food

Kampung Baru walking food trail

BY HUNGRYGOWHERE
September 07, 2015

The spices were just right, and didn't overpower the delicious ingredients. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.Mere minutes away from the city centre, this little Malay village is lost in time. One of the oldest collections of villages in Kuala Lumpur, Kampung Baru was identified as an agricultural settlement in 1900 so that the Malay locals could retain their village lifestyle close to the city. The charm of its people and their cooking stands the test of time. It is hereditary to be a food lover here.

HungryGoWhere recommends jumping on the LRT in the late afternoon and hoofing it for this foodie adventure, as the narrow lanes and haphazard parking of the locals are hard to get used to. Exercise patience when searching here as some of the usual opening hours may vary on the weather, the patronage of customers and the whims of the cooks.

Some may feel uncomfortable in this strange yet wonderful environment, but we assure you that the folk here are friendly and helpful, and rightly proud of their food.Kampung Baru: lost in time. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.

Suraya Seafood Kampung Baru

Settle down under a fan as the weather can get tepid here, and the open-wall concept of this seafood restaurant lets in only a slight breeze. The servers are shy and little quiet, but the food is anything but.

A short ways away from the Kampung Baru LRT station. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.

The kangkung belacan has an amazing depth of flavour, complimenting our plates of nasi goreng kerabu with a bold sweet and savoury tinge of spice. Our bowl of tom yam sotong was tart with ripe tomatoes, and hot enough to bring a tentative flush to the cheeks. It was swimming with perfectly executed chunks of squid, firm pieces that avoided the common elastic-band syndrome. Our favourite Thai restaurants in KL have some serious competition.

These suckers look good. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.We finished the meal off with pulut mangga supplied to the restaurant by a sister stall. Slices of mouth-puckeringly sour mango were placed atop a plate of creamy white coconut and fragrant pandan glutinous rice. Every dish we ordered here fought for the centre of attention, and was happily unapologetic about it.

Also gluten-free despite its name! – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.

Gerak 51 – Pak Lang Ikan Bakar

Don't worry, no finding Nemo here. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.We arrived early at Pak Lang for our fill. Fully prepared at our normal dinner time of 6pm, but still before the usual crowd’s dinner time of 7-8pm. No matter however, piles of dry-spice buried fish laid out at the ready, sizzling deliciously on the grill within seconds of our order. Ikan bakar oh ikan bakar, how we love you!

More finger-lickin' than KFC! – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.The smell and sounds of your meal as Pak Lang cooks it is enough to drive you mad with anticipation, and it is hard to stop salivating when you think about gulping down mouthful after mouthful of sweet and salty satisfaction. Though it only takes a few minutes, be warned, time will appear to slow down.

Prices are seasonal and so are the fish. Enjoy the richness of the sodium and charred chewy bits of fish with the mellow tones of rice and other mixed dishes. The food court has other occupants, but it is clear that this stall stands out the most.

Masakan Padang Asli

Feed the beast! Our resident carnivore approves. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.Another hot recommendation is the Nasi Padang Asli restaurant – it may take some hunting down, but this hidden gem is worth it! The trek down the self-serve line here should be repeated until satisfaction is achieved, as you fix plates full of mouth-watering dishes.

Now, the stereotypical method of preparation in America for catfish is to unceremoniously deep-fry it in greasy batter and dip the mouthfuls in thick sauces. So Padang Asli’s light yet crispy take on this humble fish was quite refreshing. We tore into soft sweet flesh, scraping it down to the bones with our forks and spoons, ending the process with a methodic crunching of the fins and bones. We left little behind and still craved more.

The service here was really friendly and cheery. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.Their beef rendang is also aromatic and tender, the braised chunks of meat breaking apart easily under our barrage. We also recommend the ayam madu: feisty yet honeyed cuts of chicken, the moist flesh and crispy skin coated in a thick, sweet and spicy sauce. Our huge plate of four meat dishes, one vegetable side and two drinks only came up to about RM18.80

Kampung Baru Pasar Malam

Black Pepper & Cheese hot dogs. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.We consider ourselves weekend and weekday connoisseurs of pasar malams, but we cannot even begin to list the offerings of all the tiny stalls that litter the street of Raja Muda Musa. Bring cash and an empty stomach, as this bazaar of eats usually starts up around five or six in the evening, and winds down around ten or eleven at night daily.

Smoked meats are always great in the open air. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.We braved the rain for this expedition, and within five minutes and thirty steps between us, our hands were full of newspaper-wrapped kuih, colourful pastries, hot treats, cold drinks and juicy hot dogs.

It is no mean feat to stump our combined knowledge of food, but this bazaar certainly gave us a fun challenge of, “What a strange-looking… How does it taste?” Luckily, we learned a lot from the friendly locals.

Bringing the best in business practices here. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.We highly recommend Brader “B” Baby John. It is called Baby John because these delicious omelette sandwiches are half the size of a regular roti john. They are prepared by two strapping young men, who have brought in their old business practices from laundering into their culinary career by way of pricing. RM5 for two, RM6 for three, in an effort to convince people to try all three flavours of chicken, beef and sardine.

Better early than late here! – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.The preparation is a grand performance. One cooks the egg and minced meat in a pan onto the toasty bread. He then flips it expertly over to the second guy who slathers it generously with condiments – black pepper, sweet chilli sauce – and hands it to you. Just so you know, Tuna is the most requested roti john here.

Steaming hot putu piring. – HungryGoWhere pic, September 7, 2015.It's not the only stall we wanted to highlight in this collection of foods, but you are just going to have to take our word for it and visit it yourself!

Need more suggestions for Kampung Baru? Read the full walking food trail here. This is actually one of HungryGoWhere’s four-part walking food trail series in Malaysia, so if you enjoyed this, then you may also like exploring the other areas with these delicious food guides on Chinatown Petaling Street, Little India Brickfields, and PJ Old Town. Also, check out our halal section of HungryGoWhere if you haven’t yet, for some amazing meals! – September 7, 2015.

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