Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Food Fling in Malaysia: Day 3

This is part three of my multi-day food binge in Kuala Lumpur.  You can read part one here and part two here .

Three days into my self-imposed food fest, and everything is going to plan.  Days one and two focused on local dishes: Malay, Chinese and Indian inspired meals influenced by the diverse ethnic make up of this country.  For day three, we decided to change it up for a bit and explore some other cuisines.

Breakfast

Once again we ate at the hotel and once again I went with the "King Burger" breakfast.  As would be expected, this meal tasted like the other two I've had since we checked in and despite the fact that we slept late and caught the tail end of the meal service, it still provided adequate subsistence for the first third of the day.  

They were out of beef bacon, but maybe that's for the better.  I'm not too big of a fan of this particular cut of meat as it takes like soggy beef jerky, but I am in a predominately Muslim country so I'm doubtful that I'll find the real deal anytime soon.  It's okay; I could probably use a break from bacon anyways.  

 Lunch

This was the most difficult decision I've made so far during my food throwdown as I was presented with a dilemma.  We were walking through one of the many shopping centers here in central KL (they're air-conditioned and it's cooler than walking out on the street. Whatever, you'd do the same) when I came across a Wendy's.  For my American readers, this might not mean too much, but having lived in Europe for the better part of 12 years where Wendy's doesn't exist, seeing that hot and juicy red head made my mouth water.  

Growing up in the US, I didn't eat fast food all that often.  When I did though, I'd almost always go to Wendy's.  It's one of the better restaurant chains in the rapid food service industry in terms of quality of ingredients and 'healthy' alternatives, at least when compared to the competition.  Plus, I have a soft spot for their spicy chicken sandwich.  

Feeling nostalgic, we went to Wendy's for lunch.  I rationalized the decision on the fact that in the four months that I've been on this trip, I haven't once eaten western fast food.  No McDonalds, no Burger King, No KFC, nothing.  If I was going to break rank and eat junk, at least I would eat junk that I could enjoy.  Nathalie kind of looked at me funny during the experience (she had a baked potato) and I happily savored my "spicy chicken sensation" sandwich.

Dinner 

After Wendy's we went back to the hotel to rest for a little bit.  We had spent the day exploring the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (definitely worth the visit if you're in KL and have the time to do so) and were tired from being on our feet all day long.  We had a late lunch and only headed out to dinner around nine in the evening.   We were looking for Thai food as we hadn't had any since leaving Thailand two months ago.

In the spirit of Thai culture, we went to Jalan Alor, a street renowned for multiple Chinese and Thai bistros that serve it's patrons on the sidewalk; i.e. street food.   We both took a chicken Pad Thai and ordered a side of stir-fried mixed vegetables to go along with it.



The dinner was exactly what we were looking for and despite our disappointment with Thailand in general, Thai cuisine is to-notch.   The Pad Thai tasted (almost) like the real deal and the veggies on the side was a much needed vitamin boost.   We took fresh pineapple juice on the side and after enjoying our dinner while taking in the sights and sounds of the street around us, we settled the bill and headed back to the hotel.

With day three in the books we started planning day four.  Would it be more Malaysian food? Would find a Chinese smorgasbord to go overboard with?  Maybe a Sri Lankan supper?  Find out tomorrow!  

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