Kuala Lumpur

UPDATE

I had a brief stopover in KL on route from Singapore to Chiang Mai so thought it a good opportunity to hit up a few more of the city’s many fine vegan establishments.

Dharma Realm

The very top of that list was Dharma Realm a Buddhist monastery in the heart of KLCC. I had herd many good things about their all vegan weekday lunch buffet so after a quick pit stop to Berjaya Times Square for a cucumber soy milkshake from Buddy Soy (see below post for details) and a pack of seriously delicious chocolate coated almonds I found in Cold Storage (NB: Christmas time is an excellent time to find vegan box chocolates in KL it seems).

Dharma Realm took a little while to get to, mainly because I waited 1 hour for a seemingly non existent bus before opting for the monorail instead so luckily I was very hungry when I arrived towards the end of the lunch rush hour.

Dharma Realm plate

Situated at the back of the temple down a path is a large shed style canteen with long stainless steel tables mostly filled with office workers on their lunchbreak. There was a huge selection of dishes to choose from, all the usual things you’d expect from a veg Chinese buffet. I got as many different things as I could fit on my plate, the pumpkin curry and the black bean tofu were particular standouts. Nothing is labelled but it’s 100% vegan so I wasn’t too concerned about knowing exactly what each dish was. I also got a cold cincua (drink) and a steamed red bean bun which cam to the grand total of RM8.50 (about $3) for everything.

Dharma Realm

161 Jalan Ampang (near Petronas towers)

buffet is weekday lunchtime only

LOCO GELATO

After lunch I spent an hour or so wandering around KLCC mall, mainly to escape the stifling heat outside and came across a gelato place advertising vegetarian options. Since vegan ice cream is almost non existent in KL and it being perfect ice cream weather I of course went to investigate. After asking the usual questions I learned that they did indeed have a few vegan options, I ordered a cup with a scoop each the very yummy and chocolatey dark chocolate and the mango. It cost RM9 for the 2 scoops which I though was pretty reasonable and it was easily some of the nicest gelato I’ve had in a while.

Loco Gelato KLCC mall near Isetan supermarket lower ground level.

After 5 humid and very smoky days in Singapore thanks to the out of control forest fires in Indonesia that were started to make room for more palm oil plantations. gggrrrhhh!! 😦 , (Singapore blog still to come as I will have some time there at the end of my trip), I jumped on a very quick and rather cheap flight to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. My previous visit here about 1 year ago had been jam packed with many exciting vegan discoveries and new friends so I was looking very forward to returning. Unfortunately this post will be a little short on photos because my camera and all the photos I had taken in Singapore and KL that were on it, fell out of my bag while I was in a taxi and was then taken by the taxi driver :(, just as well I mostly ate at all the same places as last time so I have some pics from then to share.

YIN FUTT KUOK VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT

One of my faves

My last trip I had stayed at a very nice hostel near Masjid Jamek and had discovered 2 100% vegan restaurants, both within 100m from the hostel so naturally I decided to stay there again this time. My favourite of the 2, just around the corner on Jalan Tun Perak is Yin Futt Kuok, (the other one is called Lily vegetarian on Jalan Tun HS Lee). From the outside it looks like any shabby run down local food dive and on the inside too really, but the food is superb. On the ground floor there is an insanely cheap buffet at lunch time, for around RM3-5 ($1-2.50) you can get rice and  a choice of 3 dishes. Upstairs is a good bargain too, the menu consists mostly of vegan versions of traditional Malay food, mains are about RM6 ($2) and are very generous portions.

