A Kuala Lumpur Food Tour Review: Tastes of Malaysia

One of the main aims of every trip we take is to experience great local foods. We eat (pretty much) everything, and want to eat as the locals do as much as possible. Normally I do a lot of research on places to eat before we head off somewhere, and this trip was no different. My go to for food knowledge is typically Youtube and for South East Asia I have 2 channels that top my list – Mark Wiens and Best Ever Food Review Show.

This trip had an added challenge – other than through Youtube, we had no idea what we should be eating while in Malaysia. There are loads of “Nasi” dishes – some kind of rice, and a whole lot or “Mee” dishes – noodles in various guises. There are also loads of regional specialities to contend with.

With this in mind, I did something we haven’t done before. I booked a food tour, this one focused on the area of Kampung Baru.

About Kampung Baru

Right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Kampung Baru (meaning “New Village”) is a historic Malay area that offers a stark contrast to the city’s towering skyscrapers. You are a few minutes walk away from one of Kuala Lumpur’s best known landmarks, the Petronas Towers, but you could be a million miles away such is the difference in atmosphere, architecture, and the people.

Established in 1899 as a Malay Agricultural Settlement, Kamoung Baru was created to preserve the cultural heritage and traditional lifestyle of the Malay community. Today, it remains a vibrant neighbourhood that reflects Malaysia’s rich history and traditions. Despite the immense value of the land—estimated to be worth billions of ringgit due to its central location—the residents have largely resisted selling to developers. Their reluctance stems from a deep-rooted sense of community and the desire to protect their cultural identity and heritage.

Finally, the reason we are here: Kampung Baru is a culinary haven, renowned for its bustling food market that showcases traditional Malay cuisine at its finest. Visitors can explore a maze of stalls offering many local favourites, and we couldn’t wait to get started. The area comes alive in the evenings, with the enticing aromas of grilled meats and spices filling the air, making it a must-visit destination for food lovers and cultural explorers alike.

Booking the Tour

Being a novice to booking food tours, I wasn’t sure where to start. There are loads of sites out there, GetyourGuide, Viator, etc. I just happened to be checking the details of our AirBNB in KL when I noticed that the related listings for things to do in KL showed a food tour front and centre. The ratings and reviews were fantastic and the price was pretty good so I jumped in with both feet and booked it. You can find the tour we booked here and we would not hesitate to recommend it to others. In fact our daughter did the same tour a few weeks after us and had an amazing time.

We quickly got a message back from the organiser telling us he was looking forward to meeting us and showing us around. He also said – “Make sure you are very hungry!” – we liked the sound of that.

Getting To Kampung Baru

We had booked the tour to take place on a Sunday night, the day after we arrived in Kuala Lumpur. We wanted to do it as soon as we could so we had a good idea of all the different dishes before we ventured out on our own.

Our instructions were to meet at Kampung Baru LRT station at 6pm and being a couple who hates being late, we left our apartment at around 5pm. Our nearest station was Hang Tuah, right next to our accommodation, and we had to make one change at Masjid Jamek to get onto the right line for Kampung Baru. The journey cost around 4MYR (just under £0.80) and took 20 minutes with the change.

On arrival at Kampung Baru LRT we were met with a view of the Petronas Twin Towers and the Saloma bridge. More on those later.

We had time to kill so wandered down a couple of the nearby streets, then back to the station to meet Malik, our guide for the food tour. While waiting, I spotted a vending machine selling Hot Wheels cars! That was definitely a first.

The Tour

Just before 6pm we started to see other people hanging around looking like they were waiting for someone – they all looked like tourists, and we assumed they were also waiting for the Food Tour. On the dot of 6, our guide arrived and introduced himself to all of us – his name was Malik, a native of KL, a food Youtuber, and Tour guide for several years in Kampung Baru.

Our group was us, a couple from the US, and a solo traveller from Australia. With intros out of the way we set off in search of our first local delicacy. Within a couple of minutes we were directed by Malik to a small stall selling…..

Ramly Burger

A Ramly burger is a staple in Malaysia – either chicken or beef meat patties wrapped in an egg, then smothered with a variety of sauces. It’s known for being messy and delicious, and is considered a quintessential street food in Kuala Lumpur. The stall we went to is considered the best option for Ramly burgers in KL – Simpang Tiga Burger.

The 2 guys behind the counter worked together to cook up a beef version for Karen and I to share. One guy cooking the burgers, then cooking the egg, and finally wrapping the burgers inside the egg. He passed it on to guy number 2 who then assembled the burger with some cheese, lettuce, onion, and 3 different sauces – we think they were chilli, tomato, and mayo.

