explore, and lots of delicious food to eat while you’re in the city.

Kuala Lumpur travel guide
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is the largest and capital city of Malaysia. It’s a very modern city, with a highly developed infrastructure making it easy to get around by local public transportation. Shopping, history, culture, nature, and of course, food, are all available in abundance in Kuala Lumpur.

I personally really enjoy Kuala Lumpur. It’s a big city that offers so much to do, yet at the same time it’s friendly, easy to get around and there are delicious things to eat waiting at every corner.

In this Kuala Lumpur travel guide for food lovers I’ll share the things I enjoy most about the city, including where I normally stay, what I have done, and my favorite insiders food spots.

Things to do in Kuala Lumpur
Things to do in Kuala Lumpur

Arriving and leaving

There are 2 main airports that cater to Kuala Lumpur:

Other ways to get into Kuala Lumpur are by bus. The city is well connected to other parts of the country as well as Singapore by roadways.

What to do in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur offers a range of different activities to do depending on what you’re interested in. There are art museums, modern architecture, history, and lots of food and countless local restaurants to explore. Here are some of the most famous attractions in the city.

1. Petronas Towers – The two twin towers that touch the sky, and are connected by a skybridge on the 41st and 42nd floor, are arguably the most iconic images of Kuala Lumpur – they make the covers of many Kuala Lumpur travel guide books. They have since been surpassed multiple times, but at the time of opening, they were the tallest skyscrapers in the world. Price is 80 Malaysia Ringgits entrance.

2. Central Mosque and Historical Buildings – Though Kuala Lumpur is a city studded with incredible modern sky rise buildings, there is also a fascinating historical side of the city. Starting from Merdeka Square, where you can see a number of important landmarks like one of the world’s tallest flag poles, you can start walking towards the huge National Mosque (Masjid Negara). The mosque has a capacity to hold 15,000. Then continue to the museum and the old railroad.

3. Menara KL – Another landmark in Kuala Lumpur is the Menara KL, a huge communications tower. The structure is 421 meters in height, and you can pay a fee just to go to the top for a look at the viewing deck, or you can choose to have a meal at one of the restaurants. The Menara KL is also home to a world class annual BASE jump event, and I had a good friend participate a few years ago – so I was able to go to the top and enjoy some outrageous (and insanely scary) views from the top of the tower.

4. Little India – Little India in Kuala Lumpur is a lot better known as Brickfields. It’s a great place to walk around, browse, go shopping, and eat delicious Indian food – often south Indian food. You’ll pass Hindu temples, strands of bright yellow marigolds, and hear the sounds of the tabla drums and Indian tunes blasting from speakers on the side walk.

5. Chinatown – The Chinese have long been a part of Malaysia and in Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown is a pretty large section of town. If you’re looking for budget accommodation, Chinatown is a good option and a good location to base yourself from. The central part of Chinatown, right along Petaling street, is a great place to go shopping, especially if you’re looking for knockoff designer goods like handbags, shoes, and football jerseys.

6. Thean Hou Chinese Temple – Built by the local Hainanese community in Malaysia, the Thean Hou temple is a Taoist place of worship. The temple is positioned on a hill, just above Brickfields, and when you’re there, you can catch some nice views of Kuala Lumpur.

7. Central Market Kuala Lumpur – Also known as Pasar Seni, the Central Market in Kuala LUmpur is sort of a touristy shopping plaza. But if you’re looking for Malaysian souvenirs or little trinkets, it’s not a bad place to visit. Vendors are pretty friendly, and the shopping is peaceful and enjoyable.

8. KL Bird Park and Lake Gardens – If you’re a lover of nature, Kuala Lumpur has a number of attractive things to do. The KL Bird Park is home to the world’s largest in-flight aviary (a giant netted area where birds can fly freely, yet still caged). Also, be sure to take a stroll or even a jog through Kuala Lumpur’s Lake Gardens, a beautifully set up park that surrounds the city with lush tropical greenery.

9. Batu Caves – It’s hard to believe that just a few kilometers outside of the central part of the city, is a huge cave system surrounded by jungle covered limestone cliffs. The Batu Caves is one of the most sacred Hindu places of worship outside of India. When you get there, you can climb the series of steps to the top, enter the giant mouth of the cave, and navigate your way to the very top Hindu temple. I usually go in the morning, hike to the top, and then come down for a vegetarian banana leaf lunch.

