Jalan Alor at Bukit Bintang
Hosting a lot of hawker stalls and seafood restaurants, Jalan Alor is one of the most famous roads in Kuala Lumpur for food. Located just behind Jalan Bukit Bintang and a short walk away from Changkat Bukit Bintang, it is a favourite after-clubbing dining spot in the Golden Triangle area.
Though the seafood at the air-conditioned restaurants is really good and inexpensive, we highly recommend the hawker food. KL being an immigrant city, the variety of food available is amazing and in Jalan Alor the barbecued meats, noodles and desserts are some of the best (and cheapest) in the city. Most of these dishes cannot be found in fashion-conscious restaurants – and even if they are, they are rarely as tasty, so hawker stalls are a favourite on the city’s foodie scene.
Called the cultural hearth of the city’s local cuisine, tourists rarely venture here largely because of its ‘hidden’ location. A sharp contrast to trendy Jalan Bukit Bintang and Changkat Bukit Bintang, Jalan Alor has a traditional charm to it with atmospheric air-conditioned Chinese seafood restaurants, bright fluorescent restaurant signage lighting and mini red Chinese lanterns strung up in the trees. But it is also a tad messy because of the seemingly-endless row of hawker stalls set up on the five-foot walkway, with plastic tables and chairs spilling out onto the road.
Sure, the food is the main draw but the atmosphere is also truly memorable. The place stays loud and vibrant throughout the night with vendors furiously fanning grills of chicken and beef skewers, the metallic clang of frying woks and the air is thick with charcoal smoke.
At the food stalls food is cooked in a furious fashion (with delicious smells coming from the frying woks and boiling pots) and served on plastic plates in a rainbow of colours. Most hawker stalls have picture menus, making ordering simple.
We suggest you grab a table somewhere in front of Restoran Dragon View at the top of the street and then walk along and order your dishes from the diverse range of hawkers. We recommend the fried oyster egg from Restoran Wong Ah Wah: a thin and crispy omelette with plump and briny oysters that is served with fresh coriander leaves and accompanied by a chilli sauce that gives it a tangy, spicy kick. Or even the smoky-flavoured satay (marinated chicken tenderloin) from Terminal Sate Zul and grilled chicken wings in a simple soy marinade with chicken rice and roasted barbecue pork from Restoran Meng Kee Grill Fish.
The easiest way to get here is via monorail: alight at the Bukit Bintang stop and head north along Jalan Bukit Bintang: from there Jalan Alor is a one-minute walk.