🇲🇾Halal Travel Guide to Malaysia

The 1965 national mosque, with a 16-point folded concrete star for a roof and a reflecting pool around it. Free robes at the entrance. Open to visitors 9am-12pm and 3pm-4pm most days, closed to visitors Friday morning.

Built in 1909 in Moorish Revival style at the meeting of the Klang and Gombak rivers - the spot the city is named after. Right beside the Masjid Jamek LRT station and the River of Life walkway.

Twenty-two domes borrowed from the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and Ottoman calligraphy throughout. Less visited than the National Mosque and consequently more pleasant. Best photographed at dusk.

Rose-tinted granite on the edge of Putrajaya Lake, finished in 1999, holding 15,000 worshippers. Robes provided. Twenty minutes from KL Sentral on the KLIA Transit.

Steel mesh walls instead of solid ones, so the whole building is cooled by cross-breeze and dappled light. A completely different architectural argument from the Putra Mosque a few minutes away.

One of the largest mosques in Southeast Asia, with a blue-and-silver dome 51 metres across and four 142-metre minarets. Thirty minutes west of Kuala Lumpur; guided tours run for visitors.

Founded by Penang's Indian Muslim traders, with Mughal domes and a single golden minaret. Part of the Street of Harmony, where a mosque, a Chinese clan temple, a Hindu temple and a church stand within a few hundred metres.

Built on stilts over the Strait of Malacca north of Georgetown. Small, working and entirely photogenic at maghrib.

On the man-made Malacca Island, appearing to float when the tide is high. Middle-Eastern styling with stained glass; the most photographed mosque in the country after Putra.

Steel, glass and crystal on the Terengganu river, lit in changing colours at night. Sits inside the Islamic Heritage Park, which has scale models of 20-odd famous mosques from around the world.

Golden onion domes and striped minarets beside the royal town of Perak, completed in 1917 and widely held to be the most beautiful mosque in Malaysia.

Blue and gold domes on a man-made lagoon so the reflection doubles the building. Worth the Borneo detour if you get that far.

Twelve galleries of Qur'an manuscripts, Ottoman ceramics, Mughal jewellery, textiles and a hall of architectural models of the world's great mosques. The building itself, with Iranian-tiled domes, is part of the exhibit. Halal restaurant on site.

Twenty-one scale replicas of famous mosques - the Taj Mahal, the Dome of the Rock, the Great Mosque of Samarra - on a river island. Genuinely good with children.

A Malay reserve village of wooden stilt houses that the city grew around but never demolished. Best walked at dusk for the food stalls and the skyline contrast.

Built in 1808 by an Acehnese prince, this was the departure point for Southeast Asian pilgrims sailing to Mecca and the heart of Penang's Malay-Arab trading quarter.

The former national palace, now open as a museum of the Malay sultanate and the modern monarchy.

Widely argued to serve the best nasi lemak in the Klang Valley - the fried chicken is the reason. Queues from 8am; go on a weekday morning.

The Kampung Baru institution, open since the 1980s. Pick your dishes from the counter - sotong sambal, rendang, paru. Cash.

Chef Ismail's Malay buffet, over a hundred traditional dishes, and the best single place to understand the range of Malay home cooking. Book for dinner.

A reliable 24-hour mamak chain found across the country, including a branch near KLCC. The default answer when you land at 2am and need to eat.

Certified Malay-Nyonya comfort food in a mall setting - nasi lemak, nasi bojari, curry laksa. The easy, air-conditioned option with family in tow.

Upscale modern Malay from the country's best-known chef. The place for one proper dinner out.

The name in Malaysian satay since 1988, with branches now around the Klang Valley. Order by the dozen; the peanut sauce comes hot.

Open since 1907 and claiming to be the oldest nasi kandar restaurant in Malaysia. Order the ayam merah and the murtabak.

Down an alley, almost always open, and the most photographed nasi kandar counter in the country. Point at what you want; ask for it banjir.

Tandoori chicken, naan and nasi kandar opposite the Kapitan Keling mosque. Consistent, busy and open late.

Seafront hawker centre with a clearly marked halal section. Excellent for cendol, rojak and mee goreng - but check individual stalls rather than assuming the whole centre.

Tandoori chicken cooked on the street by a Pakistani-Malaysian family, a block off Jonker Street. Opens at 5.30pm, closed Wednesdays, queue by 6.

Halal Thai on the main Cenang strip - tom yum, green curry, pandan chicken - and a reliable alternative to the alcohol-serving beach clubs nearby.

The famous night eating street, and genuinely worth seeing, but halal and non-halal stalls sit side by side. Look for the JAKIM sticker or the Muslim-friendly sign on each stall.

Bumiputera-owned, alcohol-free, with large family suites and a location a short walk from the Petronas Towers and the KLCC park. The reliable first choice in the city.

Run by the group associated with Malaysia's pilgrimage fund. Fully Shariah-compliant, modest prices, prayer facilities on site.

A small Malaysian chain operating to Shariah-compliant standards - no alcohol, prayer rooms, family-oriented. Good value outside the city core.

Where most visitors stay: walkable to Jalan Alor, Pavilion and the towers, on the monorail and MRT. Bukit Bintang has more nightlife; KLCC is quieter and better with family.

Heritage shophouse hotels inside the UNESCO zone, walkable to Kapitan Keling and the nasi kandar shops. Much more atmospheric than the Gurney high-rises.

Islamic-Moorish architecture, near the jetty and the duty-free shops. A calmer base than the Cenang beach strip.

The northern end of the island - long empty sand, no bar scene, resorts with private stretches. The choice if the point of the trip is a quiet beach.