10. Chow Kit Wet Market – One of the things I enjoy doing when I’m traveling in a country is to meander through the local fresh wet market. In Kuala Lumpur, the largest wet market is known as Chow Kit. It’s a sprawling market full of delicious produce, and a place you’ll find every ingredient necessary for cooking a local Malay feast. Do take normal safety precautions if you decide to visit Chow Kit market – especially be careful of your pockets, cameras, and valuables.

11. Malaysian Food – I could personally never write a list of top things to do in any city in the world without highlighting the local food, specifically the street food. And for the record, Kuala Lumpur has a food culture and scene that will whet your appetite from the moment you step off the plane. I personally, can hardly contain myself thinking of the food in Kuala Lumpur, and I sometimes take a visa trip there just to eat (pushing the visa to secondary position).

Hotels in Kuala Lumpur
Rooftop at Pacific Regency Hotel

Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur

If you’re looking for the cheaper budget accommodation in Kuala Lumpur, you’ll probably want to search in the Chinatown area. There are plenty of choices and even the budget places are pretty good value for money.

For the nice higher end hotels in Kuala Lumpur, search in Bukit Bintang.

I often use Agoda.com to book my hotels when I travel in Asia.

Transportation in Kuala Lumpur
Getting around Kuala Lumpur

Transportation

When I’m in Kuala Lumpur, I basically only take public transportation – mostly using the extensive train network system.

My only complaint is that it’s not a single standardized system like in other places such as Seoul.

This means you’ve got to transfer, and pay separate fees from one train to the next – but it’s still convenient, affordable, and efficient.

The best thing to do for getting around Kuala Lumpur is to either grab a free map guide of the city, at either the airport or a tourist office, or view this map of the routes – and you can download and print it yourself. If you miss the map at the airport, you can often grab a Kuala Lumpur travel guide map from the train stations or your hotel.

Ideally, it’s nice to stay at a hotel that’s near a transportation station, so it’s easy to go from place to place.

Roti Canai
Roti Canai

Best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur

It could take a lifetime to discover all the marvelous food and the best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, so I’m going to just share some of the best places I have eaten when I’ve spent time in the city. After all, this is a Kuala Lumpur travel guide for food lovers!

Top street food areas

Do you want to cook Malaysian food!?
Do you want to cook Malaysian food!?

My favorite restaurants

This list of best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur is only a start, you have many more amazing options to discover. You also might want to check out these photos of Kuala Lumpur food too (get ready for your mouth to start watering).

Best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur street food!

Thank you for reading my Kuala Lumpur travel guide for food lovers. If you have been to the city and have any other suggestions for things to do or places to eat, please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy your food excursions in Kuala Lumpur!

45 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • High Rated Gabru

    3 years ago

    Nice blog. Thanks!!!

  • Dayanand

    5 years ago

    Thank you very much sir for giving this information

  • Peter

    6 years ago

    Hi Mark! Thank you for posting all your guides, you are truly making my foodie research so much easier before my trips to Asia 🙂 I have one question – this guide is somehow outdated (which is obvious as it is at least 5 years old) – do you have any idea where I can find some more up to date information on best places to eat in Kuala Lumpur, Penang or Bali? I would be very grateful if you could give me some hints on where to find some reliable info. Best!

  • Ian Harvey

    6 years ago

    yummy food

  • Sandy

    7 years ago

    Hi Mark – Iam huge fan of you and always admire your passion for travel and food. Please let us know if you have any plans of visiting australia since iam from canberra. I would love to meet you atleast once i my life

  • Abdullah

    8 years ago

    Hey Mark can u tell me some places to visit in malasiya

  • Jan

    8 years ago

    Great list! I put the Petronas Towers on spot 1 as well in my list 🙂

    Some more tips I’d add are visiting Langkiwi Island, Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, Malacca and Penang.

  • Jionne Cu

    8 years ago

    Thanks for sharing Mark! Now I’m prepared to go to KL! By the way thumbs up to you and your works really informative and fun. (blogs & youtube videos) 🙂 Keep it up! Hope you visit Philippines too! Keep in touch!

  • Marcel H. JEONG

    9 years ago

    Great job Mark.
    All info you have posted on has been enough to stimulate my curiosity to pack my baggage.
    All my family members are happy to watch and to plan where to go for next holiday.
    Keep in a great job and, in the future, if there is any further info needed to add up, then I will leave my comment on your blog.

  • David

    9 years ago

    Hi Mark, such a nice guide to KL and it’s delicious foods. In two days i’m finally going back to Malaysia. Can’t wait to taste those delicious dishes.

