"Seize The Moment"
I am always excited to visit Malaysia because of the attraction of tasty food, and we going to Kuala Lumpur where my Bestie, Cecilia is staying! And we will be spending a day to catchup with each other. Nevertheless, I cannot remember when my last visit was. It aways gave me a deep impression of delicious street food and hot weather. This trip to me is more like an eating trip and to meet my chummy.
Please scroll down and join me to see what I have been doing here.
Kuala Lumpur (K.L.) is a federal territory and the capital city of Malaysia. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Asia and the largest city in Malaysia, with a population of 1,982,112.
Though it is not my first time visiting the city, but it is the first time we are driving over from Singapore though we had drove to Penang previously.
We started our journey at 0530am after a light breakfast at home.
By 0620am, we are already crossed over to Johor side and our holiday start from this moment.
We made our way straight to Yong Peng which is about 1hr drive away.
Here we are at Yong Peng by 0800am, just a short introduction:
Yong Peng is a town that is under the municipal of Batu Pahat, Johore. It has an estimated population of 29,000.
More than half of the local residents are of Chinese origin, whose forefathers migrated from southern China in the 1880s. The rest are Malays and Indians who mainly reside in the surrounding Yong Peng areas. Other than Malay, the other main language used is Mandarin with an accent strongly influenced by the Fuzhou and Hokkien Dialects. Chinese make up the majority of the population at 60%, followed by the Malays at 32%, Indians at 7%.
Yong Peng is another "foodie paradise", I been here a few times previously for other food and this round we are here for:
Yong Peng Duck Noodle (正宗永平鴨麵)
We purposely stopped by Yong Peng for our second breakfast, this town is famous for all food lovers.
I have been targeting Yong Peng Duck Noodles for quite some time and finally we are here.
Previously, located in a small coffee shop with a laid-back setting that is well surrounded by trees and now they have shifted to a new premise which is new, clean and tidy.
The ducks are not the usual kind I had in Singapore, the skin look thinner and lesser fats. The ducks are well braised and tender to our liking. The noodles they use is flat yellow noodles - the kind for Lor Mee in Singapore.
Ordered a serving of braised pork belly which is flavorful and chewy which melted in my mouth.
Fish balls are handmade which are soft and good texture.
Mr and Mrs Wong have been in the business for 40 years, from an old recipe from Mr Wong's mother.
As a Hokkien, I have had the similar taste since I was young. It is the kind of standard old school Hokkien braising with a touch of various herbs. Hokkien's braised food is more salty and darker thick stock.
After a satisfying meal, we proceed on our journey to K.L.
As it was still early, traffic was less where we could relax and admire the pretty views.
Finally, we reached KL at about 11am, wow the traffic was pretty heavy here so hubby have to be slow and alert on the road until we reached our accommodation: Ascott Sentral and the main reason we choose this hotel is because it is located in Brickfield which is notorious for good food.
Peter's Pork Noodles
The notorious mafia here which tastes very yummy that make people keep coming back for more.
The dry noodles blend well with the special sauce topped with lards.
Livers are perfectly cooked that hubby took my share. The sliced meats and meat balls are well marinated.
The soup is intensely flavored, I even told hubby that we probably need a lot of water later but to our surprise, we did not.
37COCOLAB
Located in NU mall, where we came to hide from the sun.
Perfect for this hot weather, we are coconut milk shake lovers. Selling per cup at RM12.90 which is SGD3.30.
Old Town Coffee
After strolling around the mall, hubby asked for coffee.
And here we are, ordered 2 coffees along with kaya & butter toast.
There is a lot of butter in the toast after the famous saga.
Claypot Chicken Rice at Brickfield
Roadside stall where house a dessert and a CKT stall too.
We reached early despite the official opening hour is 4pm. Boss is very kind, he allowed us to sit at the table and wait for him to start the fire. He even gently reminded us that we need to wait some quality of time.
See the special black sauce by the side of the stoves, I even see a bottle of Hua Tiao wine too.
They use green cut chilli with soya sauce rather than chilli paste like Singapore.
Special recipe black sauce that blended well into charcoal cooked rice that every single grain is perfectly absorbed into the fragrance of the cooking.
Chicken is well stewed, tender and well marinated which topped with Chinese sausage.
Blanched lettuces with oyster sauce and topped with fried onions. Taste good and is crunchy.
Salted Vegetable and tofu soup, it tastes light and good that we skipped ordering drinks. Good for this hot weather.
