Feast your eyes
There is no better location in the capital for food than Bukit Bintang
Friends always seem a little surprised whenever I suggest a visit to Kuala Lumpur for the many delicious cuisines on offer. I can hardly blame them. Unlike Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong, where most good food places are concentrated in the city centre and easily accessible by public transport, Kuala Lumpur's top food places tend to be spread out all over the city and the neighbouring satellite town of Petaling Jaya.
The public transport system can be a nightmare without a local guide or car, unless you're in the right location where restaurants and shops are easily accessible on foot. For this, there can be no better location than the Bukit Bintang area.
A decade or so ago, the area bordered on the seedy side, with cheap hawkers and down-market shopping malls. But a concerted effort by local tycoon Francis Yeoh to spiff up and rebrand the street as Bintang Walk, by introducing upmarket malls and restaurants, and art galleries, has turned the area around.
There's also lots of good eateries you can get to, with just some simple instructions from the concierge.
Hutong Food Court
Malaysia's first Gourmet Heritage Village and arguably Yeoh's best gift to the city, the sprawling food court in the basement of the Lot 10 Mall is one of Kuala Lumpur's best-kept secrets - even to locals. The food court is a veritable food heaven. All the stalls are branches of hawker stalls that locals have known and loved for decades in separate parts of town which has made it difficult for tourists to try them. All have been handpicked by the YTL Corporation chairman and invited to operate in Hutong.
Hutong has the rare distinction of being the only food court in the country where pork can be served which means that many of the stall owners can offer their most authentic dishes because pork and lard form an essential ingredient in the local Chinese cuisine. The Imbi Road original pork noodles, which is served with a rich dark soy sauce and a topping of minced pork, is simply to die for. The ducking roast duck, served with pork lard rice, is also another firm favourite. But you can't go far wrong with any of the stalls inside Hutong.