The best local rice dishes in KL

This modest restaurant is regularly packed with Subang residents coming here for one dish: the buttermilk chicken – large, tender pieces of fried chicken doused in a rich, creamy butter sauce. Have it in a set with rice and soup, and any crummy day will instantly become better.

RM10.50 per set

The long queues will tell you everything you need to know about this restaurant's popularity.  A must-have here is the siew yuk rice – steamed Japanese pearl rice topped with tender siew yuk that’s marinated with five-spice powder and other ingredients, and roasted in a charcoal-fed Apollo oven. If you don’t mind splurging, an ibérico pork version of the siew yuk is also available but during weekends only. 

Located within walking distance of the Taman Pertama MRT station, Nasi Ayam A Hassan has an extensive array of lauk to satisfy an eager lunch crowd. The star, however, is the piping hot fried ayam kampung that sell out almost as fast as the cooks can fry them. The skinless chicken pieces (RM5 for a fist-sized piece of chicken) may look bony and lean, but they're full of flavour.