Join me for a Hawker Meal in Kuala Lumpur

June 8, 2010

Join me for a Hawker Meal in Kuala Lumpur

By now, you are probably thinking that day three of our visit to Kuala Lumpur is going on forever. However, I still have one more thing to share with you. When evening finally arrived, we ventured out to experience dinner at a hawker center. A hawker center is a large food court, which houses many vendors selling a great variety of expertly prepared inexpensive food choices. Joining us for this memorable meal was Dr. Ng Yen Yen and Salahuddin Mohd Arifin from the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, who helped to coordinate our fabulous journey. After dinner, we strolled through Petaling Street, one of the main streets in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown. This bustling area is famous for shopping. I’ve also included some photos of an Indian Malay street vendor who Sophie befriended. Sophie has spent a good deal of time in India and has a particular fondness for South Indian cuisine.

: There were many dishes ready to taste when we arrived and many more on the way.

: What you get looks just like the photos.

: Buckets of snails

: More seafood on sticks

: Petaling Street is famous for cheap, faux designer watches, clothing, bags, and more.

: This is an Indian Malay street vendor showing Sophie how to make roti canai, Malaysia’s South Indian inspired breakfast pancake – a real favorite.

: The dough, consisting of flour, milk, a little sugar, and salt – sometimes egg and other ingredients – is pulled into a thin layer.

: And then made into a coil, like those cooking on the right

: You can also crack a raw egg onto the thin dough.

: And then start folding to enclose the egg

: The little roti canai pocket is then cooked on a griddle.

: This vendor also makes great chicken tikka.

: And delicious tea – here’s the steeping bag

: The signature tea of Malaysia is called teh tarik, or pulled tea – as you can see, it is literally pulled between two cups, becoming nice and frothy.

: Teh tarik is made with condensed milk.

: Sophie and Najib – our guide – enjoying the teh tarik

: As Sophie loves South Indian food, she decided to do a little cooking, herself!

: The hawker’s center has many different vendors of Chinese food.

: Each stall specializes in a different dish or dishes – here are a variety of sausages.

: Aromatic curry leaves are often used to flavor South East Asian cuisine.

: A variety of fried veggies and chilies.

: A friendly wantan mee vendor

: His boss was also very friendly.

: This is the exterior of the hawker’s center.

: Here I am at the hawker’s dinner with Dr. Ng Yen Yen, minister of tourism.

: There are so many vendors to choose from.

: As you can see!

: Delicious beef and chicken satay

: Wonderful stir-fried Chinese broccoli

: Prawns friend and served with buttered eggs

: Cockles with a yummy, slightly sweet sauce

: This duo serenaded us during our meal – they were quite good!

: Salahuddin Mohd Arifin, who works for the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism.

: Memrie loved the butter prawns.

: Malaysia is famous for it’s crab dishes – we enjoyed this one.

: And this one.

: Rich and delicious oxtail soup

: After tasting many dishes, we wandered around – here is where that great satay came from.

: The skewers are grilled to perfection.

: We also sampled these chicken wings.

: Also cooked to perfection

: Bins and bins of clothing pins used to mark orders.

: Chili, garlic, spices, sauces, and other secret ingredients that go into the dishes.

: More cooking stations

: Yummy roasted duck and pork

: This was a very interesting and tasty sweet, jerky-like beef snack.

: A seafood vendor with a welcoming and colorful shop

: Skewers of all sorts! – shellfish, prawns, fish, sausage, vegetables

: Making a calamari kebab

: We loved these bamboo leaf-wrapped dumplings filled with rice and meat. They are packed with partially cooked ingredients and then steamed for hours.