Clay Pot Rice, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The general consensus for food in Kuala Lumpur seems to be to head down to Petaling Jaya down at Chinatown and you cannot go wrong! Unfortunately for the Poorationary and I, we went quite wrong the first night. However, this was rectified by the sight of a packed Clay Pot Rice stand just off to the left of Petaling Jaya in the centre of the Chinatown stalls. Our return 2 nights later was wildly sucessful and possibly my favourite meal in Kuala Lumpur.

When you’re considering that each of these Rice Pots could easily feed two, it’s more than fabulous value.

The Clay Pots are gingerly placed on the table as the contents have just been cooked directly in the pot itself, there were more than 5 of these pots bubbling away on the street-side stove as we left and business was booming indeed. The constant contact with the hot clay base pretty much ensures that the rice on top remains warm while the bottom becomes crunchy rice, perfect to munch on as you eat your way through the pot. A generous serving of chicken as well as Chinese Sausages and chives creates the perfect home-cooked style meal. Some things you really don’t have to fancy up, and Clay Pot rice falls directly into that category.

Countered with this we had a foil wrapped Sea Food stirfry of sorts.

Jamie Oliver likes to wax on about how much he loves cooking in this style, and while I do think his method looks fab, the sheer simplicity of this dish blew me away. Various types of Shellfish mixed with Octopus, Prawns and other random greens all reside within this foil-ly package. Again, as with the Clay Pots, they’re cooked directly in the the foil packets directly on top of a stove. Once cracked open the scent it emitted was enough to make you sigh with happiness and we gladly attacked the numerous pippies which had all opened at this point, mixing with the wonderfully sweet chilly sauce in the packet. Great compliment to the simpler clay pot rice.

So if indeed you find yourself in Chinatown, try to avoid the tourist traps lining the stalls (as we fell into sadly enough), and wander along the side streets to find this gem. The entire stand was packed with locals and I found myself eating bathed in flurescent light with a gecko stuck to the wall somewhere above my shoulder. Quaint indeed.

Side street to the left of Petaling Jaya
Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

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