What to eat when in Kuala Lumpur

I love South East Asian countries, given their unique and rich culture, tasty food, modern architecture, and heritage. To escape the chilly winters of Vienna, in February, I decided to visit Kuala Lumpur, the city of diverse culture combined with a trip to India to meet my family. Those three weeks were beyond amazing and in this post, I want to share my Kuala Lumpur adventure as a vegetarian.

What to expect in Kuala Lumpur?

In this guide, I am going to the places I visited and sometimes re-visited for vegetarian food. Kuala Lumpur is a multicultural city including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian etc. This diversity in the culture naturally translates into a variety of cuisines where authenticity is guaranteed.

Can a vegetarian survive in Kuala Lumpur?

One thing to note is that finding vegetarian food is not a problem at all. You can definitely survive as a vegetarian in Kuala Lumpur. But not all vegetarian food is equally delicious. So you might want to know which places offer the best vegetarian food. Oh and one more thing I am big time snacker and love exploring the aisles of a grocery market for some interesting and unique snacks. So I discovered these ↓ and truly loved them.

Restaurants that serve fantastic vegetarian meals:

Oiso Korean Traditional Cuisine & Cafe

I am a big fan of Bibimbap which is a rice dish served with veggies in a spicy sauce called Gochujang. So I went to this restaurant hoping to find a vegetarian Bibimbap. As soon as I scanned through their menu, to my surprise quite a few vegetarian options, so I opted for a chili mushroom tofu stew and as a side dish (which by the way was a meal in itself) rice cakes in a sweet chili sauce.
Spice Alert: I ordered this one with a medium level of spiciness, however, it turned out to be damn spicy. So do not underestimate chili part, as I did 😉

Saravana Bhavan

Indian plus tasty vegetarian food is a perfect combo. Even if you are a vegan you can find endless options. For me, it is always a delight to find good Indian food when traveling, but it is not the case each time. Sometimes it can be a real disappointment. However, Saravana Bhavan was amazingly authentic and simply tasty.

Din Tai Fung

If you want authentic dumplings then make sure to include Din Tai Fung in your list. They serve amazing dumplings both sweet and savory. Although they had only one vegetarian version with mushroom filling, it is definitely worth a try. This restaurant is located in the Suria KLCC mall on the top floor.

Santinos Pizza

Another big touristy spot to cover in Kuala Lumpur is the KL tower, from where you can enjoy the skyline view of the city from a height of 420 m. It is indeed an incredible experience. Located in the lobby of KL towers is Santinos Pizza. Since we spent almost two hours on the deck of the tower, we were ready for a quick snack bite. So we sat down in Santinos Pizza where we ordered marvelous cheesy garlic bread and some onion rings. The bread was cheesy and very soft, I enjoyed every single bite of it. Onion rings also had the right crispiness to it. So if you happen to be in the KL tower, do try out this place.

Must try desserts:

Salon du Chocolat

After a satisfying lunch, I was craving something chocolaty and was very adamant about finding a hot brownie. Wandering around in the mall I stumbled upon Salon du Chocolat that had stunning chocolate fondues at the display. I got more than I was looking for- a hot sizzling brownie.

Dal.Komm Coffee

Another dessert that you should try when in Suria KLCC mall. This unique dessert is a fusion of croissant and muffin, called a Cruffin. The base is made up of croissant dough giving you that crispy bite and inside is filled with lava of cheesecake topped with whipped cream and cheesecake cubes.

Kakigori

Who thought that a shaved ice can be turned into such a lip-smacking dessert. Kakigori is a Japanese shaved ice dessert infused with syrup and topped with cream. I ordered watermelon and rose Kakigori, which was outrageous. My friend got a berry Kakigori which was equally tasty. However, I must say, the portion was quite decent and we were so full after it. Sharing might not be a bad idea.

Kuala Lumpur is a city thriving with rich culture, modern infrastructure, and world-class cuisines. When you are there just let yourself be inspired by the surroundings and experience the magic.