What's in a (Business) Name? More Malaysia

Travel? I'm in.

It doesn't matter where, as long as I know what to wear and when we're going.

Spotted in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2).

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.

What's in a (Business) Name? Malaysia Again

Bread  and batter is their bread and butter.

Spotted in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2).

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.

What's in a (Business) Name? Malaysia

I love you, too!

Oh wait, that's not a typo.

You don't love me, you're just selling the Taiwanese breakfast!

Spotted in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2).

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.

Eats Recommended at Suria KLCC

There were two places in Suria KLCC that came highly recommended that we just had to try them.

The receptionist of Orange Pekoe Guesthouse excitedly told us to have lunch at Madam Kwan's for some authentic Malaysian fare, and my officemate, who visited Kuala Lumpur months before me, droolingly and envyingly suggested to try the mille crepes of Humble Beginnings.

Madam Kwan's

Level 4, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur

Several branches in Malaysia and one in Singapore

When we arrived at Madam Kwan's it was peak lunch hour, almost all the seats were taken, and, if my observation was right, almost all the customers were locals. This must be a really good place then.

I ordered Nasi Bojari™ (MYR 24.90) because of the trademark and the "Madam" in the description: Madam's tri–colored rice with assam prawns, beef rendang, and deep fried chicken drumstick. I was disappointed with my almost Php 275 equivalent (not including tax and service fee!) Nasi Bojari — it was only a dollop of rendang, two pieces of assam (tamarind) prawns, and the fried chicken was, well, like any other fried chicken.

Good thing we had ordered other dishes from their "From the 'Wok'" menu: claypot seafood beancurd (MYR 25.90) and Hong Kong Kailan with garlic (MYR 18.90). Without knowing it, we had partly taken heed the advice printed in their "From the 'Wok'" menu: "When in doubt, order at least two veggie dishes and a meat dish." Good advice.

Humble Beginnings Mille Crepe

Signature Food Court, Level 2, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur

Two branches in Penang and one in Singapore

French vanilla (left) and Nutella banana (right)

Humble Beginnings has 18 flavors of mille crepe to choose from but after our lunch at Madam Kwan's we only had space for two slices. We chose French vanilla (their bestseller) and Nutella banana (because I am nuts for Nutella) for MYR 10.90 each.

Humble Beginnings' mille crepe contains not a thousand ("mille") layers but just 20 layers with cream and vanilla in between. Which was just as well—it would have been difficult to eat a thousand layers. The top of the French vanilla mille crepe had a thin caramelized coating. The Nutella banana had two layers with bananas and Nutella and the top was dusted with chocolate. Humble Beginnings' mille crepes weren't as lovely and their crepe layers weren't as thin as the mille crepes from Nadeje in Melaka, but Humble Beginnings' mille crepes satisfied our mille crepe cravings (besides, pretty food still turns into mush inside the stomach).

Orange Pekoe Guesthouse

The second time we were in Kuala Lumpur, we let our stomachs decide where we would eat sleep. It picked Orange Pekoe Guesthouse because...it's a fruit! Plus—and this is a big plus—it's just a 5–minute walk from the delicious smells of Jalan Alor, the food street.

Orange Pekoe Guesthouse

1-1, Jalan Angsoka, 50200 Kuala Lumpur

+603 2110 2000

info@orangepekoe.com.my

Family room (169 MYR, can accommodate 4 persons) with ensuite toilet and bath

Pantry

We patted our stomachs for a great job of choosing Orange Pekoe Guesthouse:

• I repeat: Jalan Alor, where all the delicious food is, is just a 5–minute walk away.
• Raja Chulan Station is also just a 5–minute walk away.
• From the airport, there are different options to get to the guesthouse:
• Take the Airport Coach/Bus (10 MYR, 1 hour) to KL Sentral Station. From KL Sentral Station, take the monorail to Raja Chulan Station (2.10 MYR, 20 minutes), and then walk about 5 minutes to the guesthouse.
• Take the KLIA Ekspres Train (35 MYR, 30 minutes) to KL Sentral Station. From KL Sentral Station, take the monorail to Raja Chulan Station (2.10 MYR, 20 minutes), and then walk about 5 minutes to the guesthouse.
• Take the Airport Coach/Bus or KLIA Ekspres Tain to KL Sentral Station. From KL Sentral Station, take a taxi (about 15 MYR, 15 minutes) to the guesthouse.
• Take a taxi (105 MYR, 1 hour and 15 minutes) straight to the guesthouse.
• The guesthouse is clean and cozy.
• The staff are friendly and helpful. They can assist in getting a taxi, suggest places to see, and restaurants to try.
• There's complimentary breakfast of cereals, bread and butter or jam, coffee, and tea.
• There's WiFi.
• They allowed us to leave our bags at the reception area when we had to checkout at noon but didn't have to go to the airport until late night.
• There are restaurants, bars, and convenience stores nearby.
• There is a GoKL bus stop 300 meters (5 minutes by foot) from Orange Pekoe Guesthouse. GoKL is a free bus service to the central business district of Kuala Lumpur. Some lines pass by tourist spots like Dataran Merdeka or Merdeka Square, Petronas Twin Towers, and KL Tower.

