Cheap And Good Vegetarian Fare

FOOD TRAIL
By SAM CHEONG


READER Phang Hui Leng wanted to know where she can find vegetarian chap-fan (economy rice) at dirt cheap prices. I received her e-mail recently and got cracking. As far as I know, there is one place in the shopping district of Kuala Lumpur that fits the bill.

It's located in a place called Kam Hor (golden river) in Jalan Sultan Ismail and yes, you guessed it right, it's Sungai Wang Plaza.

There, you can find a rooftop hawker centre that had been around for nearly 30 years.


Affordable: Le Tian vegetarian stall at Sungai Wang Plaza's rooftop hawker centre.

Today, it's still one of the hottest places in the city centre for cheap food.

Having worked in this area for three years, I found a vegetarian chap-fan stall called ‘Le Tian' at the far end corner near the shopping mall's lobby.

The food here is good and after a series of return visits, I still find it affordable and tasty. I also frequented this place occassionaly on Fridays taking advantage of the long lunch breaks.

The Sungai Wang rooftop hawker centre was also the place where I rekindled ties with my ex-schoolmate CK Ching. Ching, a regular at the stall said he was satisfied with the choice of dishes and usually satiated by a small serving of rice, tofu and vegetables.


Tasty: The vegetarian chap-fan from Le Tian costs RM5.50 a plate.

What suprised me at this stall was the wide range of vegetarian dishes. From stir-fried leafy vegetables to processed soya bean meals, there's enough variety to satisfy even the most fussy vegetarians.

And at prices below RM5 per plate (rice and a choice of two dishes), you could not complain. Highly recommended is the vegetable curry and fried Chinese cabbage with glass noodles.

Also on top of my list, is the vegetarian char siew (mock sugar-glaced roasted pork) and siew ngor (mock roast goose).

Since this is a self-service outlet, you just take what you want to eat and proceed to the counter and pay. Usually, my tab would come up to RM5.50 inclusive of a glass of Chinese tea.

I found this to be consistent throughout my visit to the stall. The stall opens for breakfast and is usually packed during lunch hour.

Just a block away from Sungai Wang Plaza, there's another vegetarian makan place.


Tasty: The vegetarian chap-fan from Le Tian costs RM5.50 a plate.

But this one is rather upscale, so, if you expect some good food, it can be found here.

My buddy Ching showed the way to the lower ground level of Low Yat Plaza. The eatery is called ‘Vegegood Restaurant' that serves a decent selection of local fare prepared a'la vegetarian. The person who manned the counter recommended their "Hainanese Chicken Rice" at RM5.50.

Since this is an upscale makan place, the average pricing for a plate of rice and dishes starts from RM5 and above. My buddy paid RM14 for two persons.

Now, compared with the rooftop in Sungai Wang Plaza, the Vegegood restaurant is a place where you can hangout and chit chat because it is a cozy environment.

To get to Sungai Wang Plaza, the fastest and most convenient way is to hop onto a KL-Monorail service to the Bukit Bintang station.

Once there, you could access the rooftop hawker centre on its fourth floor via a link bridge and elevator.

I believe address is not necessary since Sungai Wang Plaza is a well-known landmark in KL. For the Vegegood restaurant, it is located at Lot LG 13-15 in Plaza Low Yat.

To get there, take the KL-Monorail to the Imbi station.