Best Char Kuey Teow in KL

Trishaw’s Char Kway Teow originates from a bona fide traditional trishaw CKT in Penang. The CKT “uncle” shared his secret soy sauce recipe and Trishaw are carrying on his legacy.

Their signature is the prawn char kway teow, with fresh juicy prawns that absorb the flavours of the marinade while being tossed together with the noodles over sufficient “wok hei”.

Mamu Penang Char Kuey Teow is located in the buzzling town of Ampang. Opened in the year 2000, they have been quite active in the culinary scene, especially when it comes to organising food events and catering. They're another restaurant that does not serve dry Char Kuey Teow, as theirs come with a pool of broth. On top of that, each plate comes with your choice of seafood, mainly 3 - squid, crab or crayfish. In short, you can consider it to be a little more luxurious than the rest. 

They have now moved to their new store at Gombak Ria starting 15 September 2021.

Hot Kitchen aims to make their char kuey teow as close to Penang-styled ones as much as possible. With just enough char, the use of fresh prawns and banana leaf does make a difference on the taste of the char kuey teow. And nothing makes it better with lots of bean sprouts on top.

Top Kitchen Char Kuey Teow isn't the fanciest place to dine, nor the coolest. In fact, the tables are set quite closely to the cooking zone, which radiates unwanted heat. However, that would give you a front row seat of the cooking process, where the chef will work his magic to bring you a delicious plate of Char Kuey Teow. It comes with a handful of fresh and plump medium-sized prawns and beansprouts, laid atop a banana leaf and served piping hot. Take a quick whiff at the scent and steam, and proceed to enjoy your flavourful plate of Char Kuey Teow.

Judging a good char kuey teow is mostly a matter of personal taste. Some people prefer to be deep fried and cooked with animal fat while others prefer lighter variant with some soft eggs. Food Clans's char kuey teow style however, has a good balance between the both. While it does not use animal fats to cook, it is not overly cooked nor is it too lightly done. Many char kuey teow places tend to freeze ingredients, but the eggs, prawn and scallops over at Food Clans's taste great as they are fresh, not frozen. They are never stingy with the ingredients too. 

Hutong @ Lot 10 is constantly patronised for their convenient and fairly extensive selection of some of the best hawker food. This of course, involves a constantly smoking Char Kuey Teow stall. Whipping up a flavoursome and moreish serving of char kuey teow is what they do here, with speckles of cockles, eggs, chives, bean sprouts, and Chinese sausage - a perpetual dish that never fails to disappoint. Unlike your common CKT experience, the ambience is charming and clean. If you’re one of those who always carry cleanliness up your sleeves, this is the place to be. 

Kedai Kopi Yuyi has been making most of its name with pork noodles but that does not mean their char kuey teow should be pushed aside. This stall has been operating for a long time and has turned into a household name among the locals, particularly during breakfast and lunch hours. Hidden beneath a thin and fluffy omelette is a bed of murky noodles fried to perfection with its aroma wafting through the gap between your nostrils and the dish. Complementing the noodles are a combination of stir fried chives, bean sprouts, and tender pork meat; ensured to make you smile from ear to ear. 

Being in the business for more than four decades now, it’s a classic example of how well time and experience work together. The Teo Chew style of Fried Kuey Teow involves a conspicuous amount of dark soy sauce to give it a more thorough and savoury flavour. After each strand is well coated with the sauce, a mix of cockles, chives and chilli padi is thrown in, and voila! Mouth-watering char kuey teow! To further augment the flavours, do top the noodles with a fried egg. Be warned, during peak hours, just remember that patience is virtue. 

Well, you might be carrying a rabbit’s tail with you, because this is one stall you can cross off your bucket list. Vigorously flamed over the smoky wok, your olfactory senses will constantly be enticed by the emanating aroma that fills the place. What make it even more scrumptious are the options of chicken and duck eggs, and fresh prawns and fish cakes that are just so firm and bouncy. Besides the smoky and savoury flavours, the addition of Chinese sausage offers a sweet dimension to the dish. If your rabbit tail really works, you can find crispy pork lard within the delectable mix. 

Starting off as a small roadside stall before expanding into a proper restaurant spanning three shop lots has proven to be a working formula for Mali’s. The place has been in business since 1997. Despite only offering two kinds of food which are nasi lemak and char kway teow along with drinks and using the concept of self-service to customers, the place continues to bloom and expand. The char kway teow has been listed as the best in KL in several blog postings and for good reason. The noodles are fried in a thick brownish creamy gravy that will make your mouth water and garnished with sliced chillies. The smoky and fishy aftertaste of the gravy is all due to the use of the prawns which the restaurant seem to be generous with. 