The result was the perfect food to eat after a heavy night out – greasy, protein rich, messy, spicy, and sweet. It’s tricky to eat without sauce dribbling everywhere and napkins are essential. With that we ticked off food number one of many – if this was an indicator of things to come, we were in for a night of great food.

Snacks

As we walked through Kampung Baru we stopped at several street vendors for small tasters and snacks. Malik grabbed us all a Coconut Ice Lolly to cool down as we wandered in the heat of the early evening (still 29C and 90% humidity at 6.15pm). First stop was for some Fried Banana – one of my favourites and as Karen isn’t keen on Banana I got to eat hers too. Firm banana dipped in batter and deep fried – what’s not to like.

The roles were then reversed at the Corn on the Cob stand – I hate sweetcorn and Karen loves it so although I had one nibble, she ate the rest. It was smothered in coconut butter so disguised most of the corn taste, but I have principles 😉. I tried to chat to the guy cooking the corn as being a BBQ enthusiast I wanted to know what wood they used. The answer: “anything that burns” – I didn’t ask anyone else the same question from that point!

We carried on through a plethora of stalls consuming different food as we went. Deep Fried Tofu which they somehow had made crispy all the way through – apparently it’s very hard to do, the tofu served with a spicy sambal to dip. We had prawn fritters, fried Tempeh, and Chicken Wanton.

We mixed and matched sweet and savoury as the next stop was for Kaya Balls and Chocolate Balls straight from the cooking implement. I can’t think of anything else to call it – it was a metal tray with half circle indents that he poured the batter into, then poked them out with a skewer when done. For those of you who don’t know what Kaya is, it’s a Coconut Jam made from a base of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and sometimes pandan leaves as a flavouring. We had it a lot in Malaysia – it’s great on toast.

All of these places were along Jalan Raja Alang

Our last stop before we went back to the protein was to a fruit stall where we tried many different local fruits – the highlights being the Mangosteen (known as the Queen of Fruits), Longan, and the Snake fruit. The stall we ate at is around about here.

Next, back to the protein.

Satay

Our next stop was Restoran Rose who specialise in Satay. We tried 2 types – Beef and Chicken, with 2 different sauces, the Indonesian peanut sauce uses coconut milk and is milder in flavour whereas the Malaysian version is thicker and richer with more spices. We both preferred the Malaysian version. We also had some Nasi Impit, or compressed rice on the side. The meat was smokey with gnarly bits on with the chicken being the juicier of the 2. Here you can see the owner preparing the sauce by hand – no food processor here!

Mee Curry Laksa

Now it was noodle time and the first time trying the traditional Mee Curry Laksa at Laksa Kampung Baru. I have had Laksa back in the UK but it was nothing like this.

Laksa is basically a noodle soup, but that over simplifies things. This Laksa consisted of a thick, creamy, spicy fish broth, thick rice noodles, and a variety of toppings. We tried 2 different options – beef, and fish. Both were excellent but the fish one was the stand out for me. Fish Balls, Egg, lime, and an assortment of herbs, onions, and chilli. I am sure there was loads of other stuff in there too. Sublime! We enjoyed it so much we forgot to take a photo!

Durian and Cendol

No visit to Malaysia is complete without trying Durian. We have been to other South East Asian countries and seen it but never tried it as it is very expensive if you don’t like it. The benefit of being on a tour was that we could get one Durian between us and all try it. Durian is banned in hotels, on public transport and in shops around SE Asia due to its pungent smell. It is said to be smell like rotting onions, vomit, stinky cheese, and many other less than flattering things. It is also said to be something you either love or hate, a bit like Marmite.

To be honest, we didn’t think we would get to try Durian as it is not in season in November when we were there, but Malik was on a mission to find us a good quality Durian to experience. We had a bit of a lesson in picking a good one too – it should’t really smell if it is fresh. The older it is the stinkier it becomes apparently.

Malik took us to Mamam Place and went to see if he could find a great Durian for us all to share. He came back with one that was smallish, but with very little smell. Once it was opened up, we all donned the plastic gloves, took a piece and all together, tried it for the first time. I was expecting something pungent, that might make me gag – that seems to be what happens to every Youtuber who eats it.

It turns out that Durian is delicious, at least for both Karen and I. There was no vomit/blue cheese/mouldy onion flavour at all. It was sweet, creamy, and nutty, kind of like a creme brûlée with nuts. The rest of the group weren’t too keen so we finished the rest of it between us – I think I had the lions share though.