One Day in Kuala Lumpur for Two Years

Been to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, twice, but, regrettably, only spent a day for each visit.

In 2014, we managed to do three things:

1. Take a mandatory tourist photo of the Petronas Twin Towers. We were too stingy to spend MYR 85 (about Php 1000) to go up to the observatory. How to go to Petronas Twin Towers: Take the LRT to KLCC Station.
2. Window shop at Central Market. Stingy still for shopping, so it was just window shopping for me. I would rather spend my money on food (see next item). How to go to Central Market: Take the LRT to Pasar Seni Station. Central Market is a 5–minute (400 m) walk from the station.
3. Eat in Jalan Alor, a food street in Bukit Bintang. How to go to Jalan Alor: Take the monorail to Bukit Bintang Station. Jalan Alor is a 5–minute (400 m) walk from the station.

Petronas Twin Towers

What it says above the entrance

Jalan Alor

In 2015, our one day in Kuala Lumpur was spent sightseeing:

1. Masjid Jamek, a mosque built in 1907 and is the oldest mosque in Kuala Lumpur. It was a scorching day and we were in clothes appropriate for the beach and not for a mosque. Thus we could not step foot inside and just took a quick snap from the gate. How to go to Masjid Jamek: Take the LRT to Masjid Jamek Station.
2. Merdeka Square (aka Dataran Merdeka), where we took pictures of buildings (Sultan Abdul Samad Building and the Royal Selangor Club) and went in the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery. For just MYR 5, we saw an awesome 3D mapping of the metropolis (called the Spectacular City Model Show) in the KL City Gallery and had a snack, too (the admission ticket could be used to purchase anything from the gift shop and cafe inside the gallery).  How to go to Merdeka Square: Take the LRT to Masjid Jamek Station. Merdeka Square is a 6–minute (450 m) walk from the station.

Masjid Jamek... as seen from the gate

Merdeka Square

Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Inside the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery

Should I attempt a third one–day visit in 2016? Maybe not. But, if and when I do find myself in Kuala Lumpur again, I would be sure to spend more than just a day in this metropolis.

Capsule by Container Hotel at Gateway@KLIA2

Mustachio and friends had eight hours to kill at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) and they had three options:

Option 1 Escape KLIA2 by going to Kuala Lumpur city center, an hour away, to go on a food trip at Jalan Alor.

Option 2 Go to Gateway@KLIA2, the mall within the airport, to shop (some shops are open 24 hours, some up to midnight) or to eat, eat, and eat (most restaurants are open 24 hours).

Option 3 Get some sleep on an airport bench (free) or a proper bed (not free). There are three accommodation options in KLIA2: Sama-Sama Express, Plaza Premium Lounge, and Capsule by Container Hotel. Sama-Sama Express is located in the International Departure area (no need to clear immigration) and is only for guests on transit to another international flight. Plaza Premium Lounge and Capsule by Container Hotel are located at Gateway@KLIA2.

How Mustachio and Friends Killed Eight Hours:

Because their next flight, an international flight, was at 655AM, they decided to spend their time at Gateway@KLIA2 and do Mustachio's two most favorite things: eat and sleep.  (The last train out of KLIA2 was at 1255AM, and the first train leaving KL Sentral going to KLIA2 was at 5AM.)

They ate dinner at Nando's, and bought a tub of yogurt and some fruits from Jaya Grocer. Then checked in at Capsule by Container Hotel, which Mustachio was pretty excited about—it was his first time to stay in a capsule hotel.

Mustachio and friends booked Capsule ahead via the hotel's website: MYR 5 cheaper than the walk-in rate. There are three options: 3 hours (MYR 50), 6 hours (MYR 75), and 12 hours (95 MYR).

