Malaysia is all about the food! Any visit to Malaysia, whether it is the capital city of Kuala Lumpur or the island of Penang, must include trying the local street food. This can be scary and daunting for the majority of Westerners, missing out on this is missing out on 90% of what Malaysia is all about. And the place you find street food in Malaysia is at a kopiteum. These are outdoor food courts – but the process of eating here is different from what a westerner is used to – thus this guide!
Fusion of Flavors – Defining Malaysian Cuisine
Malaysia is a true melting pot of different cultures and their cuisine. The food is a mix of Thai, Chinese, and Indian flavors. It is unique. Many believe it has some of the best street food in the world. Just watch the food travel shows and you’ll see the likes of Samantha Brown, Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman raving about the food.
The other thing that is unique about Malaysian street food, is that each vendor makes only a couple of dishes, and they have been doing it for their entire life – possibly 30 years or more. Each has their own recipe for the specific dish, and even their own cooking process. And like the great restaurants of the world, they only cook your food when you order it – so it is absolutely fresh. People in Malaysia are known for driving 45 minutes to go to a particular vendor’s stall just to have that one dish.
And the prices are incredibly reasonable. Expect to pay under $1USD for drinks, and under $1.50-2USD for a dish (as of 2023). And usually one dish is sufficient for a meal.
What to Expect
You only find the street food in the local food court which is called a kopiteum. This is an outdoor eating area, usually on a corner of a row of office buildings. The tables are like fold-up picnic tables – and the chairs are either plastic stools or lawn chairs. And this is a CASH ONLY business model. So make sure you come with local currency (ringgit) and smaller bills – they don’t like to change 100RM bills. The food vendors are arrayed around the perimeter of the eating area, with metal propane-powered cooking carts that look very similar to hot-dog vendors on the streets of New York. Each has a signboard of the dishes they serve and the price. They don’t offer drinks. Or side dishes. Or appetizers. They offer their dish.
The place will usually be crowded as most Malaysians eat out at these places. Family dinners and business lunches will be held around these tables. You may have to walk around the place looking for an empty table. There is no “reserving” a table – just leave someone in your group to sit at the table while you go order your food. Note that some of the places have numbers on the tables – but only the larger ones. If there is a number, you’ll need that for ordering your food.
By western standards the place will also look unhygienic. They are clean – and the water in Malaysia (because it was a British colony) is ok – so you don’t have to worry about ice or uncooked vegetables. Think of this as a picnic and you are eating at the local park.
Selecting a Kopiteum
There are truly thousands of kopiteums around. For convenience you might just go to the closest to you. Some offer a larger variety of food stalls, and some are known for a famous food stall that makes “the best” of that dish. First – I’d find one that is crowded. That means the locals know this has a good variety of food and it is good. If you have a particular dish like Char Koay Teow (the famous Malaysia fried noodle dish) you might ask someone at your hotel or a local where you can get it – as not every kopiteum will have all types of dishes. Its totally acceptable to walk around the insides of the kopiteum to see what selection is available to make sure that everyone in your group will be able to get something they would like.
How to Order
There are two parts to the ordering process. The first is to get your drinks. They are ordered at your table by “waiters” who will come by as soon as they see you sit down. The drink menu will be posted somewhere around on the wall. I’ve never seen a menu on the table or one they hand you. At best, if you ask for a menu they will point to the sign. If you don’t know what to drink, a good choice is “kopi ping cow” which is an iced coffee with condensed milk in it – so it is sweetened. As of 2023 these are about 2.5RM (or about 60 cents). After taking your order, he will run off and come back sometime later with your drinks – you pay him when the drinks arrive. If you are away from your table, they might leave the drinks there and then come back later to collect the money. Note that you don’t have to wait to place your drink order, you can order your food first (see below) and order the drinks after you come back to your table.
The food is ordered on an individual dish basis. You walk up to the stall you want, and place your order. For instance if you want Char Koay Teow, you just go to that stall and tell the guy standing over the wok that you want one (or however many) Char Koay Teow. Because it is usually very noisy I usually hold up fingers to indicate how many. If you had a table number you tell him that – otherwise he will just remember what you look like and he will track you down. Sometimes I will point to the general area where my table is to help. You don’t pay when you order – you pay when the food is brought to the table. Something else to consider is that the food that your group orders will come at different times – as it is cooked. Usually this is a 5 minute wait for food, unless there was a long queue at your selected stall.
Note that they bring whatever utensils you need to eat with – however if you need a fork ask the drink guy.
If you want a second drink, just raise your arm and try to get the attention of one of the drink waiters. If you want something else to eat, just walk over to another stall and place an order.
What To Do When You Are Finished
When you are done, you just stand up and leave – as everything has been paid for as the drinks and food arrived. The plates, utensils and cups are left on the table – busboys will come and clear/clean the table. There is no tipping – leaving money on the table just looks forgetful – and it is just as likely the next person sitting at the table will pocket it.
Last Thoughts
These kopiteum’s have some of the best food around. The dishes they serve can be found in more traditional restaurants, but I can tell you from experience, the same dish is better when cooked by someone whose whole livelihood is dependent on his cooking. And the recipe and ingredients have been fine-tuned over many many years. That is why the majority of Malaysians eat at a kopiteum. And that is why you should too.
Malaysia has a lot of other things to offer as well. Check out our post on Eating Durians, Touring a Durian Farm, and visiting the Blue Mansion in Penang. Malaysia is also known to have the best durians in the world.