Though there may be quite a number of things to enjoy here at Double Two 22 Hawker Center, the Char Kuey Teow here is one that most people would go for. Manned by an elderly couple from Penang, the Char Kuey Teow that they offer is absolutely delicious. Perfectly cooked noodles with sufficient smokiness from the wok, as well as a good load of beansprouts and eggs. Shrimps are limited though, but the overall experience is more than pleasant. 

From a modest hawker stall in Penang back when it started in 1992, Sany has now made its mark in Kuala Lumpur right opposite Istana Budaya. The open-air food court-style eatery offers almost 20 items but of course the char kuey teow is what people come here for. The secret to their CKT is its gravy, which is available for sale in case there are some ambitious cooks out there trying to imitate. Besides that, the mixture of egg and prawns resulting in a watery gravy really adds to the wow factor of this dish and it will also be the reason for your spoonfuls of CKT getting scooped up from the plate. Another fun fact is that the cook always fries each plate individually instead of in batches. Hard work isn’t it? If you have never liked Malay versions of CKT, give this a try.

Situated smack in the middle of one of the oldest food streets in KL, this char kuey teow stall has managed to divert an overwhelming attention towards them despite the cluster of stalls in the surrounds. Why you’re asking? Of course, anyone would be enticed with their Salted Egg Char Kuey Teow. From what seems to be just an addition of ingredients actually resulted in noodles coated with rich and fulsome egg yolk, slowly tantalising your taste buds with every bite. Aside from the rudimentary ingredients, they also throw sliced fish cakes into the haystack. 

Jai Char Kuey Teow does take an interesting turn of events. You know how regular Char Kuey Teow is stir-fried and dry? Well, Jai's version comes with soup - odd, but bare with us. It comes with all the basic ingredients such as prawns, bean sprouts, spring onions, flat noodles, as well as similar method of stir-frying. The only difference is the end-result, where they serve it alongside a pool of broth. It may be odd at first, but the flavours and unique blend of texture certainly is quite enjoyable. So if you're looking for something new, why not give it a try?

There are quite a number of things to enjoy here at Rocky Restoran, with most of them being local classics. Asam laksa, curry laksa, mixed rice, pork noodles and of course, the ever so popular Char Kuey Teow as well. Like some of the more popular places, the Char Kuey Teow is cooked to absolute perfection, packing in a whole load of flavour as well as texture. The noodles are done incredibly soft, while the beansprout adds on a layer of crunch, and the shrimps giving it some bite. Overall, the dish as a whole is delicious, so do give it a try when you can.

As one of the most popular crowd favourites in KLCC, Little Penang serves great hawker style Penang food albeit with slightly cleaner floors and bigger prices. But paying more does not make it any less of an enjoyable experience what with the pretty decor and excellent food. The char kuey teow is freshly fried to order and the scent of the wok really stands out in the dish. It is spicy but not too much which is understandable as some foreigners may not be able to stand it. But the special thing about Little Penang’s CKT is the fact that they put in a considerable amount of cockles right before serving them to the customers. Just because they added in cockles, Little Penang deserves a gold star.

The infamous go-to place for char kuey teow among the residents of TTDI, Mie Cord’s lunch queue always seem to never end. Maybe because most of the time, the men tend to flock here after Friday prayers at the nearby mosque. This dish was first recommended to a friend who lives around TTDI and boy, I was not disappointed. The fragrant smell alone will entice even the iciest of hearts. Brimming with prawns and cockles with a slightly wet texture, the CKT is probably as close as you can get to Penang Chinese-style CKT as Malay versions tend to be either too watery or too dry.

There are 3 things you should totally visit Kedai Kopi Lai Foong for; beef noodles, roasted pork, and Char Kuey Teow. These are the 3 signature stalls that brings in most of the customers, and there's a good reason to that. Beginning with the Char Kuey Teow, it is cooked magnificently by an old uncle. Each plate that comes out of that wok is well packed with flavour and smokiness, as well as a refreshing crunch from the beansprout and prawns. The key difference between his Char Kuey Teow and the others would be the use of noodles, as it's a mix of both yellow and flat noodles.

Titi Char Kuew Teuw (CKT) is one of the old names that you probably have seen or heard. They've been serving one of the best and affordable CKT in Ampang for the past 20 years. Of course, apart from CKT, they serve other types of food as well such as fried noodles and cockels.