Eating at Langkawi Night Markets

On our very first night in Malaysia, we decided to visit the Langkawi night markets, to have a look through the stalls and grab some great local food for dinner. We enjoyed the food so much, and it was so incredibly cheap that we ended up eating dinner at the night markets for four out of the five nights of our Langkawi stay.

I’ve put this guide together to tell you the Langkawi night markets location for each day, and to give you some recommendations for the best food to try.

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About the Langkawi Night Markets

These are typical Asian night markets that transform an empty parking lot or deserted piece of land into a bustling market as the sun goes down. There are dozens of stands, most of them are food, either cooked ready to eat or fruit and even meat stalls, but you can also find clothes and electronics and souvenirs. If you don’t want to eat at the markets, they are still one of the best places to visit in Langkawi at night for some shopping and people watching.

The markets are not just for the tourists, in fact it seemed as though most of the people there were locals. I was definitely in the minority as a person of caucasian appearance.

I had read in advance that the markets began at 5:30pm, but we were there about twenty minutes early one day and there was still plenty of food ready to go. We ate all sorts of food, some we didn’t even know what it was, just pointed and asked to try. All of the food was fresh, but we found that when we arrived earlier they food was just being cooked and was even more tasty. We had no concerns with food safety and our tummies were fine for our whole visit.

All of the vendors spoke at least enough English to answer basic questions including ingredients and prices. Some spoke much better and were happy to engage in conversation with us.

For dinner for two of us, we spent between 20MYR ($7AUD/$5USD) and 37MYR ($13AUD/$9USD) which included some savoury foods, some sweet foods, a shared large drink, and occasionally some fruit or snacks to take home for the next day. So cheap!

Langkawi Night Market Locations

The night markets in Langkawi move around are in different locations every night. So no matter where you are staying on the island, there will be a market near you – or you can just do as I did and visit them wherever you are. Here is where you can find them.

Monday Night Market

Ulu Melaka Night Market – 2, Taman Wawasan Indah, Kampung Padang Gaong, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Tuesday Night Market

Kedawang Night Market – Kampung Chenek Kura, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Wednesday Night Market

Pekan Kuah Night Market – Lencongan Putra 3, Kuah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Thursday Night Market

Temonyong Night Market – Kampung Lubok Buaya, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Friday Night Market

Ayer Hangat Night Market – Jalan Padang Gaong, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Saturday Night Market

Pekan Kuah Night Market – Lencongan Putra 3, Kuah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Sunday Night Market

Padang Matsirat Night Market – Kampung Padang Mat Sirat, 07100 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Note: Wednesday and Saturday night markets are in the same place.

What to Eat at the Langkawi Night Markets

We tried lots of food at the night markets, some which we had tried before, and some other foods that just looked good or we were curious about them so thought we would give them a try. Don’t expect anything too “exotic” such as insects etc that you may find in other south east Asian countries. In fact, we were surprised to see that one of the most common foods on offer was fried chicken that looked like it had just been picked up from the local KFC.

Fried Chicken

We were surprised to see all of the fried chicken. Clearly it is a popular local favourite, and so cheap. It was easy to find pieces of chicken from as little as 1MYR ($0.35AUD/$0.25USD). We put off trying the chicken until our last night because it seemed a little too western for us, we wanted to try all of the traditional Malaysian foods first. It was delicious though, and definitely an option if you are wanting something familiar.

Dangai

This was so tasty! We bought Dangai almost every time we were at the markets. It’s basically coconut flavoured rice baked into shape. It can be eaten warm or cold, and was good as a snack for our travels the following day.

Apam Belik

Another sweet treat! Apam Belik is a sort of thin pancake, or crepe with a filling of peanuts and sweet corn. It is an unusual flavour, but it works quite nicely. We ate them warm, straight off the hotplate. Yum!

Tokiyoo

We bought these on more than one occasions too, they were so delicious. Tokiyoo are small pancakes with a sweet, coconut sauce. They are usually served folded over like a tiny taco

Dorayaki

Dorayaki are similar to the Tokiyoo but they are much thicker with the flavour cooked into the pancakes themselves. The flavour – at least of the coconut version – is very similar to the Tokiyoo too, but there are other flavours of these available.

Satay Sticks

Satays, particularly chicken, have always been a favourite of our family. Whenever we travel to South East Asia one of the first meals always seems to be satays. The ones here at the Langkawi night markets did not disappoint us. They were tasty, cheap and plentiful! We got them every day from the same people, and by the fourth day we were chatting to them like old friends.

Drinks

It’s not just food that is delicious at the Langkawi night markets, there are some delicious drinks to be found here too. There is a wide range of soft drinks, tea and fruit juices available. One our first night we tried a coconut shake and we were completely sold! It was possibly my favourite find of all the new foods we tried at the markets. We loved it so much that we had the same drink for the first three nights. On the fourth night, the stall that sold the coconut shakes was no where to be found. Instead we went for a coconut juice, which I have always liked (yes, I am a bit of a fan of coconut!).

Tropical Fruit

Almost every different type of tropical fruit is available at the markets. I picked up some of my absolute favourites, mangosteen, to snack on later in the trip. During your visit, why not try some of the more unusual fruits like durian or jackfruit.

Even More Food Choices

There is so much on offer at the Langkawi Night Markets that we could not possibly taste everything during our short stay. Here are some more photos that show some of the other things on offer.

Are you ready to be lead by your stomach to the Langkawi Night Markets?
Here are some more posts to help plan your trip.
Langkawi Itinerary – 5 Days in Langkawi
Travel Diaries – Langkawi
A Step by Step Guide to Planning your Trip

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