26 budget eating across 2 cities. All Malaysia guides.

Food tours and tastings to book

Best rated on Viator first, weighted by reviews, from the cities on this list. One per city.

Everything to book in Kuala Lumpur, Penang

All 26 budget eating

Ranked by our editors.

Roti Canai Transfer Road

  • ★ 4.4
  • Roti canai banjir
  • George Town
  • Penang

Roti Canai Transfer Road has flipped flaky flatbread at its roadside stall for around half a century, Penang's definitive curry-flooded breakfast.

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Super Star Koay Teow Soup

Super Star Koay Teow Soup has run its Kimberley Street cart since 1960, a third-generation Bib Gourmand bowl that keeps Penang dinners under RM10.

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New Lane Hawker Centre

New Lane Hawker Centre lines Lorong Baru with twenty-odd evening stalls, the after-dark hawker parade Penang locals rate above the seafront rows.

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Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng

  • ★ 4.2
  • Koay teow th'ng
  • George Town
  • Penang

Ah Boy Koay Teow Th'ng simmers chicken and pork-bone broth on Lebuh Clarke, a second-generation Bib Gourmand breakfast from RM5.50 in Penang.

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Joo Hooi Cafe

Joo Hooi Cafe packs char koay teow, assam laksa, lor bak and duck bee hoon into one corner kopitiam on Penang Road, a full hawker crawl per table.

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Penang Famous Samosa

  • ★ 4.2
  • Samosas
  • Little India
  • Penang

Penang Famous Samosa fries mutton, chicken, sardine and vegetable parcels at pocket-money prices on Queen Street, Little India's Michelin-listed snack stop.

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Mansion Tea Stall

  • ★ 4.1
  • RM 2.80 to RM 4
  • Roti canai banjir
  • Masjid India
  • Kuala Lumpur

Mansion Tea Stall on Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur serves roti canai chopped and drowned in dhal and curry, from 07:00 to 19:00 every day.

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Nasi Lemak Wanjo

  • ★ 4.1
  • RM 4 to RM 10.80
  • Nasi lemak with chicken rendang
  • Kampung Baru
  • Kuala Lumpur

Nasi Lemak Wanjo has sold nasi lemak in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, since the 1960s and draws a late night queue for its smoky, sweet sambal.

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Koon Kee Wan Tan Mee

Koon Kee Wan Tan Mee on Jalan Hang Lekir in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, serves springy wantan noodles at low, unfussy prices from a shop with only a few tables.

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Pudu Pasar Wanton Mee

Pudu Pasar Wanton Mee at the Pudu wet market in Kuala Lumpur serves curry wanton mee and glossy glass char siew after dark, from Tuesday to Saturday.

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Hon Kee Porridge

  • ★ 4.0
  • RM 2.50 to RM 12.50
  • Raw fish porridge
  • Chinatown
  • Kuala Lumpur

Hon Kee Porridge off Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur cooks raw fish and century egg congee from 05:00 until early afternoon, one of the brand's several shops.

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Sri Weld Food Court

  • ★ 4.0
  • Nasi lemak, beef koay teow
  • George Town
  • Penang

Sri Weld Food Court feeds Beach Street's office crowd from a shaded row of stalls, the weekday Penang lunch defined by Ali's nasi lemak queue.

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Brickfields Goreng Pisang

  • ★ 3.9
  • RM 1.60 a piece
  • Pisang goreng and kuih bakul
  • Brickfields
  • Kuala Lumpur

Brickfields Goreng Pisang has fried pisang raja fritters and kuih bakul on Jalan Thambipillay in Kuala Lumpur since the early 1980s, run by a father and son.

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Imbi Market

Imbi Market moved into ICC Pudu in Kuala Lumpur and still runs a morning hawker hall of chee cheong fun, popiah and curry laksa stalls every day but Monday.

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Lot 10 Hutong

  • ★ 3.9
  • RM 8 to RM 20
  • Curated hawker stalls
  • Bukit Bintang
  • Kuala Lumpur

Lot 10 Hutong gathers well known Malaysian hawker vendors inside an air conditioned basement food court in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, under one roof.

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Taste Legendary Nasi Lemak

  • ★ 3.9
  • RM 8 to RM 12
  • Nasi lemak with braised pork belly
  • Kepong
  • Kuala Lumpur

Taste Legendary Nasi Lemak moved from Chow Kit Market to Kepong Baru in Kuala Lumpur in 2024, still frying its Hakka pork belly with nasi lemak.

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Madras Lane Yong Tau Fu

Madras Lane Yong Tau Fu in the Petaling Street wet market of Kuala Lumpur fries its stuffed pieces on site, beside a chee cheong fun stall, from late morning.

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Murtabak Ana

Murtabak Ana beside the morning market in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, folds meat-stuffed murtabak from roti dough flipped paper thin, sold for RM5 a piece.

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Ee Beng Vegetarian Food

  • ★ 3.9
  • Vegetarian economy rice
  • George Town
  • Penang

Ee Beng Vegetarian Food fills trays with meat-free economy rice on Lebuh Dickens, the pay-per-scoop buffet Penang's vegetarians rely on daily.

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Banglo 289

  • ★ 3.8
  • RM 2.50 to RM 18
  • Nasi campur buffet
  • City Centre
  • Kuala Lumpur

Banglo 289 serves a Malay nasi campur buffet from a converted house on Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur, with more than 30 freshly cooked dishes daily.

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Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

  • ★ 3.8
  • Rojak, fried oysters, laksa
  • Gurney Drive
  • Penang

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre gathers the seafront's night stalls into a covered court off Persiaran Gurney, Penang's most tourist-friendly hawker hit.

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Ah Fook Chee Cheong Fun

  • ★ 3.7
  • RM 4 to RM 8
  • Chee cheong fun and yong tau fu
  • Pudu
  • Kuala Lumpur

Ah Fook Chee Cheong Fun inside ICC Pudu in Kuala Lumpur serves silky rice noodle rolls with curry sauce and fried yong tau fu, most mornings of the week.

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Quizinn Foodcourt by Rasa

  • ★ 3.6
  • RM 6 to RM 13
  • Mixed hawker food court
  • Brickfields
  • Kuala Lumpur

Quizinn Foodcourt by Rasa on level three of Nu Sentral in Kuala Lumpur runs stalls of Malay, Thai, Korean and zichar cooking under one roof.

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