Kuala Lumpur 2012

Date of Travel: 4 Apr 2012 - 6 Apr 2012

There was a public holiday in April, coupled with our exemptions, we only had school for 2 days during that week. My friends Jocelyn & Yuyi planned to go on a short trip to our neighboring country, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur (A.K.A. KL) is the capital city of Malaysia, it's quite similar to Singapore's bustling and vibrant city life, just a little messier and massive-er (if there's even such a word) traffic jams.

Click here for the exact locations of the places I've visited on http://www.mobilytrip.com/.

We visited for 3 days and 2 nights, eating all the awesome food and shopping A LOT. We met Jocelyn's cousin, Jane who is a local Malaysian and that sweetheart brought us around! I can't comment much about getting around and transport because we were chauffeured most of the time, and we walked the rest.

For this post, I shall group all the items into categories, namely: Hotel, Food, Shopping & Drinks. Basically, that summed up the entire trip.

HOTEL

Piccolo Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Address: No 101, Jalan Bukit Bintang 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Map for Piccolo Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Tel : +603- 2146 5000
Fax : +603- 2146 5001 
Email: reservation@piccolohotel.com.my
Website: http://www.piccolohotel.com.my/

Piccolo Hotel is a small boutique hotel located right smack in the middle of the heart of KL, along the famous Bintang Walk. The location is so fantastic that it is walking distance to major shopping malls like Pavillion and Sungei Wang Plaza, famous places of interests like KLCC and Berjaya Times Square.

The 3 of us shared a room and it is really cozy and homely. I must say though, the toilet is rather..... open. My friends and I are close, so it wasn't such a hassle though it was quite awkward.

As you can see, the basin is right in the middle of the room, between the toilet and the bed. Other than the open concept toilet, everything else about the hotel was lovely. They provided room make up in the morning (yes, I know that's a standard service) and room turn-down in the evenings. It was such a pleasant surprise coming back at night and noticing all the chocolates and bedroom slippers laid out.

The staff of the hotel were courteous and friendly and could provide directions and recommendations in English.

FOOD

T-bowl Concept Restaurant

Address: Sungei Wang Plaza, 3F-No 41 & 42, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.
Tel: +603 2141 1606
Website: http://www.t-bowl.com/
Opens: Mon-Sun (11am - 10pm) (Last Order - 9.30pm)
Remarks: Free WiFi

Map of T-bowl Restaurant in Sungei Wang

T-bowl food!

As you know Sungei Wang is just walking distance to the hotel, so we decided to walk there

Food wise, it's an average only. No doubt the concept is unique and different, but I feel that the quality and taste of the food, drinks, and even ice-cream can be improved. The kimchi was TOO spicy, my egg fried noodles was quite bland and the ice-cream didn't have any kick. The presentation of the dishes were good though.

If you happen to be there, and want to try a restaurant that is different in concept and style, you can give it a try, but if you're looking for good food, I suggest you give it a miss.

Kedai Makanan Ban Lee Restaurant (Bah Kut Teh)

Awesome Bah Kut Teh

Address: Kedai Makanan Ban Lee 万利肉骨茶餐室  222, Jalan Ipoh,  51200 Kuala Lumpur. 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ban-Lee-Restaurant-Bak-Kut-Teh/119278044805560

If you're a non-Chinese (or rather, non-Singaporean/Asian), Bah Kut Teh loosely translates to Pork Rib Tea or a better name for it in English would be Pork Rib Herbal Soup. It's one of my favorite Chinese dishes ever!

To get there, just locate Dynasty Hotel along Jalan Ipoh. This old coffee-shop is on the left of the main entrance, facing the main road. Parking was rather difficult to find as it is after all, within shop house area and parking lots are scarce.

Ban Lee Bah Kut Teh

If you're into Pig organ soup, you'll love this place. My stomach is growling as I type this. We ordered a medium pot of Bah Kut Teh and a plate of 油菜 or Oiled Cabbages. What is different about this Bah Kut Teh as compared with the ones I've had in Singapore is that the soup has more herbal taste and is darker in colour. The ingredients inside the soup is also very different! In Singapore, Bah Kut Tehs only serve with 2-3 pieces of pork ribs. However at Ban Lee, they serve pork ribs, pork intestines, liver and stomachs! I was such a happy girl eating all those. I am not sure if this is the norm in Malaysia, but I didn't care and I just whacked everything!

