PJ Oldtown Foodcourt - Vegan Mixed Rice Stall

"Mixed rice" stalls are a standard fixture in all Malaysian hawker markets. You get a basic plate of rice, and then you add all the different foodstuffs that are on sale, and in the end you pay a small fee that is calculated by the hawker using his sharp eye, judging the quantity of your food and counting the number of different foodstuffs.

The total price of the meal is normally between 5 RM and 10 RM (1.50-3 EUR).

Most mixed rice stalls will also be able to offer you some vegan or vegetarian dishes (so veg*ns normally do not starve in Malaysia), but the specialty about this mixed rice stall is that all the foodstuffs offered are completely vegan :-)

The owner assured me that he does not use any dairy or eggs, or meat or other animal products.

The taste of the food is also quite good - While they normally have a "standard" selection of foodstuffs, there is little variation, and most of the dishes I have sampled there are at least as good as if you go to a "standard" Chinese Vegetarian restaurant. In fact, I have eaten in some vegetarian restaurant where the food was not quite as tasty. If you are not used to spicy food, watch out, many dishes in Malaysia are rather spicy, certainly about half of the dishes of this shop are rather hot.

Foreigners who have not been to hawker markets before might find the surroundings and the whereabouts of the various shops not particularly inviting, but rest assured, the standards of hygiene in these places are actually quite good in Malaysia. Typically you sit down at a table, the drinks vendor (usually the proprietor of the hawker center) asks you for your beverage order, and then you go to the stall that you fancy most.

Here you can have your nice vegan food, and also your omni colleagues can find something that they like. Of course, a disadvantage can be that you see the preparation of the non-vegan dishes in the other shops. They also offer catering.