KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after a pleasantly short flight from Singapore on November 16th. Our friend Kong who is from KL (most people in Malaysia refer to Kuala Lumpur as KL) was so kind to arrange us staying with his family during our time here. His parents, Sunny and Jessie, welcomed us to Malaysia at the airport and drove us home. Before getting home we stopped for a bite to eat. I got some mushroom soup and a delicious mango salad! Our first day in KL was full of some much-needed rest. At night Kong’s sister Carmen and her partner Jeff invited us to a night market. I wasn’t 100% sure what this meant, but I was told there would be lots of people and food there, so of course I had to go. When we arrived, my first impression was that it was a mix of a farmer’s market and a street market, prepared food, fresh food, clothing, jewelry, electronics, and more! It was so busy and full of energy. After walking through and wanting to try so many new foods, we decided to get a slew of options and find a place to sit down and eat! We had picked up a few drinks, two noodle dishes, some sushi, ice cream dipped in nitrogen, and another dessert.
The next day we met up with one of Kong's awesome friend, Renee! Kong's brother Max took us to breakfast before driving us downtown to meet her. We went to an Indian restaurant and got roti canai. After breakfast we met Renee and she showed us around the city, shared the most delicious food with us, and we exchanged stories of traveling. I hope to show her around the US one day! With Renee we first stopped at a huge tech mall to get a camera for myself. I can't believe I thought I would be fine just using my phone to take photos! I learned that often stores on the second, third, or higher floors have cheaper prices because rent on the first floor is more expensive. Next, we went to go see the iconic twin towers. The base of this is a large shopping mall and the towers are office buildings. After snapping some photos we drove to lunch in Bangsar. Renee took us to an Indian restaurant where our plates were banana leafs! This type of restaurant is especially popular in Bangsar. After a delicious and very filling meal of rice, veggies, and some delicious fermented vegetables we drove to the Batu Caves. On our way there Renee told us there would be a lot of monkeys there and to not have any food on us. Awhile back a monkey grabbed some food from her friend! When we got there, we could tell her warning was a fair one. We saw tons of monkeys stealing coconuts from some guys selling coconuts! She also said it was good I was wearing pants because to go up to the caves women need to be wearing full-length pants or a skirt or else they need to pay for a wrap to cover their legs. Renee chose to hangout at the bottom when we hiked up the stairs to the caves.
As I walked up the 272 stairs, I saw workers carrying buckets of stone and other materials to the top of the staircase to help with repairs of the structure. The view at the very top was spectacular in all directions. Behind me I could see the city, and to the front the entrance of the cave. I saw lots of gorgeous Indian art as I walked into the caves. The bright colours and depictions I wish I understood better were fascinating. In the first room of the cave, there was one main temple. A bit further up some stairs to a second room, there was another temple. During my time in the cave, two people asked me to take a picture with them! It was a bit shocking at first, but I realised I was one of the only two Caucasian people around. After exploring and observing the caves, we walked back to to the stairs down to see a breathtaking sunset.
The next day we were told to not go into the city that weekend, as there was a huge protest against the government was happening. Many protesters were demanding that Prime Minister Nijib Razak resign. We had seen yellow shirts the protesters were wearing being sold at the night market. I'm not going to go into details here, for lack of time, but if you're interested in hearing more check this out.
Our second full day in KL we hung out at a ginormous mall called the Pavilion for most of the day. For brunch we had delicious smoothie bowls and fresh juice from a Hawaiian restaurant in the mall. After some shopping Carmen picked us up to grab dinner with her mom and Jeff. We went to a restaurant called steamboat where you order your dish (I got noodles and veggies) and the type of broth you want and then cook your dish in the broth right in front of you! I got the spicy Tum Yum broth which forced me to eat a bit slower. It definitely cleared out my sinuses too!
After a good night's sleep, we got up and had brunch at a cute health food restaurant. I especially enjoyed the fruit tea Carmen ordered. We worked most of the day and then for dinner Carmen and Jeff took us to a "Western Food" restaurant! It was so silly seeing their sign. The food was mainly pastas and meat and some Mexican dishes too. Peder and I each got veggie quesadillas, and then ordered some pasta and garlic bread because the quesadillas were so tiny! That night we went out to a bar and had a blast playing dice games, card games, and darts. On the way home we made a quick stop for a late night snack of noodles.