Papa Rich

Kopi and Loti

Address: Fahrenheit88, Lot G-38, Ground Floor, Jln Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Website: http://www.papparich.com.my
Locations around Malaysia: http://www.papparich.com.my/ourlocations.html

Kopi and Loti loosely translated from Hokkien (my dialect) means Coffee and Bread respectively. We visited PappaRich on two occasions for breakfast.

PappaRich

The steamed bread is a must try! It's so soft and the kaya filling is simply fantastic. You should also try the Otah (Steamed spicy fish cake) and the iced coffee. The whole meal overall was very hearty and filling. They even have free WiFi for you to tap on, and in the mornings, there's not much of a crowd.

The price on the other hand is average. It wasn't exactly cheap as the steamed bread already cost RM4.80.

Reciept for PappaRich

Fullhouse Lifestyle Store and Cafe

Fullhouse

Address: No 2, Jln Liew Weng Chee,  Off Jalan Yap Kwan Seng,  50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Map for Fullhouse at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
Tel: +603 2164 6466
Website: http://www.fullhousecafe.com.my/

So we had lunch here at Fullhouse Cafe. There's a Fullhouse Restaurant in Singapore as well. Anyway, because Malaysia has land (and Singapore don't), the cafe is really big, even with a back yard for us to head out and snap some photos! The whole decor looks quite Old English-ish and it was very photogenic.

When I visited on a hot afternoon, the cafe was rather stuffy and it seems like there's poor ventilation or the air conditioning wasn't switched on. I was sweating throughout my visit. There were a few portable air conditioning units strategically placed around the cafe, but it won't suffice on such a hot day!

Set lunch at RM18++

Food wise, it was worth it with the RM18++ set menu with a main, a soup, a drink and dessert! The pasta was good (even though I did not order it) and I had salad instead. I would recommend you ordering the pasta set!

Madam Kwan's

Address: Pavilion Mall
Tel: +603 21432297
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Madam-Kwans/114374851369

There are many outlets of Madam Kwan's around KL, you just need to look for it. We went to the outlet at Pavilion for dinner and Madam Kawn's well known for the Nasi Lemak. I tell you, IT'S THE BEST NASI LEMAK I'VE EVER EATEN!

Nasi Lemak

All of us ordered a plate of Nasi Lemak each and it comes with coconut rice (rice cooked with coconut milk to give it's rich aroma), ikan billis (anchovies), curry chicken, egg, pork floss, cucumbers and a small saucer of achar (pickled cucumbers, carrots, etc).

The rice itself is mouthwatering! The aroma is so rich and the taste is oh-so-good! I am not a rice person, but because the rice is so fragrant, I had to finish all! The ikan billis was also very fragrant with the chili used and it's surprisingly very crunchy! We ordered Ice Kachang for dessert. The Ice Kachang was so-so only.

delicious

Address: Lot GF-1, Ground Floor, Bangsar Village 2, Jalan Telawi, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Map for Bangsar Village 2
Tel: +603 2287 1554
Website: http://www.thedeliciousgroup.com/
Opens: MON-FRI: 11.00am - 12.00 midnight (No Breakfast Menu Available); SAT, SUN & PH: 9.00am - 12.00 midnight (Full Breakfast Menu Available on Weekend & PH till 11.30am)

delicious food!

This was the last restaurant we visited before heading back to Singapore. We were shopping around Bangsar and walked past this restaurant. We had spaghetti and lasagna coupled with several drinks. The portioning for the main courses were large and I was struggling to finish my lasagna. The quality of the food however was rather mixed. The spaghetti was quite good, though forgettable, and my lasagna was quite disappointing.

DRINK

The Beir Bar KL

The Bier Bar KL

Location: Changkat Bukit Bintang
Map for Changkat Bukit Bintang

Ask your hotel reception where Changkat Bukit Bintang is and he will tell you that this lane filled with bars, pubs and restaurants is the main area for KL's nightlife. We went into The Bier Bar because we were attracted with the pricing and ambiance. This pub is quite typical with pool tables and ESPN on their television. Tourists mainly filled up the pub too and all were very friendly when I visited.

