The REAL hawker food of Kuala Lumpur

For far too long whenever I'm in Kuala Lumpur, my meals would be rather predictable. I would either eat alone at MidValley or through the good grace of my friends, be taken to such popular places such as Yut Kee or Suzy's Corner.

But my wife and I were blessed with some good luck last weekend when we went to Kuala Lumpur and stayed at the Ibis Styles Hotel at the Fraser Business Park. As it was a short distance away from Pudu, Imbi, Bukit Bintang, whatever, our daughter decided to take us to the new Bukit Bintang market in Jalan Kampong.

I must say that this was the REAL Kuala Lumpur. Visiting the hawker centre at this market was exactly what I've been looking for in Kuala Lumpur and yet been unable to describe. The real Kuala Lumpur where the people come to market and where the people come to eat.

Although we did not get to go inside the market, we sat among the local residents who had come for their breakfast. All around us, the tables were full of people and we had to wait a bit before someone left and we plonked ourselves into the empty seats. The table tops were still full of empty cups and bowls of food, and we waited patiently for them to be cleared away.

My daughter ordered toast bread, half-boiled eggs and two cups of milk tea. The bread was unbelievably well toasted and the filling of butter and jam simply melted away in our mouths. Sooner, my wife's wanthan mee arrived. Around us, we saw people eating many other types of popular hawker food but I had already chosen what I wanted: a plate of fried koay kak. All that I can say about my choice was, it was a very good choice.

The Bukit Bintang market's hawker centre....that's where I hope to go again the next time I'm in KL. Here are some photos. I bet it would make anyone's mouth water!