Eat in Kepong and Segambut, Kuala Lumpur

Hor Poh Cuisine ★ 4.1

Hor Poh Cuisine is Segambut's lone Hakka restaurant, ladling lui cha rice soup in Kuala Lumpur since 1999, and it carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand today.

OrderLui cha green tea rice soup with ground peanuts and mint.

TipOrder the dried tofu dumplings alongside the lui cha; the soup alone can taste thin without them.

Jalan Ipoh Claypot Chicken Rice ★ 4.1

Jalan Ipoh Claypot Chicken Rice, an unnamed stall on Jalan Batu Ambar in Taman Kok Lian, Kuala Lumpur, cooks each claypot to order over charcoal.

OrderCharcoal claypot chicken rice with Chinese sausage and salted fish.

TipAsk for salted fish mixed into the rice; it adds an aroma the plain chicken version lacks entirely.

Jalan Ipoh Claypot Chicken Rice ★ 4.3

Jalan Ipoh Claypot Chicken Rice cooks its dish to order over charcoal in the Jalan Ipoh area of Kuala Lumpur, one pot at a time, and holds a Bib Gourmand.

OrderOrder the claypot chicken rice with extra lap cheong, cooked to order over charcoal.

TipThe claypots are cooked one at a time, so expect a short wait even on a quiet afternoon.

Hor Poh Cuisine ★ 4.0

Hor Poh Cuisine has served Hakka lui cha and dumplings in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, since 1999, and it now holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its Hakka cooking.

OrderOrder the lui cha, a green herbal soup poured over rice with ground peanuts and sesame.

TipIt is the only dedicated Hakka kitchen in this part of Segambut, worth the drive off the main road.

Jia Kopitiam ★ 3.9

Jia Kopitiam in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur is pork and lard free, serving nasi lemak and Hainan coffee alongside kaya butter toast and croissants.

DrinkHainan coffee

TipThe kitchen is pork and lard free, so the kaya butter toast and Hainan coffee suit a mixed group at breakfast.

Curio Coffee Roaster ★ 3.9

Curio Coffee Roaster keeps its micro roaster at the back of a Rivercity cafe on Jalan Ipoh in Kuala Lumpur, next to yoga mats and home bakes.

BeansGuatemala

BrewsFilter, Espresso, Whole bean retail

TipThe roaster shares the room with the seating area, so mornings are the quietest time to watch a batch run.

PaperKite at Tap Room KL ★ 4.2

PaperKite at Tap Room KL in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, is an award-winning microbrewery pouring its own pale ale, IPA, oatmeal stout and copper ale on site.

TipGuided brewery tours and tastings run on site; the Tap Room also bakes pork-free Neapolitan pizza in a Stefano Ferrara oven.

Pasar Malam Bandar Baru Sentul ★ 3.7

Pasar Malam Bandar Baru Sentul takes over Jalan 1/48A in Kuala Lumpur every Friday evening with a compact run of neighbourhood hawker stalls.

TipArrive at around 17:00 to see every stall; many start packing up by 20:00 on this Friday market.

Taste Legendary Nasi Lemak ★ 3.9

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.

TryNasi lemak with braised pork belly

TipIt sells out most days by late morning, so this is strictly a breakfast stop, and it reopened in a new air conditioned shop house after the Chow Kit move.

Ming Kee Wanton Mee ★ 3.9

Ming Kee Wanton Mee has cooked wanton noodles in a Taman Bukit Maluri shoplot with 1960s floor tiles in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, since at least the mid-1980s.

OrderWanton noodles with homemade prawn dumplings and char siew.

Why locals goIt sits in a row of old shophouses fronting a Kepong wet market, in a suburb that most visitors to Kuala Lumpur never reach on any tour route.

TipThe shop sits beside Taman Bukit Maluri's wet market, so arrive before 09:00 to beat the market crowd for a table.

Chuan Kee Bak Kut Teh ★ 4.0

Chuan Kee Bak Kut Teh has simmered claypot pork rib soup in a Taman Danau Kota shophouse in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, for more than four decades.

OrderClaypot bak kut teh with pork ribs in the herbal broth.

Why locals goIt sits in a residential Taman Danau Kota shophouse row off the Jalan Genting Klang food strip, drawing Setapak regulars rather than passing visitors.

TipCall ahead for the sang kut spare-rib version; it needs at least 45 minutes of advance notice to cook.

Segambut Yong Tau Foo ★ 3.5

Segambut Yong Tau Foo stuffs fish paste into tofu and vegetables in an old single-storey bungalow in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, a breakfast and lunch spot.

OrderFish-based yong tau foo with fried eggplant and bitter gourd.

Why locals goThe dining room is an old single-storey bungalow on a Segambut side road, and at night the same premises turn into a pork-bone hotpot restaurant.

TipParking is scarce by mid-morning, so come early and try the roast pork bun stall sharing the same yard.

Ming Hoe Hokkien Mee ★ 3.7

Ming Hoe Hokkien Mee fries dark soy Hokkien noodles and kau yuk mee hoon off the old third mile stretch of Jalan Ipoh in Kuala Lumpur, a family-style shop.

OrderKau yuk mee hoon with canned stewed pork, and fried fish cake.

Why locals goThe shop sits on a side road off the old third mile stretch of Jalan Ipoh, away from the city's food streets, and is known mainly to regulars.

TipThe kau yuk mee hoon is a sharing plate at about RM 40; pair it with a smaller noodle dish if dining alone.

Kasim Satay ★ 3.4

Kasim Satay grills chicken and beef satay at Pasar Sentul in Kuala Lumpur, where the wet market turns into an evening food bazaar, from about RM0.90 a stick.

OrderBeef satay and chicken satay with peanut sauce, by the stick.

Why locals goIt is a plain stall inside Sentul's market bazaar, far from the tourist satay strips, and most customers are locals ordering sticks in bulk.

TipIt takes bulk orders, 10 to 100 sticks at a time, so call ahead to avoid a wait for a large batch.

Foo Hou Dim Sum ★ 3.9

Foo Hou Dim Sum plates Cantonese dim sum from a Kepong shoplot in Kuala Lumpur, with siew mai and har gow steamed fresh from breakfast to early afternoon.

OrderOrder the har gow and the custard bun while the steamer trays are still hot.

TipGo before 9am on weekends, the small dining room fills once the after breakfast crowd lands.

Hing Kee Bakuteh ★ 4.1

Hing Kee Bakuteh in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, simmers a Bib Gourmand bak kut teh from mid afternoon into the small hours, dry version and soup both on the table.

TryDry bak kut teh with bird's eye chilli and dried cuttlefish

TipOrder the dry version if the soup at other bak kut teh shops tastes too mild for you.