Fantastic Food Frenzy

Finally my food tour update. I realize this should’ve happened a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t quite been in much of a journalistic mood. But here it is!

Throughout my trip to Kuala Lumpur, I experienced new and exciting foods. I had such a great adventure trying new tropical fruits and various vendor foods. Having the chance to experience local cuisine with locals was probably the best experience and the most educational. Here’s just a brief overview of the food tour I took at the end of my Malaysian journey.

The three hour tour started at an Indian restaurant. This restaurant is a bit different as it is actually located in a temple and there are no prices on the cuisine. No, this did not mean it was exorbitantly expensive, but rather it prices were based on what one could afford. In a sense it was a bit like a soup kitchen, but way more upscale as there was a specific dress code you had to abide by out of respect for the temple as well as keeping up the demeanor of the restaurant. Most Indian food in KL is of a very heavy Southern India influence. The flavors I tasted on that plate were incredible. What’s more amazing is that all the food is made by volunteers! Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of my drink, but it was a fabulous Mango Lassi – a very good accompaniment to the spice of the curry. :)

Onto Chinese food! What you see pictured is barbecued pork belly. This was so delicious! Crisp and sweet charred outside, followed by the silkiness of the fatty belly, ending with a very tender piece of meat. Yum! The drink pictured here is kind of like lemonade but not. It’s lime with sour plums. On such a hot day, this certainly served well to refresh the palate and keep one cool!

Now for some snacks….by this time I was getting very full, but I did not want to give up and miss out on such great food! At a little street vendor we had rojak which was quite spicy, but filled with such great such like veggies, hard-boiled eggs, and chicken. Along with the rojak, we had something that kind of looks like soup. However, it was cold and was more or less a bowl of shaved ice with milk and flavoring. Made a very good pairing for the spice of the rojak. Our last stop for the day was to pick up some traditional Malaysian treats. We had a parchment full of fried bananas and fried stack of tapioca, sweet potato, and a starchy sweet that turned all caramel-y when fried. This is probably one of my poorer descriptions of the treat, but it sure was yummy! We finished off the tour with my favorite drink of the whole trip – teh tarik. This is an Indian pulled tea which I closely relate to chair just because of the spice and sweetness. However, I sincerely think teh tarik is phenomenally better than chai (yes, I am going out on a limb here hehe). The bubbles of the tea are creates by the tea maker pouring the mixed tea from pitcher to pitcher a few times. It’s quite a sight to see as it almost looks as though the tea is suspended in air just for a split second.

I was stuffed by the end, but it was a great day indeed. I love food. :)

~A