KL eats like three countries at once: Malay nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf, Cantonese hawkers with 40-year-old woks, and Tamil banana leaf rice eaten by hand. Nothing costs more than RM15, and the best stalls have no signs at all.
KL's largest wet market, running along Jalan Raja Bot since the 1920s — butchers hacking pork and beef, tanks of live catfish, pyramids of durian, belacan and pandan. Open 06:00–17:00 daily; arrive before 10:00 while the produce aisles are still cold and busy.
The benchmark nasi lemak in KL's last Malay village, open since 1965. Coconut rice with fiery sambal, fried anchovies, peanuts and egg from RM4; add sambal sotong or rendang daging for RM8-12. Open 07:00–19:00, closed Fridays midday for prayers.
The legendary Imbi Market stalls relocated here in 2015 and still trade in the morning-to-mid-afternoon window: Ah Weng Koh's Hainanese tea-and-coffee mix, sisters' chee cheong fun, pork noodle soup and cendol. Ground floor, Jalan 1/77C, closed Mondays.
A 1956 corner kopitiam with marble tables, ceiling fans and separate stalls under one roof — the beef noodle stall is the draw, brisket and tendon in dark broth for around RM12. Kopi peng poured over ice in a thick glass rounds it off. Open until 22:00.
Hainanese-Western cooking since 1928, now run by the fourth generation of the Lee family. Roti babi (pork-stuffed French toast) RM12, Hainanese chicken chop with peas and chips RM16, and marble sponge cake RM3. Open 08:00–17:00, closed Mondays.
Banana leaf rice served the Tamil way: rice heaped on a leaf with three vegetables, rasam, papadam and unlimited refills, plus fried karipap and mutton varuval. From RM10 vegetarian, RM16 with fried chicken. Open 10:00–01:00 on Jalan Telawi 3.
A dim alley of stalls behind the Petaling Street market: yong tau foo where you pick stuffed okra, tofu and chillies from trays, curry laksa with cockles, and asam laksa in a sour tamarind broth. Roughly 07:00–16:00, most stalls closed Mondays.
Claims the invention of Hokkien mee in 1927 — thick yellow noodles braised in dark soy with pork lard croutons, cooked over charcoal for wok hei. A plate runs RM14-20; eat upstairs or at the pavement tables on Jalan Petaling.
Roti canai flipped to order for breakfast — dough slapped, spun and griddled, served with dhal and fish curry from RM2.50. Brickfields (Little India, Jalan Tun Sambanthan) alternatives serve it alongside teh tarik pulled from a metre high, RM2.20.
Nasi kandar around the clock: white rice flooded with mixed curries — 'kuah campur' — plus fried chicken, sotong, okra and salted egg. Point at what you want; a full plate lands at RM12-18. Open 24 hours, walkable from KLCC.
A modern kopitiam named for KL's three communities, doing nasi lemak, curry mee and kaya toast side by side with proper kopi. A good place to decode the drinks code — kopi, kopi-c, kopi peng, teh tarik — before the night market. Drinks RM3-7.
Around 100 stalls and open-front restaurants firing up from 17:00 until past 03:00: grilled satay, chicken wings over charcoal at Wong Ah Wah, oyster omelette, sting ray in banana leaf, durian stands and fresh coconut. Most dishes RM8-25.