I’m trying to be less of a perfectionist when it comes to blogging. I always get so obsessed with the writing and details and whether the post is informative enough or if the photos are pretty enough or if anyone will even be interested. This is why I can never seem to blog in real-time (my mom always complains I’m too slow!). So many of my daily happenings are left unwritten simply because I never deem them “blog worthy” enough.
I’m trying to change that. I don’t want so many self-imposed “rules”. I want a blog that’s authentic, as well as informative. I want to capture more of my life so that I have something to read later and smile at the memories. So I’m going to try my best to blog in real-time more, even if they won’t be well crafted posts.
Anyway, let’s get on to the post already!
I finally visited a Malaysian night market (pasar malam) after having been here for so long already. Unlike the permanent night markets of Taipei, the ones in Kuala Lumpur are weekly, per location. There’s a different night market every day of the week, but they’re all in different parts of the city. And a lot of the vendors will move around to the different ones.
So anyway, the one closest to me is the night market in SS2 on Monday nights. This is a great one to be close to because it’s the largest night market in Petaling Jaya. (I was super confused at first too, but technically, I now live in Petaling Jaya, not Kuala Lumpur. PJ is the city right next to KL.) This market wraps around the entire commercial block in SS2.
here’s what SS2 looks like!
SS2 is a neighborhood known for really good Chinese food and an abundance of bridal shops (this part is unrelated). So this is mostly a Chinese market, where you can find all the favorite Malaysian-Chinese delicacies.
I first went with a new local friend, who introduced me to a lot of the dishes. A couple of weeks later, I came back again with Rachel (who’s here to spend Christmas with me!). In these two visits, I tried a LOT of food. I thought I’d share them and give you a tour of a Malaysia night market!
James and Rachel deciding which sausage to buy
Besides food, the market also has a ton of random knick-knacks. . Phone cases, clothes/accessories, travel adapters, fake Lego, Pokemon plushies, makeup, colored contact lenses…literally almost anything you’re looking for.
tropical fruits of all kinds
pretty pink beans and mantis shrimp
Now, onto the food I ate!
The first thing to catch my eye were these large steamers of the most colorful dumplings (siu mai).
still all hot and steamy
Each one is a different flavor, though I’m not exactly sure what they are. The meat filling is usually pork and shrimp (correct me if I’m wrong), and then plus another unique ingredient. The purple one is definitely taro, and the black tasted like black pepper… But I’m not sure what the others were!
Cost: 5 for RM 6 (US $1.50)
This guy frying up fresh radish cakes seems to be a popular vendor. Fried radish cakes is a beloved staple dish in Malaysia. The “cakes” are made with grated white radish and rice flour; then fried with garlic, chili sauce, and an egg. The cakes are very soft in texture, almost to the point of mushiness.
making two orders at the same time
Cost: RM 4.80 (a little over US $1) for the small size
Then we passed by this booth selling crepes (apam balik). This is James’ favorite so he always stops here. There are two types: thick & chewy, or thin & crispy. James likes the thick pancakey ones, which have a sweet peanut filling in the middle.
But I prefer the thin crispy ones, which have a sweet filling of brown sugar, roasted peanuts, shredded coconut, and sweet corn.
how they’re made in the little pans
Cost: RM 1.20 for one (US 30 cents)
Next stop: to buy popiah at this famous stall – Stadium Popiah! Apparently, this is perhaps the most famous stall at this night market. It’s just one old man making them as fast as he can for the never-ending line.
Popiah is kind of like a burrito (google calls them spring rolls) made with a very thin crepey flour wrapper. Each place makes them differently and I’m actually not 100% sure what’s in this one. I know there’s chili sauce, lettuce, cucumber, tofu (?), Chinese sausage, and picked radish. It’s good, but I gotta admit, not my favorite.
Cost: 2 pieces for RM 6.60 (US $1.50)
When we walked by a place selling satay, we just had to grab some sticks. These grilled meats (chicken, beef, and lamb) are eaten dipped into a peanut sauce. Satay is a Malay food, so James said it’s pretty rare when they have it at this night market.
