I could hardly turn down the chance to try an 85 year old Wanton Mee recipe, especially not since they set up a branch at Lot 10 where the air conditioners are fierce.

Rammed to the rafters with locals every single day, accidental lunch-time spot for intrepid backpackers who dare to enter such shabby joints, purveyor of delicious soups for decades, Shin Kee truly is one of KL's gems. 

Banana Leaf halls in KL are a dime a dozen, and whilst it's quite difficult to find a terrible one, there are plenty that fall into the run-of-the-mill category. A handful stick their necks out from the herd and prepare truly mouthwatering dishes that the locals inevitably flock to.

Similar to the problems faced by Bangsarbabe I too tried to go to Cowan Street Ayam Tauge three times before finally catching them on a rare open day. I'm not quite sure what the thinking is behind their restaurant hours, but it seems to confuse a great deal of potential customers.

Raised in the blue mountains of Tamil Nadu, my love affair with the humble dosa dates back to the 80's. My idea of the perfect breakfast is either a plain dosa or a masala dosa with a glorious bowl of sambar, some coconut chutney and a tomato one thrown in for good measure. I personally am a believer in the crispy, thin dosa but with enough white flesh underneath so it's not like eating a sheet of glass.

As a lonesome traveller on the highways and by-ways of life's sprawl, I shook off my caffeine buzz and jumped in a grab taxi to a part of town I won't claim to be familiar with. He dropped me a few meters away and I took in the view of rather ordinary looking shops and houses. The facade fooled me into believing I was entering some cross between a hip bakery and an architects office. Thank goodness the interiors were more bewildering. 

I had one thing on my mind: LAKSA!

As the old guard is replaced by shiny armour with soulless sleeves, the memory of past is washed under fervid instagram posts. Entire neighborhoods succumb to the invasion of the hipster. Old barber shops have to compete against "Retro Barbers" with their 12 week old beards soaked in vegan oil, a canvass of (new) old school tattoo's, heavy denim and moustaches that defy gravity.

Hokkien Mee, one of the "must do" meals of anyone visiting Malaysia, has a few stalwarts of tradition simmering around Chinatown, and none are as loyally visited as Lian Bee. For over 70 years they have been smashing out simple plates of noodles from this strange little alley opposite Shin Kee Beef Noodles.

Heritage buildings are in short supply in Asia as the cost of keeping up repairs outweights the temptation to knock them down and replace them with soulless concrete boxes. Georgetown Penang is a fine example of an area where they decided to protect the old houses and restore rather than remove. Taiping is another spot where walking down the small central drag will thrust you back a hundred years.

Before flying to KL I had been doing my usual hugely productive activity of Youtube surfing, ending up watching an episode of (an unknown to me) Mark Wiens and his trip to eat this fabled smoked duck curry. I made a mental note that when back in KL I would heed his advice and strangle my will to allow a day to be spent on the conquest of webbed feet gorging. ​

To be honest, the proud engravings of NO MSG on a menu, does little to impress me. I am not one of those paranoid androids who shudders at the thought of ingesting Ajinomoto, riddled with the anxieties bestowed on them by a million sceptics. If it tastes good, i'll eat it, I don't care what's in it. Bottom line

Having made my position sufficiently clear, I'll get back to what's important: Laksa.

Much like the Dharma Realm Guan Yin Sagely Monastery in Kuala Lumpur, this Hindu Temple of the Arts serves up buffet lunches for the religious, and the thrifty. Secluded in a backyard beset with statues of various holinesses, the place indeedly offers lunch in peaceful surrounds. 

With weakening resolve I try to circumnavigate the treacherous pitfalls of places like Love Lane. Alleyways pumping out soulless music to tourists with as much personality as a ball bearing. Vacuous throngs of backpackers chugging discounted beers and screaming over the cacaphony with tales of their amazing 2 weeks in India (that changed their lives). ​

It can be quite dizzying to choose a place to eat in Brickfields. One square kilometer of KL is dedicated directly to the fruits of Indian labour. Whether its south or north Indian, or even Sri Lankan, there is something for you.

My tip for a dynamite hidden gem is this spot.

The holy trinity of healing powers are, of course: Pho, Ramen and Laksa. Todays cravings were of a Vietnamese kind, and I beseeched google and various blogs to find a suitable temple in which to offer my stomach.

You know the rest: Grab taxi -> Pho Vietz

I wake up with curry cravings almost every day. Unless I'm in a colder climate and wrapped in Ramen and Pho infatuations, curry is the first thing I want.

That being said, Kuala Lumpur is paradise for curry afficionados. Almost every street has either a banana leaf or a roti canai place tempting you with escaping scents.