Roti Canai is one of the things I look forward to sink my teeth into the most when I land in Malaysia. I will literally get one the first day I arrive, no matter what time of day it is. After having hunted high and low for over 20 years, i'll go out on a fragile limb and claim this to be the best in KL. Definitely the best i've tasted at least. The roti itself is unspeakably crispy, fluffy and soft at the same time, the curries are magnificent and the fact that it's so far out of the centre means you avoid a lot of the scent of dreadlocked backpackers wafting in and ruining your meal. 

Undoubtably one of the best places for South Indian food in KL. Prices are a bit higher than the roadside places but its worth it. 

Try the house special chettinad chicken curry! Don't be afraid if the waiter warns you its spicy, its not really. The food here really is top top notch, although the chicken pieces have a lot. of bones....

Smack bang in the middle of a South Indian cluster of divine proportions stands this trendy Nyonya eatery. Replete with the token naked brick walls, a hipster bicycle by the entrance, signage done with tongue-in-cheek forethought, and a clinically clean appearance, I had doubts about how the food would venture.

This was a very decent Laksa. Definitely nowhere near the top tier of KL's offerings, but decent. My main gripe would have been the choice of noodles. They were oddly uncomfortable to eat. Broth and accompaniments all held their own, but the noodles dragged all things beneath the murky surface.

Today is a hot one. Probably not the right temperature for a steaming bowl of hot noodle soup, but that has never stopped me before.

Since my first few visits to KL in the early 2000's, i've walked past this nondescript stall a hundred times without bothering to go in and try the food. Having decided this time to try and only eat at new places, I figured it was high time to give the Beef Noodles here a go.

The place was packed. Promising. I had to share a table with an old man reading comics. I ordered the special beef ball soup and watched as the waiter ran frantically around the shop hurling bowls to impatient customers. 

Delicious soup. First taste of the broth, spot on. Tremendous amount of flavour from a soup that looked so "thin". The two types of noodles were both excellent, the pieces of beef succulent and tender. The beef balls too were surprisingly good. At 1 Euro 50 for a bowl, you can hardly get a better or cheaper lunch anywhere.

Malaysian (Chinese) Beef noodles are very different to the type i'm most used to from Taiwan. There is always beef balls (something I never got in Taipei) and the broth is sweeter, the noodles generally thinner and most bowls are loaded with tripe (which I asked to kindly forego).

However, two of the highest rated one's in Kuala Lumpur are literally 200 and 160 meters respectively from my hotel. The first one I tried last week, was great, so today I figured I might as well check out the competition. This place was three times the size, and equally packed. I seemed to have arrived at the perfect time because as soon as I sat down throngs of locals turned up and had to wait.

I ordered the small bowl of beef ball noodles and a 100 plus. It was 34 degrees. Stiflingly hot. The city heaved under the pressure of the humidity. Cars added insult to injury, but inside was fairly ok. The labouring AC machines working overtime to keep the fire at bay. 

The food was delicious. Completely different to Shin Kee down the road which was a clearer soup, different noodles and had minced beef added too. The beef balls here tasted better and had a more pleasant texture, the noodles were better over there, but the most important thing: the broth, was a dead tie. Tho differing in taste and recipe, they both had their plus and minus points. 

I'll give this head-to-head a draw.