Cost: I think it was something like RM 4 for 6 sticks (less than US $1)
And same with these sausages! We just had to get a spicy sausage with Thai chilies to share.
Cost: RM 3.50 (less than US $1)
We grabbed one of these glutinous rice dumplings as well. The one we got is salted egg (duck, I believe) and pork. These are sticky rice bundles wrapped up in bamboo leaves and then steamed. I grew up with my grandma and mom’s homemade versions, so these aren’t new to me. But Rachel enjoyed it for the first time.
Cost: I forgot, but probably around RM 3.
And of course, you can’t forget to pick up some dessert! Remember, all the food featured here are from two different visits, so I’m not thaaat much of a pig!
I cannot resist egg tarts if I see them. They will forever be one of my favorite pastry items ever.
Cost: RM 1.20 each piece.
James also urged us to try angku. It’s a popular Malaysian dessert that he said reminds him of childhood. The beautiful bright colors definitely caught my eye.
I guess these are also called tortoise cakes (and yes, I totally see why!). They’re soft sticky rice cakes with different fillings inside. The options here are red bean, mung bean, peanut, and coconut. We got the orange one, which was mung bean.
Cost: I think it was only RM 1 each.
And then, as we were leaving the market, we passed by a vendor selling steamed buns. Check out how cute these are!!
These buns are made to look like mushrooms and peaches (not sure what the green one is)! The peach buns are impossibly cute, and they’re filled with something even more delicious – salted egg custard. Of course we had to get it.
Cost: RM 3
You have to be really careful when you eat this, or else the filling will all drip out and be wasted. If you haven’t tried a salted egg custard bun before, just trust me and buy it next time you come across it! The sweet salty yolk custard is heavenly.
So after buying everything we wanted to, it was time to sit somewhere and eat them. Next to the market is a popular food court (yes, MORE food) with an outdoor seating area. It’s a nice place to get away from the crowd at the market.
even more vendors in the food court!
Of course, since the food court is just right there, James ran in to buy char kuey teow from a popular stall. This is a national favorite dish made with flat rice noodles stir fried with prawns and cockles. The stall here also throws in a few pieces of sweet Chinese sausage. Char kuey teow is one of my favorite Malaysian dishes ever and I can never say no to it!
Cost: RM 6
And that, concludes everything I ate here!
Sorry that this post may have been a bit confusing, because I combined 2 visits. So no, I did not eat all of this at once! Night markets are always one of my favorite activities because I love being able to sample a bunch of different snacks.
Practical Information:
- Where: This night market wraps around SS2’s commercial center (where the Starbucks is)
- When: Monday nights, from 5:30 pm to 10 pm
- Parking: An absolute nightmare, as far as I can tell. If you can Uber, I’d suggest doing that.
What night markets have you been to? Which of these foods have you had, and which would you like to try?
And I think I realized the reason I can’t blog in real-time is because I’m incapable of being terse.
Oh my gosh, I’m drooling at both the food and the prices of the food there! Especially the siu mai! It’s interesting how the night market isn’t a nightly ritual, since I’m more used to the ones in Taiwan.
And on the real-time blogging. Girl, I feel you.. I’m even worse at it than you are since sometimes there’s literally nothing but random thoughts in my life. Hoping to overcome that too. Also, happy holidays! I’m happy you’ll spend it with a new friend, that’s awesome!!
Yeah, I still miss the ones in Taipei! Taipei still wins for the best night markets ever.
Ugh, I’m horrible with real-time blogging, especially when I feel like I just don’t have too much to say about something. Or I get too lazy to edit pictures, so they just sit in my drive for months. But I definitely want to try to get better at it. I know I like keeping up with people’s current life!
Ahh I love it! If you really just threw this post together all last night then I’d say keep doing THAT! I think I need one more of those salted egg custard buns again before I go.
Haha you didn’t see how late I went to sleep! And yesss, still one more Monday before you go back :).
Whoa, I’m surprised to read about Stadium Popiah. I used to buy the popiah from him in the Subang Jaya night markets weekly when I was a child. I’ve to admit, Anna, your post is making me drool all over the keyboard with pictures of the delectable Malaysian dishes.
