You can’t go far in Turkey without stumbling upon someone having a çay, a strong black Turkish tea sweetened with sugar. Whether it’s a shop keeper standing outside awaiting their next customer, locals on a few makeshift stools on the side of the road, or someone carrying a tray full of them to who knows where as they bustle down the street. Çay is a part of Turkish culture.

Tucked away in Beyoğlu

One of our favourite places to stop into after a long day of eating and exploring Istanbul was at a quaint little local Çay Evi, or teahouse, on the corner of Kurdela Sokak and Ömer Hayyam Caddesi. A mere five minutes’ walk from the popular Istiklal Caddesi, Huzur Çay Evi is exactly the place we always needed after a long day to enjoy the best Turkish tea in Istanbul.

It’s got the absolute perfect location, right on the side of a busy street. The best place for watching the world go by, day or night. Being a local shop in a more local area, you’re able to experience the comings and goings of a local Istanbul neighbourhood. Be it the traffic, the people, or the Sunday market across the street, this is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the hustle and bustle around you.

What to order

As there isn’t a proper menu as such, it’s good to know what’s on offer. At many of the teahouses in Turkey, you’ll have the option of tea or coffee. At Huzur Çay Evi you can order a çay (pronounced chai) or a türk kahvesi (which is a Turkish coffee of considerable strength).

What is a Turkish tea

The çay in Turkey is quite strong. It’s a black tea that’s made so strong, they only fill your cup a third of the way with the brew, then fill the rest with boiling water. This gives you the perfect strength tea, that’s still so strong you’ll need a little something to take away the bitterness.

How to drink Turkish tea

Turkish tea in general is drank black without milk, so you won’t be seeing that anywhere nearby. At Huzur Çay Evi they have the best Turkish tea in Istanbul, strong and full of flavour. In order to cut the strength of the tea, it’s drank with sugar, lots of sugar. There’s always a bowl full of sugar cubes on the table at Huzur Çay Evi, so you can add in as many or as little as you like. The local way is to go for two cubes, we prefer one so it’s not too overly sweet, but to each their own!

Honorable mention, Turkish coffee

The türk kahvesi coffee is your other menu option. The coffee grounds are boiled with hot water to brew the coffee, and are served to you in the cup with the coffee. Make sure you give the grounds a minute or two to settle to the bottom of the cup before drinking! Before your coffee is made, you’ll be asked how much sugar you’d like. This is so you don’t try and add the sugar afterwards and mix it up with all the grounds. A little sugar means one cube, regular sugar means two.

The incredible hospitality at Huzur Çay Evi

What kept us going back almost every day wasn’t just the strong tea and rich coffee. It was the incredibly friendly owners of this humble local shop. Over the three weeks we stayed in the Beyoğlu area of Istanbul, we got to know Dilaver and Seher, the warm and hospitable husband and wife running the place.

Whether we stopped in for a çay or not, every day we passed by we were greeted with smiles and a wave, an even bigger one when we stopped in. Each day we headed back to our accommodation, we looked forward to seeing their kind, beaming faces.

Even though none of us spoke each other’s language, it was easy to communicate with such good-natured and heartwarming people. That’s something we love about travelling to other countries, communicating with people through other means than words. It’s amazing what you can get across through the use of body language and accentuated facial expressions!

A connection beyond your typical customer relationship

The last few visits we had at Huzur Çay Evi, Seher sat down with us as we all enjoyed the hot, sweet çay that Dilaver had made. Sitting and chatting unreservedly with Seher was a pleasure. She told us about her life, how they came about the shop, and how she’d worked there for many years before they bought it for themselves. Her kind heart was so evident that as I looked into her eyes, I could feel the emotion in her stories. I feel like we sparked up a true connection that went deeper than someone who was serving drinks to a customer.

By the time we had to leave Istanbul, I was very sad to go and say goodbye after making such an intimate connection with this woman that I had only briefly known, yet felt like I had known much longer. When the day came for us to say farewell, we embraced for many moments, with a silent knowing of the bond we had formed during the past few weeks.

