Most of my small Kuala Lumpur adventures come with surprises and detours, and my trip to Chow Kit Market was no exception. The biggest surprise was the discovery of a Malaysian pop star named Sudirman. He performed his hit song called “Chow Kit Road” in an open-air concert to over 100,000 people right on Chow Kit Road itself. I had never heard of Sudirman before, and I spent a pleasant couple of hours learning about his life, listening to his music, and watching his movie before I even went to Chow Kit Market.

Chow Kit Market then came with its own surprises, such as its sheer size. I didn’t expect the wet market side or the dry market side to be quite so large. Another surprise was the large number of Indonesians working there. It was interesting that I didn’t have to ask if they were Indonesian or not. I could identify them instantly as being from Indonesia just based on their friendly and energetic greetings as I wandered around trying to keep my feet dry. When I heard a loud and friendly and cheerful, “Hello! What country?”, I knew I was talking to an Indonesian.

I set off with the 5-Snack Challenge in mind, and that led me to some discoveries – particularly a large, rather sour cup of cendol. I thought cendol consisted of a bowl of shaved ice, but apparently, it can also be just a drink in a cup.

Toss in some disturbingly cheerful cow heads sitting on counters, the freshest meat one can imagine, a cute cat, and a ton of fried snacks, and you have my trip to Chow Kit Market.