Ahhhh that’s so cool that you used to buy from the Stadium Popiah guy! It’s true that he is famous then! :) Malaysian food is soooo good, that’s why I have such a hard time leaving ;).
This all looks SO DELICIOUS! I’ve only been to a night market once or twice but absolutely loved it. My trouble is that I have trouble working out what’s gluten free and what isn’t, and the stuff that appeals to me the most (the peach bun!) is almost definitely off limits :( Still, it looks like the ambiance is worth it alone and I can’t get over the prices for everything!
Seriously.. you can pig out for like under $10 here! Luckily for you, a LOT of dishes here are made with rice wrappers & noodles (instead of dough), so it should be gluten free! But I’m not sure if the sauces are, like if something has soy sauce, etc. And yep, night markets are always fun just for the ambiance alone!
Maaaaan this all looks soooo good! I love the bright colors! Also I totally get what you mean about blog-worthy writing and photos. I worry about that all the time, but ugh! We shouldn’t! I always love your posts and writing. You’re real – it’s why I always come back! :)
Awww thanks so much Amanda! And yeah, if I don’t like my pictures or feel like I don’t have much to say, then I just don’t write about it at all! Seriously, it’s a huge dilemma! But I always like reading other people’s random life posts.
Come on, all your pictures are taken when it was still light! That’s not a proper night market experience is it? The best time to go is around 7pm and wander around as the sky goes dark. Wandering in a night market at night feels totally different! (Although, the crowds… yeah…)
Hey now… I got there at like around 5:30 – 6 pm, when they opened and when it’s still not so crowded. And to be fair, it gets dark late now! At like 7:30 pm at least! And plus, I don’t know how to take good night pics.
I am totally the same with blogging – always putting it off because I worry my writing won’t be good about unless I put hours and hours into it – then never having the time to do that! But you’re right, we sometimes probably lose out by taking that approach! Love the sound of the peanut filled appam & colourful siu mai though I must admit not being a fan of angku at all when I tried it in Singapore! Bit of an acquired taste possibly! ?
I know.. I totally get that because I do it too! I really wish I could be one of those people who put out amazing posts with super fast turn-around times.
Ooh I realized I didn’t say what I thought of the angku! I didn’t like it that much either.. it was wayyyy too sweet (though pretty to look at!). I think they have something similar in China, but I don’t remember it being so sweet. Malaysians love their overly sweet desserts!
Mmmm drooling… and wishing myself back to night markets! There’s so many foods here that I haven’t yet tried and now I want to :)
I’m totally with you on the difficulty of real-time blogging… I’m about 4 months behind at the moment :S But it’s so tricky to catch up, and I don’t want to skip anything either!
Hahah I think I gave up on catching up a lonnnnng time ago! Like probably half of my travels in the past 2 years were never blogged about! And then it just seems too late to blog about stuff from so long ago!
And yes, Asian night markets are the best! Always so many interesting foods to try :)
Really nice post, I always love reading your writing. Also I might be craving everything right now? The custard buns look sooo good! Thanks for sharing your experience at the night market!!
Thanks Alissa! :) Omg yeah the salted egg custard is so good! The food in Malaysia is seriously the best.. that’s why it’s so hard to leave! Hehe.
Absolutely everything looks yummy!
They all were! For the most part anyway. :)
Wow What a brilliant sight! everything looks so wonderfully colourful and delicious, me and Phil love a good food market and Malaysian food, my favourite is Nasi goreng! Would love to visit Malaysia one day :-)
Oh wow, I’m actually super impressed that even though you guys haven’t been to Malaysia, you know what nasi goreng is! I had no idea until I got here… I feel like Malaysian food is not really anywhere else in the world.
I would have eaten it all on one visit it looks so delicious!!! And that salted caramel bun thing?!? Omg that looks even more deliciouser (not a word so I made it up) Yep yep yep I would visit this place!!! And leave a bit pot bellied!!! #feetdotravel
The salted egg custard bun is sooooo good! I love anything with salted egg. And yes, definitely after each visit, I left completely stuffed!