What started off as a local place to stop by for a hot drink, ended up creating some of our most memorable moments in Istanbul. The strong aroma of coffee and traditional stools set up on the side of the busy street brought us into Huzur Çay Evi. But it was the friendly, warm, smiling faces of Dilaver and Seher that had us coming back over and over again to warm up on their fresh çay and rich türk kahvesi.

Make sure you visit for the best Turkish tea in Istanbul

If you find yourself in the Beyoğlu area of Istanbul, or along Istiklal Caddesi, make sure to stop by Huzur Çay Evi for some of the best Turkish tea in Istanbul. Whether it’s a glass of their delicious çay or a cup of their robust türk kahvesi, you will not be disappointed.

Don’t forget to take a moment to meet Dilaver and Seher while you’re there. You can’t miss their friendly, smiling faces, most likely beckoning you into their teashop, so we’re fairly sure you’ll know who they are.

Name: Huzur Çay Evi
Address: Kalyoncu Kulluğu, Ömer Hayyam Cd., 34435 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye
what3words: ///purest.lump.pose
Price: çay 3TL, türk kahvesi 6TL

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The most important meal of the day is not taken lightly in Turkey

Kahvalti is a traditional Turkish breakfast consisting of an unbelievable spread of small plates of food. All of this is meant to be shared with friends and family. Starting with fresh salty white cheeses, olives and eggs. Leading into sweet clotted cream, honey, preserves, spreads, and fresh bread. It’s a gathering full of so many delicious dishes that you’ll be looking forward to it the night before. No matter how modest the table, you can be sure to find it full of all the kahvalti staples.

Where to go for the best breakfast in Istanbul

With our new found knowledge, we set out to try the best traditional Turkish breakfast we could find. One of the more well-known places to visit is Van Kahvalti Evi. We wanted to try it out to see if it lived up to its reputation… and did it ever! If you find yourself in Istanbul looking for an authentic Turkish breakfast, then this restaurant has to make it onto your ‘must try’ list. It’s definitely the best place in Istanbul to try kahvalti, and we’ll show you why.

When to go to beat the crowds

With Van Kahvalti Evi being such a popular spot, it can get crazy busy on weekends. The busiest is mid-day, when a queue of hungry Istanbulites and tourists can be found lining the street. If you don’t feel like lining up with the rest of the city, then we highly recommend visiting during the week. We visited on a weekday about 1:00pm and had no issue finding a table.

What to order to get the full experience

The full kahvalti breakfast has two set menu options. Either of them must be ordered for at least two people, so make sure to bring your best eating buddy with you.

Of the two options, the more expensive “Serpme Van Kahvalti” was our go to choice. This option has the most variety of dishes to get the full experience. Not to mention the unlimited tea (more on that later), we figured you gotta go big or go home.

The freshest food, made in-house that morning

What makes Van Kahvalti Evi so special is that all of the food is made in-house, some of it even that morning. The Serpme Van Kahvalti comes complete with a plate full of fresh cheese, olives both green and black, eggs two different ways, fresh vegetables, honey and cream. With spreads, preserves, dips and jams, all ready to be eaten with your basket of freshly baked bread. This is the ultimate traditional Turkish breakfast.

The variety of fresh white Turkish cheeses are something to write home about. Consisting of a white brine cheese, braided cheese, string cheese, and an extra special sheep’s cheese that the restaurant calls Ottu Van Peyniri.

Made in-house, Ottu Van Peyniri is a herbed sheep cheese. It’s super sharp and full of flavour from the wild herbs that are used to make it. In English, it can be referred to as Van cheese. This name refers to both the region of eastern Turkey that this type of cheese originates, and the restaurant itself.

The ultimate treasure here, however, has got to be the kaymak. If you haven’t tried kaymak before, you must! It’s somewhat akin to clotted cream, except it’s made from buffalo milk and is a sure-fire way to put a smile on your face.

Here, it’s made fresh every morning and is served as a slice because it’s so thick. Take some on your fork or with piece of bread baked in-house, with a decent helping of fresh thick honey, and you’ll be beaming from ear to ear.

Did someone say, unlimited tea?!

