Routes · Asia

Melbourne to Southeast Asia's food capitals: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang

Melbourne → Singapore → Kuala Lumpur → Penang

Food capitals Best season (general guide): Jan–Mar

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang are three of the best places in Asia to eat, with Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan cooking side by side. This route travels between them by air or train. From Melbourne you'll fly to Singapore, and you can fly home from Penang.

In Singapore, hawker culture is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, and centres like Maxwell, Lau Pa Sat and Tiong Bahru are good places to start. Between meals, there are the Gardens by the Bay and the neighbourhoods of Chinatown and Little India. Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers, the Batu Caves temple and the evening stalls of Jalan Alor make for full days. George Town on Penang Island, with its shophouses, clan houses and murals, is listed by UNESCO together with Melaka. Its hawker food, from char kway teow to assam laksa, is a big draw.

The west coast of Malaysia is often driest from about January to March, which makes the start of the year the best time, while October and November are among the wettest months. Singapore is warm and humid all year.

Eat where locals queue, carry tissues to reserve a seat in hawker centres, and drink plenty of water in the heat.

How to pace it: three nights in Singapore leave time for hawker centres at breakfast, lunch and dinner. In Kuala Lumpur, visit the Batu Caves early in the morning, before the heat. In Penang, walk George Town's heritage area in the early morning and evening, and eat at the hawker centres at night.

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