Alas, even though Chiang Mai is the home of khao soi, that doesn’t mean that every bowl is going to be great.
Case in point: Khao Soi Islam Restaurant. It’s a well known place, but the khao soi they’re serving is fairly middling.
There’s absolutely no doubt about it: khao soi is the ultimate Chiang Mai food. Places that serve it are everywhere, and it’s not even a debate — if you can only eat one meal in this city, it’s gotta be khao soi.
Chinese New Year threw a huge monkey wrench into my Penang plans; something like 75 percent of the restaurants I tried to go to turned out to be closed.
But in the case of Tong Lek 8 Cafe, I’m not even mad. I randomly found it after the place I wanted to go to turned out to be closed; I’m so glad I got to try out their amazing food.
I wasn’t planning on going to Kafe Ping Hooi, but the restaurant I wanted to go to turned out to be closed (thanks again, Chinese New Year!), and it was right there. I figured I’d give it a shot.
There are “cafes” all over the city in George Town that are essentially like little food courts. Each one has three or four vendors, usually specializing in one thing. And like a food court, you order, then walk your food over to one of the nearby tables.
Though lor mee is also served in Singapore and Indonesia, it’s a Malaysian dish, and a really tasty one at that.
Lot 10 Hutong is a rare thing — a food court in a mall that everyone says you need to check out.
I know what you’re thinking: a food court? Really? But you won’t find any fast food joints here. Lot 10’s food court features a bunch of well-regarded local restaurants all crammed into one place.
I stumbled onto Koon Kee Wan Tan Mee completely at random while wandering around Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown. I was basically just looking for a place that was busy; if you don’t have anywhere specific in mind, following the crowd is generally a good idea.
I’m not gonna lie, I had very low expectations for Ah Cheng Laksa.
I had just arrived at Kuala Lumpur’s Sentral Station, which is attached to a fairly large mall. I was about to head to my hotel; it was late, and I wanted to get a quick bite to eat before I checked in.
Beef noodle soup is a classic Taiwanese dish, and at Gang Yuan, they serve it with a bit of a twist — you can order it dry (though the classic soup version is also an option).
It’s tasty, but I’ll admit it — I kinda missed the soup.