What sets the “Serpme Van Kahvalti” apart, including the extra menu items, is the unlimited tea. Any meal in Turkey is not complete without a hot glass of tea, or çay, and breakfast is most certainly no exception. Breakfast must be served with plenty of freshly brewed black tea. Here, you can be sure to have a new glass brought to you as soon as your last has been downed.

Amazing hospitality and a friendly experience

From the moment you arrive till you walk out the door, the hospitality at Van Kahvalti Evi is incomparable. The amazing people working here are full of information about all the different dishes. They’re extremely attentive if you needed anything, especially a fresh glass of çay! In fact, we wouldn’t suggest this as the best breakfast in Istanbul for any less.

Kahvalti is not just a meal, but a whole experience

A traditional Turkish kahvalti is not just a meal, but a whole experience unto itself. Something that must be shared over great company and conversation.

At Van Kahvalti Evi, the combination of amazing food made fresh in-house, with wonderful service and hospitality, make their traditional kahvalti an unforgettable experience. If you’re looking for a true traditional Turkish breakfast, that goes beyond just the food, then Van Kahvalti Evi is the place for you.

Name: Van Kahvaltı Evi
Address: Kılıçali Paşa, Defterdar Ykş. 52/A, 34425 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Turkey
what3words: ///circular.longer.finger
Price: 100TL/person

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The Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur began development in 1870 and Petaling Street itself was one of the earliest roads to be built. The area was mostly Cantonese and Hakka who came to the city for the tin trade. With their skills, they brought their incredibly diverse cooking styles and unique flavours.

Petaling Street is now home to temples, shopping, and hawker stalls serving up the top street foods in Kuala Lumpur. A number of these street food stalls have been around for over 50 years and are onto not the first or second, but third generation of family looking after the business. The quality of ingredients and history that goes into these dishes is incredible.

So, let’s get to it! Below is a list of the top 11 street foods to eat on your next visit to Petaling Street Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur.

Roast Duck

The crispiest, juiciest, most tender roast duck in Chinatown is at Sze Ngan Chye. This famous street food cart is run by two sisters that took over from their father, who started the business over 70 years ago. After all this time they still provide the same great taste and quality that he always did.

Sze Ngan Chye means the man who wears spectacles. It got its name from their father who would sell his duck on Petaling Street wearing his unmistakable glasses. With no name for his cart, the nickname just stuck!

We’ve gotta say, they sure know how to roast a duck. Perfectly cooked, juicy and tender with just the right amount of salt… we almost wished we had gotten a full duck and not the half!! Depending on your hunger you’ve got choice, RM34 for half a duck, or RM68 for the whole one. Don’t worry, we won’t judge.

The two sisters start selling their fresh roast duck at 6:00am, and because of their popularity can sell out by noon. So, make sure you head to their stall first, nice and early, to make sure you get some tasty duck.

Name: Sze Ngan Chye
Address: 46, Jalan Petaling, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///usual.singles.gave
Price: RM34 half duck, RM68 whole duck

Muah Chee

Madam Tang Muah Chee Queen (as she is called), has been selling muah chee from her cart on Petaling Street for over 50 years. She’s become a permanent fixture along the busy street, making her stall a must try when in Chinatown Kuala Lumpur.

Soft, chewy and bursting with flavour, these little muah chee pack a punch! Coming in six different flavours, we couldn’t resist the black sesame and mango. Both were delicious and with a surprisingly intense, strong flavour that you can pick out at first bite.

If those flavours aren’t your thing, don’t worry, there’s also lychee, ribena, pandan and original to choose from. Each piece is bathed in crushed peanuts, adding the perfect crunchy texture to the soft and chewy muah chee.

Name: Madam Tang Muah Chee Queen
Address: 42, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///abacus.slimy.poker
Price: RM6/box

Congee

This salty bowl of porridge goodness is congee, a popular Chinese street food of savoury rice porridge with delicious pork, century egg, and green onions. At Hon Kee Petaling Street you have a few different congee options to choose from, including salted egg and pork, crispy innards, pork ball, and raw fish.

Served piping hot, you mustn’t forget the white pepper. It adds the perfect seasoning to the dish to make it mouth-wateringly good.