Upon check in, they were given a bag (which they could keep) with a towel (to be returned), a key card to access the sleeping area, and a locker key.

They excitedly stored their bag in the locker, went into the sleeping area to see their assigned capsule, inspected the toilet and shower area, then hung out at the lounge or common area.

The capsule was clean and comfortable (might be scary for the claustrophobic). It had two pillows, a blanket, a comfy single mattress, a reading light, a phone (don't forget to request a wake up call!), a small table that folds into the capsule's wall, a secret compartment, an outlet, a shoe compartment, and a roller shade for privacy.

Sleeping Area

Common Area/Lounge

The toilets and shower rooms were clean. Shampoo and soap were provided. The common area or lounge interiors looked really cool with benches made of crates.

Their 6–hour stay at Capsule was pleasant and quickly became a favorite that they stayed there again on their layover at the end of their journey.

Like a King in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur...so there are the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara KL Tower, Merdeka Square, Batu Caves...but we didn't visit any of those. Instead we pretended to be kings.

Spend Like a King

Nando's

Lot C07, Concourse Floor, Suria KLCC,

Kuala Lumpur

Daily 10AM to 10PM

You can find Nando's around Malaysia: other branches.

Before spending like a king, we had to queue like the common people we really are. Nando's must be really good for people to be lining up to get a table. After some 15 minutes, we got seated in the very crowded restaurant, where there was barely any space to move. For our group of four, we got the jumbo platter (MYR 110, includes two whole chickens and five large sides) and four glasses of bottomless iced tea (MYR 5.90 per glass).

The sidings were nothing great. The chicken was juicy but it was the sauce that made it a winner.

The total bill included government tax and 10% service charge, and each of us shelled out MYR 40. That may have been cheap for a real king, but for a pauper pretending to be one, that was already in the splurge category.

King of the Street

Jalan Alor. When the sun goes down, the entire street becomes off limits to transportation and the tables and chairs come out. Restaurants extend their dining area to the street and food stalls come alive.

Jalan Alor at night

It was more than an hour past our dinner time and we couldn't spare another minute to check out the other restaurants in this 350-meter street. From the Changkat Bukit Bintang end of Jalan Alor, Cu Cha Restaurant was the first restaurant we saw that had a good number of diners.

Cu Cha Restaurant

75 Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur

Monday to Saturday 1PM to 4AM

Sunday 1PM to 12MN

 

Braised pork belly with salted vegetables (small) MYR 21

Salted egg yolk prawns MYR 33

Stir fried kai lan (Chinese kale) with garlic MYR 1.30

Dumpling noodle soup MYR 8.50

Wantan mee MYR 6.50

Eaten on the street, but not exactly in the streetfood price range. Nevertheless, we were satisfied. We were full. And we tried to walk it off to the end of Jalan Alor and back (where we found more restaurants, Turkish ice cream, coconut ice cream, barbecue carts, etc.)

Eat Like a King

This here is a little strip of streetside eateries we found near Parkview Service Apartments (our home in Kuala Lumpur for two nights). This place is not for the germ-o-phobes... it's on the street; critters scampering under the tables to get to the other side of the street shouldn't be a surprise.

Seri Tomyam

Jalan Cangkat Perak, Kuala Lumpur

(near Parkview Service Apartment, road perpendicular to Jalan Law Yew Swee)

Cheap eats at Seri Tomyam. Except the roti canai (bottom, rightmost), which is from another booth.

Seri Tomyam is open from 4PM to 4AM and serves tomyam, nasi goreng, mee goreng...with chicken or shrimp or seafood or vegetables. Laksa is also served but only in the mornings. The food is from MYR 3 to MYR 7. The teh tarik (milk tea) costs MYR 1.50. (The roti canai, MYR 1, is from another booth in the same strip of eateries.) We liked eating like a king rather than spending like a king, that we ate here twice.

Malaysia
Malaysia Must–Know
Home in Kuala Lumpur
Like a King in Kuala Lumpur (you're here!)
Klick-Klock Homestay in Melaka
Gluttons in Melaka
Melaka In Between Bites

Home in Kuala Lumpur

I don't book accommodations where I have to spend more than Php500 per night if I can help it, because, yes, my middle name is Cheap. But because majority wins (my companions don't have the same middle name as I do), I left the planning to them and went with the flow. And the flow led us to a service apartment in Kuala Lumpur booked thru airbnb.