After a round of drinks, we walked back to the hotel and settled into another bar.

Clique Lounge Bar

Clique Lounge Bar

Location: Directly below The Piccolo Hotel
Website: http://www.thepiccolohotel.com/ (Look under dining)

While walking towards the hotel, we chanced upon this young Australian busking at an intersection. We were rather intrigued by this boldness and courage just busking along the streets of Kuala Lumpur. The streets are not exactly safe, but he seems happy and contented just doing this thing. After a while we approached him and we chatted for a while, apparently he has been busking for a few nights now and he gives his busking money away to the less fortunate that he sees on the streets. Good job I'd say!

Australian guy we met along the streets of KL.

Not to digress, lets get back to the Clique Lounge Bar!

Drink all the beer!

This lounge bar is a Middle Eastern themed bar playing Middle Eastern music. A lot of Middle-Easterners, Turkish, and other exotic tourists dinning, shisha-ing and having fun here. There's even middle-eastern and belly dancers going about the establishment entertaining everyone! It was very very entertaining for some, and for me, when the male belly dancer danced up on me, I was extremely shy.

SHOPPING

Taman Connuaght Pasar Malam

Bird's eye view of the night market.

Location: Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
Map for Taman Connuaght Night Market
Opens: Wenesdays 7pm - 1am

Pasar Malam is Malay for Night Market. While this is no ordinary night market as it stretched about 2km long and has a variety of stuff sold there from smelly tofu to clothes and fried durian to electorinics.

This place is packed with locals mainly, with an occasional tourist. Getting there is rather tedious as there's no public transport there and you have to either drive or get a taxi. The peak period is around 8-11pm, so if you want to avoid the crowds, try to arrive at 7pm.

Smelly tofu and durian must sound extremely smelly to most Westerners, but it's heaven to my nose (ok, not smelly tofu, but my mouth waters at the smell of durian). Countries like Taiwan and Hong Kong are famed for their Smelly Tofu and you can find it only at several places in countries like Singapore and Malaysia. I've tried Smelly Tofu when I went to Hong Kong in 2010, and it doesn't tastes as bad as it smells.

This time, we wanted to eat it again! Smelly tofu is a salty fermented tofu and deep fried. As it's deep fried, oil and deep drying takes away most of the smell. It's worth a try if you're willing to risk your stomach contents! Personally, I like it and the smell is tolerable.

Durian is another favorite fruit of mine, next to mango. To most Westerners, durian is a smelly tropical fruit with hard throny husk and it's yellow and firm flesh wrapped around it's seed. I grew up eating durian, most Asians would, so it is no foreigner to me. When i chanced upon the fried durian stall, I just had to get a few. This stall pulls out the flesh from the seed, balls it, batters it, and deep fries it. When you bite into it, the aroma and flesh just oozes out of the batter skin and into your mouth. FABULOUS!

Another must try is the cartoon character pancake on stick! Jocelyn and I bought a stick each (Doremon and Pikachu) just because it was super cute! But as it turns out, the pancake is really fragrant and tasty! It reminds me of fresh waffles!

Night Market!

Sungei Wang 6th Level Shopping

Sungei Wang Plaza

Address: Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. 
Tel: +603-2144 9988 / +603-2142 6636
Website: http://www.sungeiwang.com

This shopping mall is quite similar to Bugis Village upper levels in Singapore. The stuff here are quite averagely priced, but you can still bargain and get good deals tucked somewhere at the corner of the 6th level.

Fahrenheit88

Address: 179 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +603 2148 5488
Website: http://www.fahrenheit88.com/
Getting there: Getting there
Opens: Everyday 10am-10pm

This shopping mall houses brands like Aldo and many others. This is similar to Far East Shopping Center in Singapore. Though you cannot bargain here, the shops are of a cheaper and affordable range as compared to Pavilion.

Pavilion

Address: 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Map for Pavilion KL
Tel: +603 2118 8833
Website: http://www.pavilion-kl.com
Opens: Everyday 10am-10pm

Now, this shopping mall is something similar to Paragon in Singapore. All famous brands like Fossil and DKNY are found here.The only shopping I did here was at Forever 21, which it's humongous!