Central Market's Malay Tea House, Jom minum!

Malaysians are a spoilt lot when it comes to food...there are so many types of foods you can pick no matter where you are or what your preferences. Having said that, mamak stalls remain one of our favourite hangouts for cheap foods and good times. For the coffee lovers, there's Starbucks, Coffee Beans and San Francisco Coffee. For the Chinese traditionalists, thee's the ubiquitous kopitiam to whet your appetite.  And now, you can add Malay tea house to the list of places where tea enthusiasts can gather and have a good cuppa. Located inside Central Market is the aptly named MALAY TEA HOUSE on the ground floor that offers a much-needed respite for those who yearns for a good cup of tea. However, don't expect to find Earl Grey or oolong tea here, because this teahouse specialises in local Malay and herbal teas like Emas Cotek,  pegaga, Daun Misai Kucing, Daun Hempedu Bumi and Daun Limau Purut, to name a few, which are said to have various healing properties. 

The place is has a very distinctive 'kampung' feel to it, with wooden doors, chairs and table, and even ceiling lamps that are made to look like 'pelita'.

There's one section where you can see rows and rows of herbal teas for sale. But the highlight for me is the two huge tables in the central area, which have glass tops, and underneath them, you can see compartments of different types of spices that can be found locally.

There's one menu just for the herbal teas on offer, and another one for meals. The foods offered here are standard 'kampung' fares like nasi lemak, nasi goreng, nasi kampung gulai ikan, nasi ayam, ayam rendang, as well as other local faves like mee rebus Perak, Laksa Penang, Rot Jala and Bihun Singapura.

On top of that, they also offer specialties like Nasi Goreng Herba, Nasi Ayam Rempah and Ketupat & Rendang Tok, where spices and herbs are used in the preparations.

The obligatory pictures of me and my colleague, Ash, posing before our meals arrived.

I ordered the Nasi Ayam Rempah (RM 7.90) with a glass of iced ginger tea (RM 6.00). I picked the ginger tea because I was still recovering from cold and ginger would be good for me, or so my friend said.

The herbal flavour is a bit too subtle for my taste, as I am so used to the strong herbal concoctions that are present in Chinese dishes. Otherwise, this is a light meal that is very easy on the tastebuds.


My colleague had the Nasi Lemak Ayam  (RM 7.90) with pegaga tea (RM 6.00), which she loved, and I have to say, looks more delicious than mine. Prices here are pretty standard, for teas it's RM 6.00 each, and for meals it's between RM 6.00 and RM 10.00.

SO, the next time you are in Central Market, and you want to sip some fine herbal teas in a quaint, soothing environment that takes you back to the good old kampung days, hop over to the Malay Tea House.

Jom minum teh herba!