Side by side
Mamak Or Kopitiam
In Malaysia, you hear the terms "kopitiam" and "mamak" constantly but may not be clear on what each place offers. These aren't interchangeable…
Section
Street Food
Hawker stalls, mamak shops and kopitiam counters: what the words on the order mean, what a plate should cost and where the city eats when everything else has closed.
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
How to
Ordering Kopi In Malaysia
Malaysian coffee and tea orders work like a compact grammar: you start with a base drink, then stack on modifiers for the milk, the sugar, and the…
What it costs
Cost Of Hawker Meals
Kuala Lumpur feeds itself for a few ringgit a plate, but there is no single hawker price. The stall, the room it stands in, the drink and, in some…
Decoded
Halal Or Pork-Free
In Malaysia, a restaurant sign carrying a halal certificate is not the same thing as one promising only a pork-free menu. Seeing a halal certificate…
Where to go
Eating After Midnight
Hungry in Kuala Lumpur after midnight? The city's late-night eating scene is not one thing, but a map shaped by different closing times. Food…