Exploring Malaysia 
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Kuala Lumpur offers the country's best selection of foreign and local cuisines. With its many nationalities and different ethnic groups, this capital city serves up an extensive diverse array of cuisines to suit every taste.
The best places to sample local dishes are at the many hawker stalls scattered throughout the city where variety is the norm. Most of these are located outdoors, but they are also found indoors particularly in shopping centers, such as Central Market, Lot 10, Suria KLCC and others. Areas where you can sample local favourites while soaking in a truly local ambience is quite varied. The Chow Kit area offers you a wide variety of Malay influenced cuisine in the day and more so at night. Jalan Alor which is parallel to Jalan Bukit Bintang, a popular shopping area, is where you will find a wealth of hawker stalls serving mainly Chinese cuisine, similarly in the Petaling Street or Chinatown area. Jalan Masjid India on the other hand offers a combination of Malay and Indian influenced cuisine in both stalls and small cosy restaurants. Damansara Uptown, Hartamas and Subang are areas where you find a combination of cuisines in stall and restaurant like establishments.
Fine dining is also available at most hotels and around the vicinity of Jalan Ampang/Jalan Sultan Ismail, Bangsar, Heritage Row, Hartamas, Damansara, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail and other locations in the city. A prominent venue to check out is One Bangsar. Imagine a whole new avenue in gastronomic adventure and culinary art. A single place ot dine-in comfortably. A setting amidst an environment so elegant without having to travel the miles, where patrons will be spoilt for choice by the wide array of food and beverage from all corners of the world. A single place that calls uniqueness in terms of decoration, style and sophistication its norm and gastronomy its passion in an affordable manner. A melting pot of the world’s finest cuisines such as Oriental Seafood, Northern Indian, Japanese, Malay, Vietnamese, Thai, French, Mediterranean, Italian and a wine bistro in one single place, in One Bangsar.
Typical Malay dishes to savour include the nasi lemak i.e.fragrant rice with a potpourri of additions, such as egg, dried anchovies, peanuts and vegetables, nasi goring i.e. fried rice and of course the famous Satay i.e. skewered chicken or beef pieces cooked over hot coals and served with a spicy peanut sauce. A popular Chinese specialty is Chicken Rice which consists of chopped chicken pieces served with fragrant rice accompanied by spicy chilli and garlic sauce on the side. Equally popular is fried kway teow –flat noodles stir fried with spicy black bean sauce, egg, bean sprouts and shrimps or mussels. Fish Head Curry a popular dish among locals comes in two varieties i.e. the Chinese version as well as the ‘Mamak’ or Indian Muslim version – it essentially consists of huge fish head pieces cooked in spicy sauce served together with rice.
For Indian specialties, one of the local favourites enjoyed by all is roti canai - fried flaky pancake served with lentils and curries and thosai – sourish fried pancakes served with coconut chutney and curry. The banana leaf meal is also a hot favourite among locals where rice and an assortment of vegetables are served on a banana leaf and can be accompanied by meat, fish and other dishes of your choice.
Cuisine available in Kuala Lumpur is by no means limited to local specialities. If you would like to sample food from some of the neighbouring countries, you will find many selections available. Thai food is a favourite among locals with the spicy Thai ‘Tom Yam’ soup being one of the ‘hot’ favourites. These can be found both among hawker stalls as well as 5 star restaurants Japanese food has also gained a foothold and availability ranges from fine dining venues to affordable ‘fast food’ chains. Korean, Vietnamese, Taiwanese and other Asian food choices are also widely available. Meanwhile, for those with a penchant for western cuisine, the range of choices is equally endless. Italian food is among the more commonly available but you can also find French, Mediterranean, Spanish, American and Mexican among others. While more common in hotels and restaurants you can also find the range within some stall like establishments. Food from the Middle east is also now very popular in the city.