    One thing, I though LCCT is out of use. There’s a new terminal called KLIA2. You probably knew this already.

  • Yew Wei Hong

    9 years ago

    big fan of your blog! your review has helped me on both my trip to KL and BKK, hope to see you come to singapore!!

    • Mark Wiens

      9 years ago

      Hi Yew, thank you very much. I was just in Singapore for a few days for an event, and the food was amazing, but unfortunately it was too short – I hope to come back again soon. Thank you again!

  • Sheena

    10 years ago

    Ill be going to malaysia today and this blog helps me a lot

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Great to hear that Sheena. Have a wonderful time in Malaysia.

  • Charmaine @ Chill and Travel

    10 years ago

    Too bad, we were not able to go on a food trip in KL. We focused on the major attractions instead. Hoping to get back and get a better taste of its local cuisine.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hi Charmaine, great to hear from you, glad you enjoyed KL. Hope you can go food tasting next visit.

  • MightyTravels

    10 years ago

    Great post man! However I tried to find a number of the restaurants and had no luck. The locals had no idea where they were. Maybe you can post geo (GPS) info next time?

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Thank you, and for the suggestions as well. I’ll try to see about GPS coordinates.

  • Joe

    10 years ago

    Seriously i speak for alot of people who really want you to go back to malaysia!!!! do a char kwoay teow vid with uncle cooking it , do a ais kacang vid and many more besides thailand very close to malaysia and air fares are cheap!!!!!!!!!!!!! so please listen to your fans/ foodaholics lol

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Joe, thank you so much, I appreciate it. Hoping to come back to Malaysia again soon!

  • faraz

    10 years ago

    hi , I am studying as an international student in KL , u referred to good places for visit but about the foods if u eat them every day it can make u sick ,unfortunately most of them are not healthy , a doctor in my university advised me not to eat these foods since they are not healthy

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hello Faraz, thank you for the comment and good to hear you’re studying in KL. Thank you for the advice!

  • Rahmadi

    10 years ago

    FYI man, KL is not d capital of Malaysia, it’s Putrajaya. But you won’t find much street fod there.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Thanks Rahmadi!

    • malaysian

      10 years ago

      hey rahmadi.

      kindly check your facts right.

      Kl is the capital of Malaysia.

      Putrajaya is the administrative capital of Malaysia.

      Mark is right btw.

  • Rave

    10 years ago

    Hi Mark, love your work. Always follow your YouTube videos closely.
    Mark, have you thought about visiting Penang? The food there is Amazing! I think you would make good videos of the place.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Rave, good to hear from you and thank you for watching my videos. I visited Penang once about 4 years ago, before ever making any videos, but would love to visit again. I hope to in the future! Are you from Penang?

    • Rave

      10 years ago

      Hi Mark, no unfortunately, I live in Sydney, Australia.
      Both my parents are Malaysian so we go back often. I will be making a trip back in April, and plan to visit Penang. Maybe I can write up a list of my favourite “Mamak stalls” and eateries for you…?

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Rave, that would be awesome, would love to have that info for future. Thanks!

  • Rebecca

    10 years ago

    Great timing – I’ll be in KL in two weeks 🙂

  • Jen

    10 years ago

    I am totally excited about visiting KL now! This is the second article on the city that I have stumbled upon today and I am now pretty much convinced I need to get there soon. Great, informative and entertaining video and tips Mark.

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Jen, glad you’re excited about visiting. I think it’s a wonderful city!

  • James Shannon

    10 years ago

    I’m strongly considering making KL a home base in the future on the basis of the food alone. I know a guy from my college years there that seals the deal, but the food plus the overall modernity of the place makes it for me!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey James, I’ve thought about that myself too, I really like the city!

  • Steph (@ 20 Years Hence)

    10 years ago

    Great guide, Mark! I wish I had had this during my various visits to KL—it’s a great city, but it’s so big that I find it can be a bit overwhelming to find reliable dining options. There’s a lot of great food there, to be sure, but there’s a lot of mediocre forgettable stuff as well. I know I’ll be back one day, so I’ll plan to eat through your list then!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Steph, thanks for reading, hope you can visit again in the future!

    • Mathilda

      9 years ago

      Hi Mark, how much the entrance of batu cave and how far it is from the train station of batu cave to the batu cave location?

    • Mark Wiens

      9 years ago

      Hi Mathilda, when I went, there is no entrance fee to the caves – it’s more of a temple, so no fee. From the train station, it’s right there.