Still in Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 and continuing our food adventure! Over the course of a few days, we got to try several local dishes, and while not everything met our expectations, it was still a great experience overall.

Hong Kee Claypot Chicken Rice

My husband was really craving claypot chicken rice. We originally planned to visit Heun Kee Claypot Chicken Rice, a well-known spot with a lot of good reviews. Unfortunately, it was a bit far from where we were staying, so we made a spontaneous decision to return to Chinatown and try Hong Kee, which also had mixed reviews but was more accessible. We arrived just after lunchtime and noticed there were still a few groups dining, so we thought that was a good sign.

As soon as we were seated, a waitress promptly came to take our order. We decided to go with their best-seller—the Claypot Chicken Rice, which is also featured in their restaurant name. The serving was said to be good for 2–3 people, and we paired it with a cup of their in-house tea. The food came out fairly quickly. Our claypot dish looked promising, topped with generous bite-sized chicken pieces, just like what you’d hope to see in such a dish.

Taste-wise, the rice had a strong soy-based sauce flavor, which was a bit too salty for me. Sadly, there were parts of the chicken that weren’t cooked well, which made the overall experience a little disappointing.

As for their tea, the taste reminded me of gulaman from back home—but without the sugar or the jelly, and with a strange aftertaste that I didn’t enjoy. My husband, on the other hand, ended up finishing most of the food—probably because he had been craving claypot for a while. Personally, it’s not a place I’d return to.

Lai Foong Restaurant

On a different day, while visiting the Central Market, we passed by Lai Foong Restaurant, a corner hawker-style place with lots of diners and multiple food stalls offering various specialties. It’s located at Kedai Kopi Lai Foong, 138, Jalan Tun H S Lee, City Centre. I was craving laksa (being in Malaysia, how could I not?), and found only one stall selling it—Laksa Sifu, offering their Signature Curry Laksa.

When my bowl arrived, I was excited at first glance—it looked rich and full of flavor. But after my first spoonful of the broth, I felt something was missing. The soup lacked the strong coconut flavor I expected, and the toppings were unfamiliar to me—there were string beans and thick, chunky noodles that felt mismatched with the dish. The pork didn’t blend well with the taste either. Sadly, I couldn’t finish it. My husband ended up eating it while I had his Char Siu, which was also quite dry, so I didn’t bother taking a photo of it.

Samy & Min Bak Kut Teh

A more memorable experience came when we finally got to try Bak Kut Teh at Samy & Min Bak Kut Teh, located at the Food Place in Pavilion Mall. We only ordered one serving since we were still full from our hotel’s buffet breakfast. The portion was good for one to two people and came with a big cup of garlic rice, minced garlic, dipping sauce, and bite-sized fritters (deep-fried dough sticks).

We opted for the Pork Three-Layer Meat Bak Kut Teh, which was served piping hot in a pot filled with lettuce, mushrooms, and pork intestine skin. The broth was rich and flavorful—you could even eat it with rice alone. The pork was so tender that it fell apart easily, and we could cut it using chopsticks. I’m truly thankful I got to try this dish for the first time here because it really raised the bar for what I’ll expect from Bak Kut Teh in the future.

Wanjo Kg Baru

Another restaurant we tried—thanks to some online vlogs—was Wanjo Kg Baru. We didn’t really plan the visit, but after getting off the hop-on-hop-off bus, we ended up in Kampung Baru and stumbled across this place. It was already past 1 PM, and the street wasn’t busy, with only a few restaurants open. Wanjo stood out as it had that open-air feel and a decent number of afternoon diners.

We ordered one plate of Chicken Rendang and one of Fried Chicken, each served with a big cup of steamed rice, a few slices of cucumber, fried dilis, sambal, and boiled egg. My husband added some fried pork lungs to his meal. Between the two, I preferred the fried chicken for its flavor—there were distinct herbs and spices—but the meat itself was too dry and no longer tender. The pork lungs were also tough. The fried dilis was salty but paired nicely with rice, making it manageable. The sambal was more on the sweet side and not too spicy, which worked well as a side condiment.

I couldn’t finish the chicken rendang or the rice. My husband washed down the meal with cold Milo, while I had a milk tea. One thing I noticed was that the hot drinks are cheaper than the cold ones, maybe because of the added ice? Not sure if it was just my order, but I couldn’t quite understand how vloggers gave such glowing reviews to Wanjo. For us, it was just okay. Maybe it’s one of those places that depends on what you order—or maybe we needed a camera crew with us to get the “influencer” version of the meal. Just kidding. 😅

Unfortunately, I don’t have the exact prices of our meals, but overall, the food experiences were quite mixed. Still, each one added a little something to our Kuala Lumpur trip—whether it was discovering a dish I’d happily have again or learning what to skip next time.