As with so many of the delicious food choices along Petaling Street, this humble stall began business in 1949 and is still going strong. Spanning three generations and counting, this is one of the top street foods to eat in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.

Name: Hon Kee Petaling Street
Address: 93, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///cautious.cared.sporting
Price: RM7

Chee Cheong Fun

This bright red, saucy dish is chee cheong fun. A popular street food of fresh chewy rice noodles with the most amazing, slightly sweet, red peanut sauce poured over top.

As with many Chinese-Malaysian dishes, there’s a decent helping of spicy chilli sambal on the side to mix in as much or as little as you want. The result? Fresh, peanuty, spicy rice noodles that feel like the perfect comfort meal.

What sets chee cheong fun apart from other rice noodles is that they’re freshly chopped to order. At Yooi Kee Chee Cheong Fun, their plates of noodles come in three different sizes based on your hunger. We got the small, which was a decent helping for the both of us, especially if you want to make sure you save some room for the amount of street food you’ll be eating on Petaling Street.

Name: Yooi Kee Chee Cheong Fun
Address: 51, 49, Jalan Petaling, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///sting.trumpet.vitals
Price: RM4 for small

Tau Foo Fah and Dau Jiang

Another stall that is an absolute institution here on Petaling Street is Kim Soya Bean, one of the most popular Chinese street food stalls here in Chinatown. If you merely mention to anyone in Kuala Lumpur that you’ll be in Chinatown, they’ll make sure you make a stop at Kim Soya Bean for their famous tau foo fah and dau jiang.

Tau foo fah is a soft tofu that’s served hot and with your choice of white or brown sugar syrup on top. Its velvety smooth texture, mild flavour and sweetness from the brown sugar (our go to), really make this treat something special, even on a hot day!

If you’re looking for a cool off, however, make sure to pair your tau foo fah with a creamy cup of dau jiang soy milk. Scooped out from the massive container front and centre on the cart, it’s served cold, with or without sugar, sweet and soft on the tongue.

Running now for over 90 years and by the third generation, the current owner is an extremely friendly man who’s been manning the shop for the last 40 years. Things have surely changed on Petaling Street in those years, but the quality and taste of their soy bean treats sure hasn’t, so we’re told by the regulars!

Name: Kim Soya Bean
Address: 49, Jalan Petaling, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///similar.hosts.keyboard
Price: RM2.20/each

Joong

Savoury or sweet, what’s your poison?? We can’t help but always choose savoury, how can you resist salty goodness?!

Whichever way you swing, you’ve got choice when it comes to joong, a popular Chinese street food. This tasty glutinous rice dumpling is filled with either sweet dates, red bean and other sugary deliciousness, or savoury pork with salted egg, mushrooms and chestnuts.

The steaming process makes the rice lovely and chewy, with a soft texture. Everything all wrapped up in a bamboo leaf like a little present, these dense dumplings are jam packed with ingredients, full of flavour, and the perfect snack on the go.

Name: Ho Yoke Kee
Address: 19, 15, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///scar.deep.required
Price: RM8

Fresh Beef Noodles

Just around the corner from the main road of Petaling Street is a noteworthy place that has the best fresh beef noodle soup. Sin Kiew Yee Shin Kee Beef Noodles is a small shop that gets busy during any hour of the day, so be prepared to queue for a table. Luckily the line goes quick so you won’t have to wait for long.

Their beef noodle soup is full of raw beef, perfectly chewy egg noodles, green onion and beef floss, to give you a hearty bowl full of deliciousness.

The beef is added in raw to get the most tender meat possible, being cooked only briefly when it’s dunked into the main broth like a hot pot before being added to your dish. This rich and meaty broth, enriched with all the juices and oils from the beef, is further used as a bath for the egg noodles to cook, and finally being used for the broth itself.

Just a short walk from Petaling Street, we feel like this is worth the extra distance. I mean, with all the food you’ll be eating, you’re gonna need the walk.

