Category Archives: Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Best Malaysian street food dishes

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The Malaysian street food and seafood markets are cheap and yummy! In this post I’ll show you both.

Malaysian food mixes in so many cultures—Arabic, Chinese, Thai, Indian, and more—that you could never appreciate them all in one sitting. So bring your appetite!

Malaysian street food stands

You choose the food from the stand, and they cook it up. Some have a colored stick system. In these, each color represents a different price. You pay based on how many pieces of each color.

Malaysian street food in Kuala Lumpur
You choose it, they cook it. They charge you by the color of the stick. Prawns, chicken, corn, pork, et al

Malaysian street food on my plate

Here’s a quick tip for you if you go to eat Malaysian street food.  While sometimes the restaurant includes tables, don’t expect napkins too. Thus, I suggest bringing your own.

In the below photo, you’ll notice this seafood market has forks. However, this isn’t expected. Also, don’t expect soap in the bathroom.  You’ll certainly want to bring your hand sanitizer too. And those cucumbers aren’t for eating. I explain why, along with lots of tips on eating with your hands in Malaysia here.

plate of Malaysian food in KL

Malaysia is known for their delicious Malaysian cuisines. Check out Laksa, Manok pansoh, Kolok Mee, and more. Eat your way around Malaysia!

my new friends in KL

Malaysian seafood markets

You’ll love their seafood markets all over Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia. They’ll set these up anywhere.

For example, they took over the roofdeck of a parking garage, and turned it into a fish market. That place set up a dozen mini-restaurant vendors like a food court in a mall. It offers seafood that’s fresh, cheap, and yummy! That’s a winning combo!

fish at the Malaysian fish market in Borneo
do any of these look like dinner to you?
fish in net at the malasian seafood market
that one!
malaysian fish dinner cooked up
dinner is served

I recommend trying the Laksa, Manok pansoh, Kolok Mee, and more.

I’ll update this post with info on each. In the meantime, here’s a good resource that gives their favorite Malaysian food dishes.

Malaysia Roast Pork at Yut Kee, a traditional coffeehouse (or kopitiam) in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia Roast Pork at Yut Kee, a traditional coffeehouse (or kopitiam) in Kuala Lumpur

Budget Travel had a good article on Malaysia as Malaysia: Southeast Asia’s Next Great Foodie Destination.

 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

My 1st haircut on Foreign Soil

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Malaysian haircut

You wouldn’t think that something as simple as a haircut would be worth telling about, but when you’re traveling, even a haircut can be an adventure!

After a month of travel, it was time for my first time getting a haircut abroad. This should be interesting. I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city, and the pouring rain altered my initial plans.  The receptionist sat me down at a chair and handed me a card to choose choose the services I wanted, and the level of experience of the hair stylist (different charges for each).

A Shampoo Massage?

A girl in a mini-skirt and stiletto heels came over and introduced herself and said she’d be washing my hair.  She was dressed to go straight to the clubs afterward. I started getting up, assuming it would be at a sink. It wasn’t.  She tied up her shirt and said she’d begin. I sat in the chair while she sprayed my hair with water (and herself), and started massaging the shampoo into my hair. She was dancing to the music as she lathered. A little head massage may be typical, but the massage moved down to my neck, and then shoulders.  What the?  Surprise!  After a long day of hiking it actually felt outstanding. I had been thinking of going to get a massage after the haircut. Is that normal for everyone’s haircuts in KL?

Spikey Spikey!

After the shampoo massage (!), she said she’d track down the stylist. I told the guy how I wanted my haircut. He looked perplexed and gave a counter offer. Interesting.  He said for me hair, “we do spikey spikey.”  I thought it was a miscommunication so I clarified what I wanted. He explained his vision for my hair.  Yes, he had a vision for what we’ll do with my hair.  I didn’t realize this was a negotiation. I was direct and specific. He tried to close the conversation with — ok “I show you spikey spikey and you show me how much you like it.” This back and forth ended with him agreeing (verbally), but halfway through it didn’t look like he was cutting the way we discussed. This particular story has a happy ending (no not that kind!), because the haircut came out fine. Feel free to disagree – I took hundreds of photos throughout Malaysia, so you can be the judge.