Markets are always some of the best parts of traveling. Always interesting things to see. All that wonderful food it must have smelled amazing. Thanks for sharing.
I agree… food markets are always one of my favorite things about travel and new places! I love being able to try so many things at once. The foods here are all so colorful and interesting too. :)
you’re making me hungry..
Hehe that was part of the point. :) Thanks for stopping by!
We love night markets and the food looks delicious here! We love trying different foods even though it can be a bit of a gamble! Great post. #feetdotravel
Thanks Carole! The gamble could be the fun part :). And at these prices, it’s totally affordable to gamble a bit!
This post has made be put on weight just reading it ;) so much lovely food, which all looks so fresh and delicious. I love to experience local food shopping and cooking when I travel. I have saved this for future use :)
Experiencing local food is always my favorite part of travel, and food markets are so fun! And yes, it’s so hard to loose weight in Malaysia!
Oh Anna, when I come to KL, I want YOU to take me to the night markets – this is a-maze-ing!! So much gorgeous food I am salivating at the thought right now, it looks seriously good! Pinned for when I visit! #feetdotravel
Yes, do tell me when you come! I hope I’ll be here and I will definitely take you to the good places to eat ;).
Wow, that’s just incredible and mouth-watering. So many amazing things to try! I somehow think I’ve missed this market even though I’ve been to Petaling Jaya so many times. Maybe I am just not remembering! I totally agree with you about blogging by the way – I am exactly the same and obsess too much about the details I think! Thanks for sharing
Oh no way! Where did you use to go in Petaling Jaya? You don’t hear about too many visitors making their way out here :). And good to hear that I’m not the only one! I’m a super slow writer and I so wish I could be one of those bloggers who can put out fast (but also good) real-time posts!
Wow! Most of this food I have never even heard of! I would love to go with a local who would explain all the different dishes to me and then I would get right into tasting them! I would love to go to the night markets in KL after reading this! I am very keen on these dumplings and crepes lol!
I’m really glad I had a local friend to show me around, because I probably wouldn’t have thought to try half of this stuff if I went alone! And of course, I couldn’t have eaten so much alone either!
Arh I remember this market from a trip 2 years ago. When I’m in Aisa I live and eat regulaly at these type of markets. When I was last there food was great
Oh that’s so cool that you came out to Petaling Jaya and came to this market! I love Asian night markets – always so many interesting foods to try :)
This makes me want to eat all of it and come visit you! Argg our 2017 Asia trip doesn’t include Malaysia sadly, but this is making me rethink! I love that you said the names and explained a bit of what it was, really help get an idea :)
First of all, I’m so excited for you that you’re coming to Asia this year!! I hope you do reconsider visiting Malaysia! I’m not really sure what my plans are this year, but if I stick around, I would LOVE it if you visited! Or who knows, maybe our paths will cross somewhere else in Asia. :)
Well I need to get my passport back first haha, but we’re hoping it will be our big trip this year! So much to celebrate! The Brit really wants to see Singapore and I want to go to KL, but we’ll mostly be visiting family in the UAE, Hong Kong and Japan for this first trip to Asia! But I’ll let you know when we’ve booked and we can see if we’re in the same country :)
I would definitely go for a few sticks of satay with a cold Coca Cola to wash it down with!. The market was not too busy, which is good because I hate fighting just to walk!
I purposefully went early, so it wouldn’t be too crowded. And it definitely got busier as the night went on. And got hot and sweaty navigating through the narrow aisles!
Fabulous! We love eating at markets and the markets in KL are no exception. All the food looks delicious! I can never go past a steamer of colourful dumplings. Your photos are great btw.
Thanks! The colorful dumplings definitely caught my eye :). I love food markets too and the ones here have so many interesting stuff to try!
I’m drooling over all these photos. It’s been such a long time since I’ve had any of it. The night market near my place in Penang just had all the cheap goods, not all the food stalls. I would have gone more often if it had all this deliciousness.
Oh boo, that’s a really sucky night market then. The food is the whole point to go! haha. This is such a good night market, so much good food. I bet you really miss all these Malaysian food!