Name: Sin Kiew Yee Shin Kee Beef Noodles
Address: 7a, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///boggles.pinches.situated
Price: RM10

Apam Balik

Apam balik is best described as a peanut pancake. The batter is cooked in a huge pan and covered in sugar and crushed peanuts, then folded in half to keep all the goodness inside. This pancake is massive, mind you, so ordering one portion will get you a decent sized slice. The combination of crunchy peanuts, with the soft and springy interior is something that we very much enjoyed.

While you’re there, don’t forget to pick up one of the smaller coconut pancakes. These guys were the real hit for us, with a super strong smell and flavour of coconut, they were a lovely little snack on the go. If you love coconut and peanut as much as we do, you’ll love these apams.

We unfortunately didn’t catch the name of the gentleman who owns this hawker cart, but we did have a nice chat with him. We learned that he’s been selling apam balik from the same location on Petaling Street for 40 years, “from a young man to an old man,” in his words. With a sense of humour and knowing what his customers want, it’s no wonder he’s been in business all these years selling the top street food pancakes in Chinatown.

Did we mention that his cart is attached to the side of a motorbike like a side car? It doesn’t get much more street food than that!

Name: Petaling Street Apek’s Apam
Address: Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///safest.envy.joggers
Price: RM1.50/each

Yong Tau Foo

Yong tau foo is a popular Hakka dish of vegetables and tofu stuffed with springy fish paste. Found down an alley off of Petaling Street, Madras Lane Yong Tau Foo has a plethora of yong tau foo to choose from. Eaten either dry with a sauce, or in broth as a soup, you can’t go wrong with either.

We went for the dry version and chose a few different yong tau foo, mistakenly picking up a bitter melon! It was nice to try something different, but definitely a little bitter for our tastes! We prefer the soft eggplant, crispy fried wonton, and fish paste balls. Conveniently, you’re charged per piece of yong tau foo that you order, so you can have as much or as little as your stomach can handle.

Name: Madras Lane Yong Tau Foo
Address: Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///terms.skinny.elated
Price: RM1.70/piece

Air Mata Kucing

If you’re craving a little something sweet to keep you going through your exploration of Petaling Street Chinatown, we recommend a quick pit stop at Air Mata Kucing for one of their refreshing mata kucing drinks.

Mata Kucing is also known as cat’s eye, and is a close relative to the plump and juicy longan. Their special mata kucing drink is quite sweet, more so than we were expecting actually, since it’s sweetened with monk fruit, which is far stronger than sucrose.

Starting up over 70 years ago, Air Mata Kucing used to serve their drink in metal bowls/cups, to drink right there and then. Over the years they’ve (unfortunately) switched to plastic, so you’ll be able to take your drink with you as you wander the streets of Chinatown.

Name: Air Mata Kucing
Address: 15, Jalan Hang Lekir, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///typhoon.latest.pirates
Price: RM4

Teh Tarik

Last but certainly not least, is something that you’ll find all over Malaysia, but is an honourable mention when you’re in Chinatown. Nestled away down Madras Lane, right across from Madras Lane Yong Tau Foo, is Kong Chai Coffee Stall. Here you can get a number of hot or cold Malaysian drinks.

Our go to and ultimate favourite Malaysian drink is teh tarik, literally translating to pulled tea.

Teh tarik is made with a strong brew of black tea combined with condensed milk. The two are added together in a cup, and are mixed by pouring, or “pulling”, the drink back and forth from one cup to another.

Not only is this process fun to watch, but it mixes the condensed milk in while also cooling down the tea and frothing it all up to create a velvety tea with the perfect drinking temperature.

Depending on your preference, you can enjoy it hot or cold. For us, on those hot Malaysian days, we prefer ours icy cold and oh so refreshing.

Name: Kong Chai Coffee Stall
Address: Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
what3words: ///successor.twilight.tagging
Price: RM2.40

Petaling Street Chinatown

Some of the most popular Chinese food in Kuala Lumpur can be found in Petaling Street Chinatown. There’s so much incredible street food in Malaysia to try, and this list of the top 11 street foods to eat in Petaling Street Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur will get you more than started on your way to trying some of the best Chinese Malaysian street foods in the city.

We hope this list will be helpful for you to create a personalized street food tour of Petaling Street Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Check out our video below trying all of these top street foods to eat on Petaling Street!

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