We also had Cendol – a sweet, iced dessert that features green rice flour jelly, coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup plus optional toppings – red beans, sweetcorn, or more Durian. I loved this too but Karen wasn’t too keen this time. It’s very refreshing but also very sweet!

Nasi Lemak

Malik had told us at the start that the biggest dishes would be at the end of the Tour and so we finished the food part of the tour here at Nasi Lemak Wanjo. We had walked past it earlier and I recognised it from some Youtube videos I had watched previously.

Nasi Lemak is the national dish of Malaysia and consists of rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves, then typically topped with crispy fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, and a hard-boiled egg. It’s also commonly served with an anchovy and hot chilli sauce called sambal. Typically you would eat it with a side of Chicken – maybe fried, maybe in a curry sauce, fried fish, beef rendang, or just as it comes.

Wanjo is like a giant cafeteria in gleaming white. The food counter is in the centre as you enter the restaurant and the seating is all around. Most of the space is not air conditioned but you can pay 1 Ringitt (around £0.20) for a table in the air conditioned room. Water is available too for no charge.

Malik got us all settled and disappeared to the food counter to order our Nasi Lemak along with Chicken Rendang, and Chicken Curry. These were both very large pieces of chicken on the bone. Everything we had here was full of flavour. I love the crispy fried anchovies which add a great texture to the dish. The sambal is sweet, spicy, and sour and gives everything a nice kick. The chicken was a little dry, unsurprisingly as it sits under heat lights for a while, but both the Rendang and the Curry sauces complimented the coconut rice beautifully. Load up your spoon with a bit of everything and you have a mouthful of Malaysia all in one bite.

We actually had an even better Nasi Lemak later in our trip but Wanjo was the place that got us started with our love for the national dish.

Apam Balik Pulut Hitam

Just as we thought we had finished eating for the night, Malik pulled out a plastic box with more food! One final sweet treat before the tour ended – Apam Balik Pulut Hitam. He had snuck off as we made our way to Wanjo to grab this interesting dessert. Apam Balik is a pancake of sorts, made with peanuts. Pulut Hitam is a black glutinous rice pudding. Put them together and you have a pancake stuffed with cold, black rice pudding. Such an interesting combination and something I could eat daily! My waistline wouldn’t thank me though.

Everyone was so stuffed at this stage that we couldn’t eat it all between us. As we were the only people on the tour who had access to a fridge, we took it with us to have for breakfast the next day!

Walking off dinner – Saloma Link and Petronas Twin Towers

So that’s all the food done, time to head back to our AirBNB right? Wrong! Malik, being the gracious host he is, wanted to take us all down to the Petronas Twin Towers to see the fountain show.

We all jumped a the chance for a mini guided tour so followed Malik back through Kampung Baru to the station where we all met, then up over the stunning Saloma Link Bridge. This is one of the most Instagramable places in KL – by day it’s just a bridge as you can see in the picture earlier in the article, but at night it is lit by thousands of colour changing LEDs. It’s quite a sight, even more so when you have the twin towers right behind it, all lit up with their roof lights pointed straight up into the clouds.

We crossed the bridge, wandered along the streets to the twin towers, then through the enormous shopping mall and out the other side to the lake and fountains. After a 10 minute wait, the fountain show started and we were both, well, underwhelmed. We were maybe expecting too much but it’s really not worth waiting around for in my opinion. If you have seen the Downtown Dubai fountains, then this is like a little garden pond. If you are there anyway, you might enjoy it, but I wouldn’t make a special trip just for the fountain show.

Final thoughts on this Kuala Lumpur Food Tour

I would suggest everyone books this Kuala Lumpur Food Tour if they have not been to Malaysia before and want to get a good idea of some of the food options available across Malaysia. Malik was a fantastic guide and host, answering our questions, grabbing us interesting things to eat, and keeping his promise that we would be eating a lot! It is obvious that he loves his job, loves meeting people and extolling the virtues of all the food Malaysia has to offer. He seems to have a great relationship with all of the vendors we visited.

Based on the other tour groups we saw around the place, Malik’s tour is much more personal – small groups who get to know each other and get the benefit of Maliks knowledge and passion.

My suggestion: JUST BOOK IT! You can also meet Malik via his Youtube channel if you want to see him in action before booking. Kampung Baru is a great place to wander around too – we didn’t have time to go back but if we had we would have quite happily wandered the streets tasting even more food along the way.

One piece of advice: Take some hand sanitiser and tissues/napkins with you as not everywhere has them and you are eating with your hands a lot.

Don’t forget that you can see all our other Malaysian Experiences by heading to the Asia Destinations page