Street Food Tour @ Pudu Wai Sek Kai, Jalan Sayur, Kuala Lumpur

Loaded to the brim with delicious treats and located in the heart of the big city, Pudu Wai Sek Kai is one of the more popular eating streets around. Directly translated to as "Glutton Street", get ready to eat your heart out.

Tables are empty, for now. This was taken near the infamous porridge stall. 

With over 60 year history, this amazing and historical street almost met its demised few years ago due to a fire. Luckily with some assistance form the local government then and the perseverance of the hawkers here, this vibrant eating spot was able to reclaim its former glory. With a great variety to choose from and at affordable prices, it is a place where the name "glutton street' really lives up to its name.

The street has a very simple set up. The main road is closed off and it is where tables and chairs are set. Hawkers then set up their stalls by the roadside and corners. Feel free to wander around and choose whatever you like. But make sure that you bring another person though, so he or she can cover for your table while you look around and pick your food choices. Of course, reciprocate by doing the same later on. Also, do note that they only open at night. 

The porridge/congee staff from another angle. 

The first one I had in mind for that day was some seafood porridge from the trademark porridge stall. Smooth and light in flavour, this is a distinctive steal. The RM7 price tag may pull you off a little. But inside that bowl is an underwater treasure, literally. With some portion of prawns, fish, dried mussels and some crab sticks, this was the ocean in a bowl. 

Simple decadence. 

With some deep fried bits of noodles and spring onions, this is some warming comfort. More suitable for colder days, it is still something to have even though it was a hot evening. 

The sea in a bowl. 

The lava like congee was well flavoured, probably spiked with that seafood sweetness that the ingredients gave. There are also pork variations as well. I had that variation in a previous visit so there are no pictures of the same. Although it stands at RM 7 as well, it was well worth it as it has an entire century egg in it!

A line starting to form. 

Another key player here is the chai tao kueh, which is located at the  very center of the street. Portions are great an prices are cheap, at RM5 for a big plate. Do note that you would need to pick up your own plate for this one. As such, go there as fast as possible before a line forms.

Yum!

The outcome is a fluffy and crunchy delicacy that comforts. The "chai por" pickles and bean sprouts add a different level of texture and flavour. And the wok hei for this dish comes in spades. Its a bit tedious to get a plate, but it is well worth it.

A real monster of a dish. 

If noodles are more of you style, there is a char kuey teow stall in the vicinity. One of my friend recommend the "works" which has duck eggs in it and yellow noodles in addition to keuy teow. The "wok hei" also came in the train loads, jamming your senses with that smoky, pungent, almost barbecue- like aftertaste. there was a balance between pale and burnt. This plate of noodles found that delicate center. 

A zoom in. 

Loaded with alot of ingredients, especially fish cake, this will send you arteries on fire. Definitely a cheat meal worthy ensemble.

A bowl of comfort, probably not. But it is really close. 

If you would need some thing clean, there there is a pork innards stand, which sells, well...pork innards soup. This is a pickle base soup, which means it would be tangy and slightly salty. A bit different that the peppercorn base counterpart. You can have it with rice, but my other friend that ordered it omitted it, as the bowl was already loaded with goodies. And goodies, I mean tripe and intestine. I am not too sure how much this costed, but i think its about RM10.

A usual suspect for any tai chao sai chao. 

Need a more substantial meal? Then there is also a "rice set" stall, selling "tai chao sai chao" specialties. My other friends (yea it was a big group), ordered the sweet and sour pork rice set. It has a good amount of pork and the fried pork had the texture similar to karaage. No wonder they loved it (BTW, the two that ordered the pork were Japanese).

Waiting for my chicken. 

Of course, a special mention needs to me made about one of their main stays, fried chicken. The FC is always cooked fresh and you can easily spot it by using your nose. The smell of fragrant batter is very obvious. And portions are a steal, with RM 3.50 a piece. So if you see a long line, it will be pretty justified. 

Crunch crunch baby

The meat was expertly fried and the golden outer crust was a joy to much through. Each crunch reverberates your jaw and a dab of chilli sauce makes everything so much better.  The meat was tender too and not too dry. Cooking with the bones on does help though. Its either that or I love fried chicken. its a bit of both. 

The end of the road, which the "tai cha sai chao" stall is located. 

Loud, packed and full of hungry patrons, its stuff like these that makes Wai Sek Kais around the country the heartbeat of the soul food of its vicinity. Pudu's version is no different. It is simple, it is gritty, but if fills hearts and stomachs with simple and unpretentious grub. Although some may argue that the food here is just above average, which I agree to some extent, having it all in the same place is a plus point in itself. I had better "chai tao kueh", but its very good here too. And so are other morsels. But what this place makes up for is personality and variety. Not many places in the big city can say that. 

Although I have other photos, I think a photo-bombed one add some light hearted-ness to it all.
After all, a good meal needs to be eaten with  the company of friends. 

As you can tell, there is a lot of food written down here. And there are many that I have yet to cover. One post will not do it justice. But if that is enough to convince you to come over, I think that means I have done a good job. Time to get some good street chow? The address is as follows:

Jalan Sayur, Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

PS: this post was made in collaboration with my Japanese Language Exchange friends. I could not have done this post (and eat this much), without you guys.