This trip was exactly what i needed. It came at the perfect time when i desperately needed a break because life was life-ing a little too hard for me. So a change of scenery, weather and pace was very welcome. Being in KL, my soul felt at home and a strong connection to the people and the beautiful land. This trip was so healing for me and i left with an incredibly full heart!

So what took me to KL? Apart from the incredible food, i have family there. My mum is half Chinese and her family have lived in Malaysia for 4 generations now. For the longest time i had really wanted to visit to meet my family there and learn more about that part of me but just hadn’t gotten the chance. So now as a semi-adult with a reward flight and my time off work booked, there was not much that was going to stop me really. So 13 hours later – which surprisingly i didn’t absolutely crash out at and i was ready for the family time and the food!

I ate SO MUCH good food. Everything and i mean EVERYTHING that i ate was good. I love rice so eating it everyday was not something i was mad at. Lots of rice, curries, pandan and kaya was consumed. Also, almost everything is HALAL which made eating out so easy! It also made leaving so hard…

Through out this trip, my dinning partner for most of the time was my uncle – my mum’s cousin. It was so nice to explore new places with him! And for quite a few of the meals, my Grand uncle (aka gruncle) and Grand-aunty also came with. They are both larger than life characters with incredible energy for their ages. At 96, my gruncle (hehe) is still very much a dedicated foodie and i just find that so incredible. No doubt we’re related there and clearly the love for food runs deep in my blood!

Below is everything that i ate and that i would eat again!!

Starting with Malaysia’s National dish – Nasi Lemak at Say Yes Cafe

The plan initially, was to go to Village Park Nasi Lemak that i had seen all over TikTok. This was probably not a great idea as it was a Saturday and so the line was INSANE. Luckily, there’s another highly rated Kopitiam not too far. It turned out to have an even higher (!) google rating than Village park…

This was the first time i had Nasi Lemak and it was everything i wanted it to be. Fragrant coconut rice, CRISPY and flavourful chicken, perfectly sweet and spicy sambal and crunchy anchovies make the perfect meal. Both my uncle and i really REALLY enjoyed the Nasi Lemak here. So much so that i wanted to come back again… but there was so much to eat i didn’t quite make it. Not to worry though, i’ll be back soon!!

I also tried Kaya toast for the first time here and i was OBSESSED from then on. I’ve tried both the brown kaya and the green kaya – i prefer the green pandan kaya and am currently making some shokupan to have with the jar i brought back!

Next up, Modern Malaysian dinning at Dewakan

Dewakan is the only 2 Michelin star restaurant in Malaysia. It also has an additional sustainability star and LET ME TELL YOU, 1000% deserved. You know i’m a sucker for a tasting menu and fine dinning so this was on the top of my list of things to do. And wow, what an experience it was.

You start off with a kitchen tour where a member of the team walks you through their process, ingredients and inspiration. I loved the entire evening. From the INSANE views of the twin towers to the extremely warm and friendly team. I noticed one thing which i LOVED – the team was full of young faces!

The menu is focused on showcasing local ingredients and dishes but reimagined. Every single dish was a hit. Beautifully put together and presented. The passion and knowledge that the whole team posses is so clear. My favourite dishes were: the slightly cured crayfish skewer, the rice tempeh dumpling, the beef tongue and the Kuih Breudher.

A special shout out to the BEAUTIFUL “Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing” which is made up of a belinjau cracker, chayote pesto, salted wild Borneo mango and a keranji fruit leather for the wings.

I would 1000% make a trip just for this experience. I say give them an additonal star @ Michelin 😊

FRESH seafood at Hai Peng Crabhouse

Remember that gruncle? He loves crab!! This was a family meal at this local restaurant that specialises in seafood. They are particularly known for their crab. It was PACKED with lots of families and friends and was so lively. We had prawns, crab, fried rice, mung bean noodles and chicken wings.

My favourites were the chicken wings (not pictured) and the crab. It was so fun to get stuck in with the crab hammer. A truly authentic experience that i 100% recommend. You won’t find this rec on TikTok!

Street food around Bukit Bintang

To be honest i tried to avoid this area because there ARE SO MANY PEOPLE and that’s just not my vibe so i tried to keep my time here SHORT and quick. There were 2 street food spots i had to try and they were:

the Beef roti at Mon Chinese Roti

So worth the wait and the crowd. This roti is a little puck filled with beef, onions and spices. It’s flaky, savoury and DELICIOUS. When i saw the onions, i was hesitant to try it but luckily there was no bite from them in the final product. I would get 2 next time!

and the Wagyu Skewer at Don Don Doki

There’s a stall in front of Lot 10 that has all sorts of street food but i went for the wagyu skewer which was 13 ringit (£2!!!). It was just fatty enough, melt in your mouth and seasoned perfectly. Again, i would get 2 skewers next time.

Dimsum at Din by Din Tai Fung

Along with exploring the fine dinning scene, another thing i had to do was eat at Din Tai Fung. I LOVE DIMSUM – must be the Chinese in me. I have watched one too many TikTok’s about Din Tai Fung but the one in London isn’t very halal friendly… so i was SO HAPPY to hear that across Malaysia there’s a special no pork, no lard chain of Din Tai Fung restaurants.

I wanted to try everything! The viral cucumber salad, the green beans, the soup dumplings and the chocolate ones too. Unfortunately the cucumber salad and green beans were sold out so i tried: crab Xiao long bao – SO GOOD with the vinegar and the ginger, beef noodle soup, salted egg fried mushrooms, spicy prawn wontons and the chocolate XLB with salted cream. 10/10. Every single thing. I’m sure you’ve noticed a theme here, everything was GOOD.

Quite sad that i can’t have this when i feel like it… but i will be going to try the cucumber salad and green bean dish here!

Some more Malaysian fine dinning at BETA KL

The fine dining scene in KL is popping! There are 7 restaurants with stars and many more without stars that are doing amazing food. BETA has one star and similar to Dewakan, it’s also all about showcasing Malaysian flavours, culture and heritage.

It does this by its menu called “The Tour of Malaysia”. Dishes cover 12 out of 13 states of the country. All very well thought out with local ingredients. Again, the service was incredible. A very warm and friendly team walk you through your meal and are always paying attention to what you may need.

My favourite dishes here were: the scallop with kachangma, heirloom tomatoes and potatoes, the beef short rib and the date pudding with coffee blossom and coffee husk ice cream.

The tapioca bread which is reminscent of Pao de Quiejo was also so delicious. It was warm, fluffy and served with a perfectly spicy chilli emulsion. So good i had to get a second basket!

The ambiance was quite cool too. I’m not a fan of mood lightening cos pictures often look so terrible but they managed to get it just right here! Beta also made fine dining less snobby with the black table cloths and upbeat music.

This post is getting a bit too long for my GenZ brain so let’s continue in part 2 shall we? More food and a few activity recommendations too.

See you there!