Brickfields; the Food Hideout of KL (FULL VERSION)

At the mere mention of the word Brickfields, a lot of things may go through people’s minds, some good but I can assume mostly not so good, another thing that may come to mind is the food, yes I’m sure you are thinking about thosai , roti canai and banana leaf rice and all the regular Indian staples. But hidden away from sight, behind the glitz, glamour and colourful facade of “Little India”, you can and most definitely will find some pretty good Chinese food.

In a small Hawker centre tucked away silently about 400 metres away from KL Sentral is, in my opinion, one of the best pork noodle stalls in the Klang Valley: Peter’s Pork Noodles. It is located behind Wisma MAB. It is a bit tricky to find but if you ask around for the Mayflower Restaurant, it’s easy. As far as pork noodles go, Peter is the Gordon Ramsay of Pork noodles, the servings are generous and you could get a big bowl with everything in it for under RM 5. In that same hawker centre there is also chicken rice, curry laksa and also one of the best banana leaf rice stalls in Brickfields. So don’t be surprised if you happen to see people eating fried fish to accompany their bowl of pork noodles, but rest assured that it is a winning combination.

Another hidden gem in Brickfields is located opposite the YMCA building in Brickfields, just off the T- junction on the pavement is a stall that has goreng pisang (banana fritters) as it is affectionately known as by Malaysians. It is about a three minute walk from KL Sentral and is impossible to miss because of the hoards of people that line up to get their fix.  This stall does not skimp on quality or quantity either, the batter is light and fluffy much like tempura batter and they sell whole bananas unlike typical banana fritter stalls that only give you half or a quarter of the banana. But if you are not there on time or if you go a little after tea time, chances are that they might run out.  

If you ever find yourself having the munchies after a hard day’s night (no pun intended) of partying  like a rock star and not knowing what to eat or if anything is open other than Ronald McDonald and his pals,  have no fear. At the same spot in which the goreng pisang man works his magic during the day is one of the only chee cheong fun hawkers that I know that plies his trade throughout the night and into the wee hours of the morning (approximately about 5 am). He sets up his modest stall on his motorbike and uses the traditional charcoal stove which gives extra flavour to his chee cheong fun which is a throwback to the old days or so I’m told by the enthusiastic and passionate Mr. Lim who has been doing this for almost 30 years. So you know it has got to be good. For those who are dining in, be warned that the settings are al fresco in every sense of the word i.e. A few stools strewn out on the pavement and no tables in sight but all this adds to the experience of it all and most importantly the taste.

It wouldn’t do justice if I wrote an article about food in Brickfields and snobbishly ignored the Indian side of it, I mean, after all it is the new “Little India”. It would be like a 16 year old girl not finding Justin Bieber to be a musical genius and hot at the same time! If you take a walk around Little India, Indian eateries are a dime in a dozen and they all have the same typical fare. Not to take anything away from the glitz of it all, but it’s pretty much the same thing and it can get a tad bit monotonous from time to time so if you’re looking for a spin on authentic Indian cuisine look no further than Annalakshmi Indian Restaurant. It is located behind the Maha Vihara Buddhist Temple and shares a building with the Temple of Fine Arts therein. This restaurant is run by the volunteers of the aforementioned Temple of fine Arts and payment for the meal is by donation only. This means that you eat what you like and then decide what amount you think is fair to pay. This might not work in a restaurant of lesser quality but after you’re done eating here; you will feel compelled to pay an appropriate amount. 

The concept is that of a buffet style where there is an array of dishes to choose from. It’s like the greatest hits of Indian cuisine and everything in between. Like most Indian food, the food here is mildly spicy but so very good. There is a slight catch for all the carnivorous people out there about the restaurant, because it is a part of the temple everything is 100% vegetarian but that does not make a difference because you hardly feel that you are missing any meat in your meal as the dishes prepared are filling in themselves. Another catch is that it is a fine dining restaurant so the dressing has to be smart casual i.e. No shorts and slippers allowed other than that this place is a must try for all those “curry fiends” out there. The restaurant is run with the central theme Athithi Devo Bhava which, in English, means, ‘The guest is God’.  With a cool motto like that how can you not want to check this place out?’

Written by Timothy Achariam 

~American Flyer - Spring 2011 Edition~