As a value foodie, I am attracted to great places to eat at value prices, and one of my favorite healthy cuisine is pure vegetarian food. And with most Chinese vegetarian food places, we can get all forms of mock meats, such as chicken, shrimp, beef, mutton, fish, squid etc, all made from soy and plant proteins. Once one has tried these, one can say, vegetarians are not necessarily missing out in any delicious food.
So, the story goes that a few days ago, as I was visiting the Petronas Twin Towers area in Kuala Lumpur City Center KLCC, I was prompted by Google Maps that there is a small Chinese temple not too far away. It’s strange that I have never realized or noticed that before, and had never heard or seen it, at least not consciously. So, with the enthusiasm of a Local Guide, off I went to explore. That was mid day, and I was walking the heat of the blazing sun.
It was a quick 5 minute stroll from the Petronas Twin Towers to get here. The Dharma Realm Guan Yin Temple (https://goo.gl/maps/5mXCmMBgPkJ2). I tried my hardest to recall, but I could not remember ever noticing this place before. It wasn’t too big a place, but the front arches looks beautifully decorated and colored. And it was lunch time, so many people were walking pass the temple entrance. To my surprise, I see quite a few of them entering the temple grounds. I thought to myself how strange it was, maybe they were going to pray during lunch time?
It soon became clear to me, that there could be a food place at the temple canteen. I was hungry, and hadn’t had lunch, so it was good timing too. I put off actually visiting the temple complex and let my nose lead me towards the left of courtyard of the building. There were beautifully decorated pillars, and a nice lotus pound, very synonymous with Kuan Yin temples.
And lo and behold, a huge back canteen filled to the brim with lunch goers! How did I miss this all my years living in Kuala Lumpur. I was very surprised to say the least. From a distance as I walked in, there were old ladies who were preparing more vegetables for cooking. Being inside a temple, this has to be a pure vegetarian canteen, I thought to myself. I spent some time just asking what they were doing and they were just so friendly and humble.
Walking pass the rows and rows of people eating, I finally came to the huge display of trays and trays of vegetables, preserved delicacies, tofu, mock meats, fried soy meats and so much more. At first glance, there could have been close to 100 trays of different food! Oh dear, I must have stumbled into vegetarian heaven I said to myself.
As I walked through the aisle of food display, there were also few other stations serving vegetarian noodles, specialty vegetarian dishes, dessert, fruits, drinks and a free soup station! I was practically dying to eat right now. So after taking a few more photos, I headed straight to the serving station and started picking out my food. So many food options, I had practically picked almost 10 varieties of dishes.
What I had picked (all are vegetarian) included preserved Chinese mustard greens, vegetarian mapo tofu, fried mock fish slice, deep fried mock mince mutton, braise mock chicken, deep fried mock chicken drumstick, roasted mock goose, mock meat roll, and a few others that I don’t recognize. And from the drink station, tall glass of cool coconut water, and I had gone also to pick up a bowl of herbal coconut/green papaya soup.
All the above, as I went to the counter to pay, I was almost shocked that it only came to RM 9.50 including the drink and soup. That’s just USD 2.40. It was unbelievable. I could understand that temples are serving food as a service rather than for profit. So, I knew I had stumbled upon a gem.
All the food tasted incredibly delicious, and I would give the food 5 out of 5 stars. I sat for quite a bit of time also taking in the huge group of people who came here for lunch. I would certainly come back here, I told myself.
So, here is the food details and opening hours. The canteen only opens lunch hour on weekdays. If you are around the area, this is a must try. Do come by for a visit.
Watch my 360 video of the visit
So, after lunch, I was off to visit the temple grounds. That I would leave for a separate post.
#localguides #letguide #vegetarian #malaysia