KL City Hall Launches Project To Position City As Culinary Haven
The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Hj. Ahmad Phesal bin Hj. Talib, recently launched “Kuala Lumpur Food Trails” to cultivate the strength and uniqueness of Malaysia's capital city as a melting pot of culinary diversity. In tandem with the initiative, London-based Chef Norman Musa was appointed as the KL Food Ambassador for the European market. The aim of the initiative, one of City Hall's many projects, is to position Kuala Lumpur as a culinary haven as well as Asia's Foodie Capital, including developing ways in which Malaysian food can be explored.
“There has always been an under-addressed need among travellers to Kuala Lumpur – they simply do not know where to go. They hear that Kuala Lumpur is a foodie paradise, but they are afraid to venture beyond their comfort zone. This was how the idea of the Kuala Lumpur Food Trails (project) was born – to uncover and highlight Kuala Lumpur's hidden culinary gems to the world, enabling tourists to confidently experience the best of Malaysian food in an organised manner,” said the Mayor at the launch.
As the KL Food Ambassador, Chef Norman will promote Kuala Lumpur Food Trails in Europe, spearhead the KL Food Festival in 2015, accompany media and trade familiarisation tours, collaborate with cooking ateliers across key European markets and promote food tours to travellers. He will also hold culinary-based activities such as food workshops for young talents and open pop-up cookery schools.
The Kuala Lumpur Food Trails pack consists of an overall map of Kuala Lumpur and a focused map of each of the five areas: Brickfields, Jalan Alor, Kampong Bahru, Old Kuala Lumpur and Pudu. It highlights seven to eight outlets, including key information such as must-try dishes, address, contact details, opening hours as well as an indication of Halal certification. An additional list of notable food outlets, coffee shops and restaurants is included as well.
The map is available for free in visitor centres, shopping malls and hotels around Kuala Lumpur.