Malaysians and Singaporeans tend to wax lyrical about street food in Penang, with good reason, too, no doubt. But for me, a Penang resident, eating out in Kuala Lumpur is every bit as exciting. In fact, I suffer withdrawal symptoms each time I return to Penang after an extended period of exploring KL’s street food scene. KL does quite a few street food options much, much better than Penang, and I usually zero in on those at every opportunity I get.
For me, the following cities do these particular street foods best in the region:
- Penang
- char koay teow
- koay teow th’ng
- oh chien
- char koay kak (called fried chye tow kway in Singapore)
- Singapore
- Hainanese chicken rice
- high-end dim sum
- kaya-butter toast
- mee Siam
- nasi Padang
- fish-head curry
- Kuala Lumpur
- chee cheong fun
- wantan mee
- curry laksa
- nasi lemak
- bak kut teh
Of course, each city has their own unique street foods - regional variations - which cannot be found in the other cities as detailed here:
On Tuesday morning, two of my KL foodie friends took me for breakfast at Kam Heong, the premier coffeeshop/kopitiam in PJ New Town. A cluster of eateries line the town square around the towering Petaling Jaya City Council building, but Kam Heong is, by far, the one with the busiest hive of activity.
Our breakfast spread this morning (a bowl of cereal just won’t do for the average KL-lite):
- KL-style chee cheong fun. - one of my very favorite sort. I’d never gotten used to Penang-style chee cheong fun, with its pungent fermented shrimp paste (“hae koh”)-inflected dressing and noodle-only simplicity. For me, the KL version, with its umami-packed brown bean sauce dressing, and choice of Hakka-style yong tau foo items for additional sides/garnishes, is da bomb! The version at Kam Heong also happens to be one of the best I’d found KL.
- Har meen (prawn noodles) - this is Hokkien (Fujianese-style) noodles in a strong pork-prawn broth, garnished with slivered pork, prawns and hard-boiled egg, then topped with golden-fried lardons and shallots. A dollop of spicy chili paste completes the ensemble.
In Penang, this is called “Hokkien mee” as Penang’s most popular street food dishes are mainly Teochew (Chaozhou) except for this dish.
As always, customers will opt for a mix of yellow Hokkien wheat noodle and rice vermicelli for the carbs, par-boiled together with beansprouts and water spinach (“kangkung”) before being steeped in the pork-prawn broth.
The version here in Kam Heong has a reputation amongst KL connoisseurs as being the best in the city!
- Kai see hor fun - this shredded chicken with flat rice noodle dish is an Ipoh staple. Ipoh is the other big Cantonese city in Malaysia besides KL, and the two cities are great rivals when it comes to the food stakes. But regional variances meant that, besides common/shared Cantonese fare, both cities also have their own unique street food dishes - kai see hor fun being one of them: an Ipoh trademark dish which one hardly finds in KL until a couple of decades back.
This one here at Kam Heong is exquisite: delicate flat rice noodles (called “hor fun” by the Cantonese, and “koay teow” by the Hokkiens and Teochews), topped with shredded chicken and shrimps, in a delicate, clear prawn broth. It’s garnished with green chives and sprinkled with golden-fried shallots.
- Pan meen - this is a Hakka dish of hand-kneaded and hand-cut noodles, dressed in dark soy sauce and a secret blend of sauces and condiments. The noodles have that stretchy texture/consistency that’s much-loved by the Hakkas. It’s topped with shredded chicken and crisp-fried anchovies (“ikan bilis”).
- Fishball noodles - this is a Teochew dish of “koay teow” rice noodles with springy Teochew-style fish-balls. Like all Teochew fare, it’s got a very light, very subtle flavor much coveted by the Teochews in their food.
Most of Kam Heong’s clientele are regulars, a testament to its staying power, and its strong collection of good street food stalls.
Always enjoy my food forays to KL, there is a different sort of big-city vibe there.
Address
Kam Heong Coffeeshop
8 Jalan Tengah (PJ New Town, near State theatre), 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +6016-993 3316
Operating hours: 7am to 9.30pm daily. 9am onwards for Wednesdays.
(Note that the stalls reviewed above only opens for breakfast & lunch. Other stalls operate in the evenings - the most famous is the Teochew braised duck stall).
