Best workday lunch spots in Bangsar

As regulars-in-the-know would point out, this poorly ventilated kopitiam can get very stuffy. But try not to let the heat get to you because the pan mee (particularly the mee hoon kueh), zhu zhap zhuk (pork intestine porridge) and kuih stall are worth braving the chaotic Bangsar jam for. Jabbering hordes of office workers also huddle around the zhap fan counter for good reason: You can easily score a decent plate of rice with one vegetable and meat dish from just RM6. Be warned: Cramped tables, clamorous noise and watered-down coffee might hamper your peaceful lunch experience.

It’s impossible not to talk about Anuar’s food stall when it comes to bargain dining in Bangsar. Having operated for more than 30 years, the humble stall rides on a simple, winning formula: curry and rice. A meal, consisting of a heap of rice doused liberally in fish head curry (either mackerel or red snapper) and topped with bean sprouts, only starts from RM3; RM2.50 more if you add a piece of the mamak-style fried chicken. The long queue that snakes around the corner is a common sight, but service is speedy.

Before açaí bowls came along, you probably wouldn’t know a healthy smoothie bowl with fruits and granola could look so pretty. It’s evident that the vegetarian The Good Co believes in taste, not just in their food but also in the look of the café – accents of wood and brass with comfy chairs encourage lingering in the sun-drenched space. The Good Co especially caters for takeaways: Their salad pots, quirkily named such as the Superfit Angmoh and Skinny Sumo, are all packed in to-go cups; sandwiches (try The Hulk and Daging Tarik) are not only portable but they’re constructed with organic breads – choose either turmeric, rye, herb or cranberry flavours. For your daily dose of vitamins, grab a cold-pressed juice on your way out.

If you haven’t already heard, the sam kan zhong-style pork noodles, served with rectangular and flat-shaped pork balls instead of round ones, draw in most of the lunch crowds here (trivia: sam kan zhong also refers to the three adjacent shophouses on Jalan Silang, where the first pork noodle stall of this style was founded). In our books, the kaya-and-butter toast and drinks (cham and teh) here fare much better than its competitors down the block. Sun Huat Kee also scores extra points for being the better ventilated restaurant out of the three kopitiams.

You know it as one of the best nasi biryani ayam madu places since the ’70s; your solace by way of fluffy long-grains with honey-glazed chicken when work life bogs you down. It’s easy to lose yourself in this restaurant smelling of great fried chicken all the time but no matter how appealing they seem, do save some room for the naan. The fluffy, burnished, tandoor-baked flatbread is made for greater things – to eat with Mahbub’s less celebrated but equally crave-worthy tandoori chicken. No matter which chicken dish you choose in the end, you can’t go wrong either way.