Curry mee (noodle)

Fried rice and Mongolian tofu

It was a little too early to check in to the hostel so my mother and I dumped our bags and headed around the corner for lunch as we were pretty hungry. I was craving some curry so I ordered the curry noodle, my mother just got some plain fried rice and we also ordered the Mongolian tofu to share. The curry noodles really hit the spot and settled my craving for Malaysian food that I had had since I was last in KL a year ago. It was just spicy enough for my taste (fairly spicy) with a very rich, creamy coconut flavour and lots of tofu and vegetables mixed in with it. I had tried the Mongolian tofu dish on my previous visit here and had remembered it being particularly tasty and it didn’t disappoint, it was exactly how I had remembered it, with big cubes of fried tofu in a sweet chilli, sweet soy sauce. The rice was very good as well and was quite tasty for plain fried rice.

YIN FUTT KUOK

Open 10:30am- 7pm 7 days

Jalan Tun Perek, (near Masjid Jamek station)

BUDDY SOY SMOOTHIES (Possibly closed or moved to new location)

Yummy vegan soy milk shakes at Buddy soy

After checking in and digesting our huge lunch we headed to Berjaya Times Square for what were probably my two favourite vegan discoveries from last time which just happened to be right next to each other inside the food court of a shopping centre. Now, it’s not very often that I just stumble upon an entirely vegan, or almost all vegan restaurant (especially dessert places) that I hadn’t at least heard of before, but that’s exactly what happened in Berjaya, twice.

Best vegan shake ever

Buddy soy isn’t 100% vegan as 1 or 2 things one the menu contain honey but everything else is soy based and very yummy. There are 3 different options available on the menu, either flavoured soy milk aka bubble tea, ice/soy blended shake of various flavours or hot drinks including cappuccinos, lattes etc. The soy shakes are my favourite, I tried a few different flavours including the cendal (a traditional Malay dessert made from red bean, coconut, brown sugar and green pandan flavoured gummy worms made from tapioca) , I also tried the ABC which is pretty much everything on the menu in one cup. Not sure if I have a favourite as they were all quite interesting and refreshing, the raw bits of corn on top of the ABC seemed kind of a weird thing to put in a smoothie but once I’d off loaded them into the nearby bin it was rather nice.

Lower ground level (LG 18 D2), near Cold Storage

Berjaya Times Square, KL (closest station Imbi )

https://www.facebook.com/buddysmoothies

 

MEET FRESH (Possibly closed or moved from Berjaya Times Square)

The twist combination special

Grass jelly with barley, red beans and sweet potato

The other of my 2 favourite discoveries in Berjaya is a traditional Taiwanese dessert place called Meet Fresh. It is an international chain (they even have a few stores in Australia, how  this place alluded me for so long is a mystery). Their menu is about 95% vegan by default (a few things have cream or ice cream), but the rest consists of tofu, soy milk or grass jelly based puddings with shaved ice, brown sugar syrup and a variety of toppings including taro mocha balls, steamed sweet potato or taro, red beans, mung beans, lotus seed, tapioca balls,  and the list goes on. I have to admit I am a little addicted to this place and have eating there almost everyday (sometimes more) both times I’ve been to Malaysia. I’ve tried most things on the menu by now, but my favourite is definitely the Twist combination which is 1/2 grass jelly, 1/2 tofu pudding and taro balls, and is perfect for those that have trouble deciding or just want to eat everything. I will definitely be a very regular customer at their Sydney stores when I get back to Australia in a few weeks time.

Lower Ground (LG 18A) Berjaya Times Square

Open 10am- 10pm daily

http://www.meetfresh.com.my/news.htm

UPDATE

JOLLIBEAN

Singapore’s very own soymilk shake place has made it to KL, same menu. Only downside is it’s right net to two of my other favourite vegan dessert options: buddy Soy and Meet Fresh.

Berjaya Times Square LG floor

Day 2:  One of my favourite places near KL that I went to last trip was the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), located about a 30 minute train ride from central KL just on the outskirts of the city, it provides a tranquil oasis (hungry rampaging monkeys aside) from the noise and smog of the city. Forests like at FRIM once covered much of the surrounding areas but due to “development” and urbanisation FRIM is one of the last remaining pockets of virgin rainforest left in the area (Bukit Nanas near the city centre is another). There is a canopy walkway but unfortunately both times I have been there it has been closed, however, it is still very pleasant to walk around on the paths below and there are a few waterfalls and numerous animals if you’re lucky enough to spot some. My mother and I took a packed lunch (left overs from lunch the day before), we had found a nice shady gazebo to sit under while we ate but we were promptly spotted and joined by a large family of monkeys that clearly weren’t going to take no for an answer so we moved across the path slightly further into the forest.

