Take A Look At KL’s Street Food

Whenever someone mention food street, we often associate it with the food street we have at Chinatown.  However, the essence of our own food street is lacking as everything is so hygiene, organized even with road closure due to health and safety concerns of our government.  Join me as I check out Kuala Lumpur’s authentic food street, Jalan Alor.

You will definitely not see this in Singapore.  Known as “Luk Luk” which skewers of raw food are placed in dishes or on ice cubes for you to pick and choose.  The selection of food ranges from vegetables to meat dumplings and seafood to internal organs.

Over at Jalan Alor, this vendor operates his Luk Luk store at the back of his truck which also serves as a mobile kitchen!  In fact, you can find many Luk Luk vendors along any popular streets in Malaysia.  I’ve even seen some of them selling Luk Luk with their motorbikes like those of the ice-cream vendors we have here.

After choosing, the boss will cook the food the way you like; boiled or deep fried.  If you choose to boil it, they have spicy and non-spicy soup base to choose from.  There are also many choices of sauce such as the sweet sauce, chilli sauce, peanut sauce and mustard sauce.  Feel free to help yourself to it as much as you want.

The most interesting way to eat the Luk Luk is simply just to stand around the store or walk around with it.  If not, just look for any available stools around and have a seat while you enjoy the sights, sound and smell of this food haven.

Just a stone’s throw from the Luk Luk truck, there is an eatery known as Restoran Sai Woo.  There are several popular stores in this big eatery where an old auntie will go around taking others for all the different stores.

The man at the Satay store has to keep a steady production of satays as it’s one of the most popular dishes around here.  The satay has a little burnt part to give it a smokey aroma.  You can be sure the cubes of chicken, beef or lamb on the skewer is succulent as it’s served right off the flames.

Undoubtly another popular street food will be the BBQ chicken wings.  It is a delicious finger licking way to take the hunger pangs away.  You can be sure that the chicken wings is mouth watering as it’s glazed with a thin layer of honey to give it a light sweetness. 

You may think that it’s another Char Kway Teow just like those found in Singapore.  Observe closely and you will realise that no black sweet sauce is used unlike what we have here.  Instead, garlic and lard is used to give the taste.  The secret to the fragrance of the Char Kway Teow lies in the high heat and “wok hei” method used to bring out the aroma.  I waited for more than 30 minutes for my Char Kway Teow and I have no regrets as it is my favourite dish of the night.

Is your stomach feeling heavy after a late night supper?  Wash it all down with a glass of freshly squeezed Sour Plum Lime Juice.  The lime not only refreshes your breath but also helps in digestion.

If you’re over at Kuala Lumpur, this is one place you definitely must visit for nice food although the price is slightly steeper than regular coffee shops.  However, you can be sure there is something delicious to fill your stomach in the wee hours of the night.

Address:

• Jalan Alor, Bukit Bintang
• 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• (View Map Here)