The transition between Cambodia and Malaysia couldn’t be more stark. We flew into Kuala Lumpur from Phnom Penh last Wednesday morning and it felt like moving from one century to the next. We were excited to meet up with Amy’s former co-worker Jenny Tan and her family, with whom we stayed during both our time in Kuala Lumpur and then the following weekend in Penang. Read on for more about our short visit to Kuala Lumpur.
The Kuala Lumpur airport is about an hour or so outside of the city center, but getting from point A to point B couldn’t be easier. We hopped on a bus and enjoyed the smooth ride along the clean Malaysian highways. Kuala Lumpur is a large city that is only getting bigger. New developments and suburbs dot the countryside between the airport and the city center. Jenny and her cousin Michael met us at the central bus/train station and we got right down to sight-seeing. We made our way over to Chinatown for lunch at one of Michael’s favorite restaurants and one of the oldest noodle shops in the city, Koon Kee. After sampling their Won Tan Mee, (egg noodles tossed with soy sauce, garnished with slices of BBQ pork, and served with mustard greens and a dumpling,) it’s easy to see why this place is so popular.
With Jenny at our first Malaysian meal at Koon Kee.
After lunch, we explored the Chinatown area and its Petaling Street market and slowly walked over to the Old China Kafe, one of the oldest tea houses/coffee shops in the city. Across the street stands the Chan See Shue Yuen clan house which actually looks like a Chinese temple. After picking up some foodstuffs (roasted duck, candied coconut, and pork jerky), an event that would become a running theme over the next few days, we stopped off at a Chinese temple in the heart of the city near Central Market. After a few minutes of quiet reflection, we made a quick run through the art-deco Central Market before going to Michael’s house.
A view of the market in Chinatown.
Like she did in Paris, Amy braved another international haircut, this time with Jenny as her translator and guide. After Amy was properly coiffed, we met up with more of Jenny’s family for a seafood dinner…one of the best we’ve had so far. There were about 10 of us at dinner, and we shared three large crab plates (each with its own sauce), a plate of beer-braised pork, a plate of fried calamari, a plate of sauteed vegetables, and some tofu. The crab was massive and some of the best we’ve ever had. It had been a long time since we had eaten so much in one sitting, so Amy and I were in a state of relative blissful discomfort.
A Malaysian crab feast!
We made a full day of it on Thursday as Jenny joined us for a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour of Kuala Lumpur. First, we had breakfast with the family at a local restaurant known for its bak kut teh, or “meat bone tea.” This is a dish of pork ribs stewed for hours in a broth of Chinese herbs and served in a clay pot. This dish is always served with hot tea, which is good for cleansing the body of the oil and fat in the accompanying heavy breakfast! Jenny’s cousin Vivian dropped us off at the 421-meter tall KL Tower from which you can take in some stunning views of the city. We hopped on the bus and made our way to one of the central shopping areas of KL known as the Golden Triangle in search of Little Arabia for a Mediterranean lunch. We were frustrated in our attempts and, after about an hour, hopped back on the bus for our next stop at the National Museum, one of the more impressive history museums we’ve visited in Southeast Asia. It’s beautiful exterior is matched by the well designed (and described) exhibitions. We learned a great deal about Malaysia’s colonial history and its proud campaign for independence. As the day wore on, the Hop-On portion of our tour started to take much longer as KL traffic is simply dreadful. We had to wait over an hour for the bus and, given the wait, decided to just do a ride-by of the National Mosque, the National Monument, the Botanical Gardens, and the Petronas Towers. We did make one final stop at Merdeka Square, where Malaysia proclaimed its independence in 1957, for photos of the Royal Selangor Club and the Sultan Abdul Samad building’s impressive clocktower.
The dynamic duo in Merdeka Square.
Around 6 o’clock or so, a massive rainstorm descended on the city so the bus operator offered to drop us off back at the Golden Triangle for a second attempt to find Little Arabia, which we thought we could do having consulted multiple maps. Unfortunately, we got turned around a second time and ending up wandering, soaked like drowned rats, into a good, but relatively over-priced Iranian restaurant for a hummus, tabuleh, fatoush, and grilled chicken dinner. Michael, the greatest host ever, picked us up to take us home, and once we arrived, we weren’t long for this world.
Petronas Twin Towers
After a fantastic noodle soup breakfast, we left Friday morning for a weekend in Penang. We’ll have more on our time there…and all the delicious meals…soon. Until then…”Minum!”
More Photos from Day 1 in Kuala Lumpur
More Photos from Day 2 in Kuala Lumpur