For brunch the next day we went to a delicious Japanese restaurant where I got, edamame, sushi, After lunch we went to a cafe to get some work done. For dinner Carmen and Jeff took us to an amazing cantonese restaurant called Garden View in Bukit Tingg right next to the farm that its food was coming from! I was so excited and almost immediately jumped out of my seat to go explore the farm. There were loads of greens, a pond for fish, some alien plants I later found out are called roselle, and many different types of chickens. One chicken cage was placed over the water! I thought this might be so the chicken "waste" could feed the fish. I found some beautiful chilli peppers growing in the corner too. As I was walking back up to our table, I stopped and spent some time with lots of cats! I was unsure if they were strays or if someone nearby was their owner. After exploring the farm and eating a tasty meal we went to explore some food stands. I had seen a huge number of food stands driving around KL and was excited to go see them first-hand. There were so many new foods from tiny bananas hanging from the top of the stands to new asian greens, dragonfruit, jackfruit, exotic melon, and many more I never learned the name of! We bought some passionfruit and some other pink fruit that I still do not know the name of. We ate the fruit with a bit of salt sprinkled on top. Carmen told me that a lot of food in Malaysia is either really sweet (like most drinks here) or really spicy or salty. I think this is because they are used to more intense flavours.
On our drive back home, I thought about how cool it would be to have this many daily "farmer's markets" in the US. Of course the weather in the US constricts the growing season much, farmers don't always have time to spend at a market, and there are so many other factors I probably am unaware of or do not understand. My thoughts were interrupted by a KFC advertisement, one thing that was starting to happen quite frequently. I was shocked at what a presence the greasy restaurant chain has in Malaysia.
For our last full day in KL we had breakfast at what I called the Walter White restaurant. The logo of Paparich looks exactly like the main character of Breaking Bad to me! I had Teh Tarik upon Carmen's suggestion, and both Peder and I got Nasi Lemak. The menu described this item as, "infused steamed coconut rice served with fried long beans & groundnut, papadum, sunny side up, cucumber slices and our vegetarian sambal". We also got something I like to call giant hamster treats. Really they're called Pandan sesame balls. The meal was delicious and inspired me to try making coconut rice sometime. Teh Tarik translates to "pulled tea" and is a hot milk tea beverage that is quite frothy. Carmen had kaya toast for breakfast and let us both try the classic Malaysian breakfast. Kaya is a type of coconut jam.
After breakfast we went to a huge mall where we got some coffee and desserts and then went out to take pictures of the twin towers one last time. The desert I got was a Mochi Log. It seemed like the classic yule log with a Japanese twist of adding Mochi. Peder got a chocolate log desert and Carmen had lemon cheesecake. After waving goodbye to the twin towers we headed to dinner. Carmen and Jeff brought us to a Thai restaurant where we ate family style. I really liked eating this way because it means I can try more new flavours. We had rice, greens, soup, egg, and a fish dish (everyone but me eats seafood).
On the morning we were taking the train to Sungai Petani we had breakfast at Papa Rich one last time! I noticed they touted having the "World's best asian flavoured cheesecake". I was curious to try it, but much too full from breakfast. We both had wok-fried springy noodles for breakfast. It seemed way to soon to say goodbye, but we had to hop on a train to our next location. Thank you so much to Carmen, Jeff, Sunny, Jessie, Max, Jeff, and Renee for your kindness during our stay! It was such special visit being able to stay with a family during our short time in Kuala Lumpur. If any of you are ever in the US I would love to show you around. I stepped on the train excited to explore more of Malaysia.
WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE?
How do you choose which restaurant to go to? Good food? Good atmosphere? What about where the restaurant sources their food? In most communities, there many restaurants that source food from local farmers. This is such an important way to support the local farmers in your community, and you can show your thanks by eating at these restaurants! Fresh food is tastier, and has much less of a carbon footprint. I would encourage you to tell the waiter or manager that you are appreciative of the efforts they have to source local food when you go to the restaurant.
