101 things to do in KL: Food and Drink

Behind our old Istana Negara sits a stretch of ikan bakar stalls, but it’s Kedai Kat Jat (commonly known as Gerai No. 3) that stands out. The man at the grill may be the silent type but his perfectly cooked, banana leaf-wrapped seafood does all the talking. The freshness of the fish hits you first; the spicy marinade complements but doesn’t take away from the true taste of the fish. Have it with sambal belacan and wash the spiciness down with air kelapa.

Essentially coconut gelato coupled with chilli sprinkles, peanuts and a dusting of anchovies, this gelato bears an uncanny resemblance to the real thing, but in a creamy and savoury artisanal dessert package. This much fabled nasi lemak flavour, along with other local-centric alterations like kopi and toast, is only available periodically, so keep tabs on their Facebook page for updates.

The chap fan counter overflows with at least 50 vegetarian standards such as stuffed tau fu pok, vegetable curry and ‘chicken’ drumsticks fashioned from fried beancurd skin. There are also stalls hawking wantan mee, curry mee and red bean pancakes. The temple is very serious about their food: No white sugar, preservatives or MSG. Don’t miss the excellent lei cha every Friday.

Bak kut teh gained its full name from Lee Boon ‘Teh’ (owner of Seng Huat) who unwittingly conferred his name on the dish. The third-generation owner, John, now serves two versions of bak kut teh – the original meat-bones only in the morning and the claypot style with intestines, maw, mushroom and tofu puffs at night. We love the original one better – the herby pork rib is hacked into large chunks of flavourful, tender meat.