FRIM

After FRIM we visited Batu Caves which is a Hindu temple complex inside a cave on top a steep hill. 272 steps and a few near monkey ambushes  later we were at the top. While the caves themselves are quite stunning and definitely worth a visit, it has unfortunately become somewhat of a tacky tourist attraction which really detracts from the whole vibe of the place.

VEGETARIAN CORNER BERJAYA

Vegan fast food

It was quite a warm day and after slogging around FRIM and climbing all those steps we headed back to KL tired and hungry. We both felt like an icy dessert to cool us down so it was back to Berjaya. I had a vague memory of seeing a vegetarian stall in the food court (also on the LG level) so we went in to take a look as we were both too hungry for just dessert. At the very back of the food court on the left hand side there was a big yellow vegetarian sign and an overwhelming amount of mostly vegan dishes to chose from, we both piled up our plates which still only cost about $2-3 each. After we did the rounds of Buddy Soy and Meet Fresh

VEGETARIAN CORNER (inside Taste of Asia food court)

LG Berjaya Times Square

WOODS BIO MARCHE

Day 3: After a morning aerial yoga session my mother and I got the monorail to Bukit Bintang for lunch at Woods Bio Marche, a trendy organic vegan restaurant for lunch. A much more classy establishment than the local places we’d been eating at for the prior few days which is reflected in the price (still cheap by USA/ Australia standards) we ordered about 5 or 6 dishes to share which came to RM68 ($20ish).

Bento box

Warm sesame salad

I got the set meal bento box which came beautifully presented and was very fresh, tasty and healthy. It had a few large slices of fried tofu with a miso dressing, rice sushi rolls, raw vegetable sushi, pickled vegetables and a seaweed salad. We also got the very delicious warm sesame salad with a spicy miso/tahini sauce, millet, agadashi tofu, spicy mushroom dumplings, a beetroot and apple juice and some red bean soup for dessert.  All the dishes were very fresh, tasty and nicely presented.

WOODS BIO MARCHE

Lot G-02 ground floor Wisma building,

Jalan Bukit Bintang opposite Federal hotel

That evening we briefly walked around the overly tacky, crowded and touristy Petalling Jaya market before making our way to Central market, where I’d also discovered more vegan food last time. Not sure exactly what they are called but there was a big sign listing the ingredients which were vegan. They are coconut and pandan flavoured steamed sponge cake rolls with swirls of caramelised sugar throughout, YUMMY!!

Yummy vegan treats

Stall located in undercover laneway between market buildings near the Jalan Sultan end. Central Market KL

BLUE BOY FOOD COURT

Although I didn’t eat there this time it’s worth a mention. All vegan food undercover food court comprised of various stalls, each with their own speciality. Can be a little bit hard to find, but if you walk along Jalan Pudu look for Swiss Garden hotel, the laneway is directly opposite, you will see the Blue boy sign.

BE LOHAS

100% organic vegan restaurant that has recently opened in KLIA2 airport. The restaurant also contains a small but well stocked organic market with various packaged organic vegan snack foods in addition to an Italian brand of vegan ice creams such as vegan versions of cornetto, magnums etc. Prices are very reasonable considering everything is organic and freshly made.

I had the soy milk laksa which was one of the tastiest laksas I have ever had. The soy cheese steaks were divine as well. Highly recommended.

Soy cheese steaks @Be Lohas

Soy laksa

L2M-19, Level 2M, Terminal KLIA2, KL International Airport Jalan KLIA 2/1