Dispatches from Kuala Lumpur 3

Dinner is waiting

KL is supposedly a foodie's heaven, but a foodie my 7-year-old daughter is not.
There are lots of different kinds of food here since there are lots of different kinds of people here: Chinese, Indian, Malay, and a fusion of all three. The one thing almost all the food here has in common is spiciness, which, again, for a 7-year-old can be a problem. In one Chinese restaurant we went to we ended up having to swap dishes because the mango chicken she ordered also had a chili sauce. I do think over the past week and a half she's gotten a little more used to some spiciness.

"not too spicy"

Another difference in food culture is of course utensils. And all three different cuisines here highlight that. I ate this Indian meal with my hands, including the rice not pictured:

"You're eating like a baby!"

Chinese food gets chopsticks:

And Malay food just gets eaten with a spoon and fork, often used at the same time.

Another jarring difference is the places meals are prepared and eaten.  Most people, especially the natives outside of the center of the city, tend to eat outside of the restaurant proper using the tables and chairs set up where ever theres space. The photo above is of tables and chairs set up in the street.

This place is just some side street behind a street market. Not pictured are the dishwashers in the street using the road as their workplace, too.

"What food license?"

This kitchen is in the middle of the sidewalk

This stall is on the stairway to the train station.

If it all gets to be too much, which happens for my daughter, there is also Western food around. 

"Can't I eat the french fries first, then have the salad?"

Food at a Western restaurant is more expensive than native food, but it's still not as expensive as Japan. We ordered an XL pizza for the equivalent of 1200 yen. And for an American like me, KL has more authentic American food than Japan does, so I sometimes don't even want to eat Malaysian/Chinese/Indian. 

Here are a couple more pictures. See you next time.

Have a seat.

Chop it. Drink it. Chuck it.