Ho Kow Hainam Kopitiam is a hainanese restaurant in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur.
Editorially verified September 28, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
2.5 hours
Experience cocktail mixing with a bartender, then get ready for a scavenger hunt to explore 3 hidden bars in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Explore Kuala Lumpur on a walking tour. Discover the Central Market, visit the Merdeka Square and explore Chinatown.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Discover the flavors of Kuala Lumpur on our guided food tour. Explore Chinatown and the colonial district, and taste over 12 authentic dishes that reflect Malaysia’s c...
Address: 1 Jalan Balai Polis, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
Old China Cafe has cooked Nyonya laksa and Peranakan dishes from Penang, Malacca and Singapore on Jalan Balai Polis in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, since 1997.
OrderOrder the Nyonya laksa, a thick coconut gravy laksa the kitchen has served since 1997.
TipOrder the pie tee, crisp rice-flour cups you fill yourself with chicken, turnip and carrot, before the laksa.
Kin Kin Chili Pan Mee in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, is the shophouse credited with inventing the dry chili pan mee that copies across the city chase.
OrderOrder the dry chili pan mee with a poached egg, then mix in the sambal at the table.
TipThe soup version exists but almost everyone here orders the dry chili pan mee with a poached egg.
Kim Lian Kee, founded in 1927 and on its Petaling Street corner since the 1930s, is credited with the dark, lard rich KL style of Hokkien mee in Kuala Lumpur.
OrderOrder the Hokkien mee, noodles fried dark with soy sauce and lard the way KL invented it.
TipThe original tin-roofed corner shop sits across the street from the larger air-conditioned Kim Lian Kee, and the outdoor tables fill after 19:00.
Sek Yuen has cooked old school Cantonese food in its Jalan Pudu dining room in Kuala Lumpur since 1953, still best known for its butterflied pipa duck.
OrderOrder the pei pa duck, the butterflied roast duck the house is best known for.
TipBook ahead for weekend lunch; the restaurant now spreads across three shops on the same stretch of Jalan Pudu.
Sri Paandi serves banana leaf rice in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, from 09:00 until 23:30 most days, with a dry mutton curry that regulars order by name.
OrderOrder the banana leaf rice with dry mutton curry, the dish regulars come back for.
TipThe dry curries are the strength here, ask for extra on the rice rather than the wetter gravies.
Wong Ah Wah anchors Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, grilling the chicken wings that made this hawker street's night market so famous.
OrderOrder the grilled chicken wings, charred over charcoal and the reason for the nightly queue.
TipSeating spills onto the street, expect to share a table once the evening crowd arrives.
Old China Cafe has cooked Nyonya laksa and Peranakan dishes from Penang, Malacca and Singapore on Jalan Balai Polis in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, since 1997.
OrderOrder the Nyonya laksa, a thick coconut gravy laksa the kitchen has served since 1997.
TipOrder the pie tee, crisp rice-flour cups you fill yourself with chicken, turnip and carrot, before the laksa.