Yesterday morning we did a foodie walking tour with Danny from Simply ENAK. Our first stop on our tour was for a Roti Tissue, from Vinny Teyaa, which is a paper thin crispy Roti with a small drizzle of sweet condensed milk. Now I know you might be thinking that doesn’t sound good but I can assure you that it was a great way to start our morning and we had a Ginger Chia and a Marsala chia to wash it down. Danny lead us through the breakfast market and we watched a couple of men make a red bean paste buns. The market stall owners were getting ready for the day as we passed by. The markets don’t really get started until about 11.00am when the city starts to wake up properly.
As we walked down a side alley we stopped at a little stall and watched a well-experienced couple making a traditional peanut pancake, no peanut allergies here, on a roaring gas burner. We were a bit worried about the size of the pancake as it was about a 40cm. Luckily they folded it in half and cut it into 12 pieces and only gave us a few sections. It was very tasty. Next we tried a couple of local fruits. First the Rose Apple that was crispy and juicy but not overly flavourful until Danny asked for the sourish seasoning, that changed it completely. Second was the Ciku, a tropical fruit with a subtle caramel sweetness.
Our next destination wasn’t food related at all, but the most amazing use of an old cinema ever. The foyer has several quirky stores and restaurants out the back. Upstairs though is the magic part. It is the biggest bookstore we have ever seen. So many nooks and crannies with gaps randomly place for photo opportunities. Where the cinema seat were there are now tables filled with more books. This cinema used to seat about a thousand people. We could easily spend hours just wandering around. Maybe before we leave we can revisit for a little shopping.
Danny had another fabulous stop for us. This was a lovely little cafe/bakery where I had an iced mlio and Simon had a coffee/tea combination. So many local delicacies to choose from. Around the corner was a street that was once famous for shops on street level and infamous for brothels above. It started to fall into disrepair when a group of local businessmen decided to save the heritage site. These days the brothels have gone and the back alley has been cleaned up and artists have turned the back alleys into tourist attractions filled with an amazing selection of street art.
Our next stop was for a sensational lunch at a hawker style restaurant, amazing noodles with beef and the tastiest Char Keow Teow we’ve ever tasted. Next we visited the Sultan Abdul Samad building, it’s undergoing a total restoration to bring it back to its firmer glory. We then headed to the oldest Anglican church in KL, there we parted ways with Danny and made our way back to our hotel for a well earned swim. What a fantastic introduction to KL.
