Take Your Baby to the Buffet Behind the Buddhist Temple

We probably walked by this Buddhist temple during chore runs maybe six times in the first few days. Enough times to wonder if the temple accepts visitors. I had hoped that it would be OK to bring a baby here to have a crawl around somewhere that isn’t the hotel room. During my own travels, some of my favorite moments have been visiting a house of worship and simply having some quiet time amongst the beautiful architecture.

In my Googling, I learned from another travel blogger that this temple, the Kun Yam Thong Temple, served cheap vegetarian food at lunch. BUT HE NEVER ATE THERE.

Too bad for that travel blogger guy. Baby and I checked it out and it was legit awesome. For anywhere from $1-$4 (NZD or USD) a plate, you can really fill up on rice, spring rolls, noodles, stews and curries, and sweets.

I had a tofu and green bean curry that made me choke with unexpected spice a few times. I love it, I got a cheap meal and a spicy punch in the face.

The baby liked to steal some of my bok choy and enjoyed sucking on some sweet red bean paste from my dessert of sesame balls.

The dining hall also had cheap fruit, cheaper than the supermarket. I got a bag of rambutans for 2.50 ringgit (roughly $1 NZD or 50 cents USD); these cost something like 14 ringgit/kg at the supermarket if I recall correctly. You can also buy a container of stinky durian from about 10 ringgit, if you’re into stinky fruit.

The buffet is popular with white collar workers in the towers nearby. One woman I sat with (who mentioned she is also a mother to a 9-month-old baby) wondered how I discovered the place given it was mostly locals who arrive, some with their lunch containers to take food to go. Travel bloggers, blowing the cover of locals’ faves, tsk tsk.

The older Chinese ladies serving lunch (“the aunties”) loved having a baby in their company, and one of them working the cash register asked me where the baby was when I returned the second day with husband in tow. When I returned for the third day in a row, the same auntie passed the baby around the kitchen.

This place will likely become a local for us: It’s close by, inexpensive, the variety of food is great, and the ladies love the baby. All this, behind the temple. And you’d never know about it if you weren’t curious.

A Kiwi-American family's journey in Kuala Lumpur via food. Written by Tina TM, previously based in Kuala Lumpur. Learn more about this blog.