From KLCC LRT station, we legged it to the apartment... which took a bit of time since we didn't have a proper map and missed a turn. The apartment is just one kilometer from the KLCC LRT station, and on the way we passed by two malls (Avenue K and Suria KLCC) and the Petronas Twin Towers.

If how we were "welcomed" to this apartment is the standard procedure of the owner, then having a local SIM ready (or if you can afford to call while on roaming) will be useful. When we entered the Parkview Apartment lobby, the apartment owner wasn't there. We had to call her (expecting her to be somewhere in the building) and the lobby guard led us to the bank of elevators and told us to press the button to the appropriate floor number (I forgot which floor, but it was high enough to have a view of half of the Petronas Twin Towers).

So maybe the owner was up at the apartment. The door was unlocked and we let ourselves in. A spic and span apartment (about Php3000/night, can sleep 4 pax) but no owner. What greeted us was a set of keys on the kitchen counter along with a welcome note letting us know that we were free to consume the food in the refrigerator and in the cupboards. And that we could use whatever was in the apartment—kitchen, TV, DVD player, WiFi, washing machine, air conditioner, hot shower, (two) sofabeds, etc.—and also the gym and pool of the building. And, lastly, to enjoy ourselves and to remember to leave this apartment the way we had found it (this is not a hotel, guests must clean up after themselves).

That's our mess on the dining table and the sala

How to get to

Parkview Service Apartment
Jalan Law Yew Swee,
Kuala Lumpur

Parkview Service Apartment is about an hour from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. These are the transportation options:

♦ bus + LRT — KLIA express coach (bus) to Sentral Station (MYR 10) then transfer to the Kelana Jaya Line (LRT) and get off at KLCC Station (MYR 1.60), then walk about a kilometer. Note: The bus runs every 30 mins, 24 hours. The LRT runs from 6AM to 12MN.

♦ train — KLIA Ekspres train to Sentral Station (MYR 35) then transfer to the Kelana Jaya Line (LRT) and stop at KLCC Station (MYR 1.60), then walk about a kilometer. Note: The KLIA Ekspres runs every 15 mins (peak) or every 20 mins (off peak) from 5AM to 1AM. The LRT runs from 6AM to 12MN.

♦ taxi — MYR 70 above

♦ arrange for pick–up/drop–off with the owner — MYR 200 roundtrip

Parkview Service Apartment is just walking distance from:

♦ LRT: KLCC LRT Station (1 km)

♦ Petronas Twin Towers (700 m)

♦ Mall: Suria KLCC (700 m)

♦ Mall: Avenue K (1 km)

♦ Menara KL Tower (1.5 km)

 

Petronas Twin Towers (left) and Menara KL Tower (right)

Malaysia
Malaysia Must–Know
Home in Kuala Lumpur (you're here!)
Like a King in Kuala Lumpur
Klick-Klock Homestay in Melaka
Gluttons in Melaka
Melaka In Between Bites

Malaysia Must–Know

Cover up or take it off.  Malaysia sits near the equator and is a hot and humid country. Take it off, but not everything, because Malaysia has its wet season, too, which varies depending on which part of the country you are visiting.

From electricaloutlet.org

Tick tock. Time in Malaysia runs on the same time zone as the Philippines, at GMT +8 hours.

Plug it in. If your gadgets are dying, plug it in... but only if you have the right power plug: type G or three–pin rectangular blade plug at 240V.

Ka–ching. Malaysian currency is called the ringgit (MYR or RM). One Malaysian ringgit is about 13.6 Philippine pesos (check XE for current exchange rate). There are money changers at the airport, but from experience, you are better off just getting enough (to pay for your transfer out of the airport) exchanged here...get the rest of your money exchanged in the city.

Ring ring. If you need to get a SIM card while in the country, there are many booths at the airport selling these. Some SIM cards include a data plan.

Say what? The national language of Malaysia is Malay/Bahasa Malaysia, a language I don't speak. Good thing English is widely spoken in Malaysia. And if you know Mandarin, you're in luck, that's widely spoken, too.

Welcome. I am not sure how many international airports Malaysia has, but wiki says it's eight. What I do know is that if you're flying from the Philippines, you may fly direct to Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, or Miri.

Source

Malaysia
Malaysia Must–Know (you're here!)
Home in Kuala Lumpur
Like a King in Kuala Lumpur
Klick-Klock Homestay in Melaka
Gluttons in Melaka
Melaka In Between Bites