The Food Guide I Wish I Had In Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

I stayed in the Bukit Bintang area of KL, because that's where @macchiata said all of the tourists go and she said she was going to be there.

So, without knowing anything about the area, or KL, I just decided to book a place there.

Now, a lot of people on Team Malaysia showed me some amazing food, especially @aaronleang @joannewong @zord189.

But this food guide is for food in the Bukit Bintang area, for the days when you don't have the nicest Malaysian people ever showing you around and you have to figure it out on your own.

You can even use this Bukit Bintang food guide to become a white tour guide for Malaysians who are trying to be tourists in their own town!(Haha, I say this because I showed the colored walls to Aaron, Joanne and Zord as well as some food in Bukit that they didn't know about, so I made the joke that it was MY turn to be their tour guide even though we were still in Malaysia).

So, at first, I wanted vegetables because I just feel better when I eat them (and have less stomach problems and stuff). @orangila said there aren't so many in Malaysia.

But, I found some!!! In lots of places! I just didn't know where to look until it was almost too late.

But even without vegetables, let's be honest. All the food I ate was amazing. Malaysians have good flavoring in their food, so nothing is bland or blah.

Before I get into where exactly to eat, lemme give you some tips first:

Pro Tip: Don't Bring Durian Into The Hotel! You Can Get Fined

Haha, this just cracks me up that a fruit could smell so lethal that it gets banned. Yet, Malaysians sure do LOVE their Durian. I have a mixed relationship with it. Durian is like an ex-boyfriend that I'm still trying to be friends with, so it's cool but also awkward at the same time. I can't figure out if Durian tastes like fruit or garlic haha.

You Can Literally Get Coffee Out Of A Vending Machine. For Reals

This just was like...mind-blowing to me. I know, I know. I'm behind the times and living under a rock basically. But this was SO cool!!

You press a button...

... and THIS comes out...without spilling!

It's basically a barista in a box.

FYI... I got the Tongkat Ali because after googling it, I just thought it was an interesting plant native to Malaysia with lots of health benefits...and ahem...special benefits for guys, lol.

So I wanted to try something new, as usual...I always go for the weird thing on the menu. Turns out it was still just coffee infused with Tongkat Ali so I got a little jittery from caffeine because I was just expecting to get some kind of herbal plant drink.

It tasted amazeballs, though. Totally worth it. If you want to try it, I found this vending machine on the ground floor of Le Boutique Apple Hotel (the one across the street from Food Court 33. Don't get it confused with the other apple hotel...there are 2 of them).

Now that I've got that all off of my chest...

Here are some of the things I found around the Bukit Bintang to eat for when I wasn't going to the other side of KL to eat food with Team Malaysia.

1. Food Court 33

I'm starting with the best one, first. The reason why is because I don't want you to miss it, like I did for almost 2 straight weeks!!!

Seriously, this is literally a hidden gem. As you can see, there is a tiny staircase with a tiny sign that says "Food Court 33" above it.

In real life, there are huge restaurants on either side of this tiny staircase. Honestly, I thought the staircase just let up to the kitchen or the backroom or storage for these other big restaurants or something.

No!! Ugh, if you go up the stairs, you'll literally end up in food heaven. I'm nicknaming these stairs the stairway to (food) heaven.

You can choose from Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Western and Indonesian food here. And you barely pay over 6 Ringgit for food. Ahhh it's just so amazing.

The ladies who work there are all so lovely. They cook it right there in front of you, so you know it's pretty fresh. They obviously have a love for their food and take pride in cooking good stuff. It's like getting to eat a home cooked meal from a Malaysian mom, haha. Absolutely loved this place!! My favorite place in all of Bukit Bintang, for sure. Not even a contest.

1. Falafel

This one isn't healthy. At all. It's not gluten free, if you thought it was...be careful if you have a major sensitivity to it, because it's not! I have a friend who made that mistake, once. But dang is it tasty!!! And for only 6 Ringgit it'll fill you right up. There are a TON of falafel/schwarma places around, so you can basically take your pick. But I found ONE in particular that tasted better than the others and was half the price. I don't know how to describe where it was, other than it was on the street right next to the train station, Air Asia Bukit Bintang stop. It's on the same side of the road as the McDonalds.

NZ Curry House

My main recommendatin for there is just the carrot juice. This is for weirdos who like carrot juice. For some reason, I'm obsessed with it and think it tastes amazing. Here, they sell it for 3 Ringgit which was literally 1/3 of the price I saw it for anywhere else. Just make sure to tell them not to add sugar if you don't want it TOO sweet.

Simple Life Vegetarian

Ok, so this one you can end up walking around for an hour trying to find it. Literally, all you have to do is walk to Lot 10 by the train station and go in through Zara, walk up a few flights of stairs to the left, and then it'll be RIGHT there in front of you when you exit the store. You can't miss it if you cut through Zara. There's also a location at the bottom of Pavilion mall, if that's easier for you to get to.

The people who work here at the Lot 10 location go above and beyond to make sure you have what you need. It makes you feel super welcome and happy to be there.

You HAVE to try to the fried pumpkin. It's SO good...I was craving it all the time. But I only let myself indulge in it twice. The potato somosas were good, too. They both cost 12 Ringgit each.

I ordered the and it tastes amazing!

The organic beancurd with rice and vegetables tastes awesome, too. The rice tastes like it's grilled. I literally think it is, which just makes it above average. I'd give it a sticker if I could. I only went here twice, and the second time I had them replace the "bean curd" (it's just soy) with extra cauliflower and broccoli. It was perfect. Cost: 19 Ringgit. It also comes with some kind of soup...no idea what's in it but it tastes great.

Laypark

This is where I ate a couple of times before I discovered Food Court 33. Mainly, because they had chicken and bitter gourd with rice and it tastes amazing. Even though they have a lot of choices on the menu, it was so good that I could never bring myself to try anything else. It's about 13 Ringgit to eat here.

There are several restaurant options along the same road.

Jalan Alor Street Food

There's a ton of food on this street. It's a little more touristy priced, though. You can find all of the same things in Food Court 33.

But, it was pretty cool because @joannewong and @aaronleang showed us some cool Chinese dessert there that I've never heard of before! I wouldn't have noticed it on my own.

Food Trucks

There are some food trucks that @zord189 knows where they are. It's a fun environment where you can just sit outside with some string lights and try several different foods and have a nice time listenting to music.

Big Hug Burger

This one isn't in Bukit Bintang, but it HAS to be mentioned because they accept steem! And because @danielwong is an awesome guy who owns it.

Looks like someone passed out after eating too many burgers:

My first black charcoal bun!

Look how happy @Joannewong is about it! I love how she's always smiling and lighting up a room:

Changkat bar street

This place has Latin Dancing.

Pavilion Mall floor.

Just go there. There are SO MANY FOOD CHOICES from all over.

Welp, that's it for the food stuff. If you're in the area, I hope you discover some good things!

Here are some useful food words before I go (incase you go somewhere like NZ Curry House which has no English on the menu):

Ayam= Chicken
Ikan= Fish
Goreng= Fried
Telur= Egg
Mee= Noodle
Nasi= Rice
Teh Tarek= Pulled Tea (and it's yummy, so drink it)
sotong= squid
kambing= goat
sayur-sayuran = vegetables (I think)