My Day 2 here, and also my important day as I will be bonding with my long-time Chummy, Cecilia.
It has been years since we last met in Singapore and I miss her very much. I am sure she looks forward to seeing me too.
We have known each other for more than 2 decades, though we live in different countries, and we do not contact each other regularly but I am sure we occupy a little space in the corner of the cockles of our hearts.
There she is, came to pick me up at 11am and our first place to go was Petaling Street which is known as Chinatown.
Fung Wong Biscuit
This is a famous Chinese bakery here that has more than 100 years of history, 115years to be exact.
It first started here as a traditional shop selling various Chinese bakes and now it become a cafe where we can walk in, take a seat, order some freshly made pastries and goes with a drink. Pretty good place to chill with friends.
We are here for the Chinese pastries which I need to buy for my parents & in-laws too.
Most of the products are handmade here as can see from the shape of the products that not consistent.
The egg tarts are highly sought after here but due to their very short life span, I do not dare to buy.
Well, the trip here is very fruitful to me, I bought some Tau Sar Piah, Sakima, Beh Teh Sau and Wife Biscuits.
Yooi Kee Chee Cheong Fun & Porridge
We walked by and Chummy said this CCF is very delicious, closed by noon so we just popped in for a bite.
Ordered a share of CCF to share together, the CCF come with red sweet sauce, red chilli sauce and sided by green pickled chilli. I didnt know that green pickled chilli goes so well with CCF. In Singapore, it is usually goes with red chilli and and the red sweet sauce only.
The CCF is indeed very smooth and silky, it is very famous here as the turnover of customers to the limited tables is very high.
Petaling Street ( 茨厂街 )
Pronounced as Ci Cong Gai in Cantonese, an area that is dominates by mainly Chinese since 1950s when loads of Chinese migrants were making a living here.
It is also known as Chinatown, most of the Chinese migrants were from Southern China same as my grandfather whose junk boat stopped at Singapore instead of Malaysia. I was so closed to be a "Malaysian".
Today, the area has dozens of restaurants and food stalls, serving local favorites and is also become a place for business not only for Chinese, but there are also Indian and Malays too.
The pasar malam (walking street) is lined with many stalls selling food, shoes, toys, clothing and counterfeit bags. The pasar malam is especially crowded during weekends.
Kwai Zai Hong (Pronounce in Cantonese)
Referred as "Little Ghost Lane", in English. The name feels so "negative", I heard that there are 3 theories how this lane got the name; 1) It is the territory of a local gang called "Dragon Tiger Gang" and all the members are referred to as "Kwai Zai". 2) This was a place where kids gathered to play during those days. These kids were so noisy and naughty that they were called "Kwai Zai". 3) Alot of vice activities like prostitution, gangsterism, drugs and even gambling dens are found here so the local gave this lane a negative name.
Today, murals of the lives in the 60s are found here and attract the attention of locals and tourist to "check in" here.
Lorong Petaling 2 -Art Street
At the other area of Chinatown, there is another hidden lane of pretty murals.
If you are in the area, do make the trip to drop by here for some nice pictures.
The painters made a huge effort for these murals that deserve a few moments of appreciation.
Pandan Republic
This chic cafe is located along the stretch of "Kwai Zai Hong". Weather was very humid that a drink in an air-conditioned place is needed.
The place is clean, bright & well decorated, this is also a good place to snap some photos.
Perhaps we visited on a weekday, so the crowd was less and easy for us to have a cozy catchup.
I ordered Ice Lemongrass while Chummy ordered Dirty Latte.
Oriental Kopi
This is a popular coffee chain that can be found in most big cities in Malaysia.
Famed for Hainanese coffee and the queue was quite long despite after lunch hours, we waited 20 minutes before we got a table.
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We are here for the newly released product of this shop - Purple Egg Tarts. The cups are purple in colour which is yam whereas the fillings are the standard custard egg.
Crusty and flaky base that has a sweet touch in the mouth. The egg is smooth and overall taste great.
I ordered roasted coffee which tasted wonderful that I bought a few boxes of prepacked coffee for my fixes at home.
Zebra Brand
A common brand to grow up with in the Southeast Asia.
When I was young, I always this this brand of products laying around the most kitchen I had seen.
Originated from Thailand in the 1960s and become a household name in most homes.
While shopping around with her, I was searching for vacuum flasks for my impending trips and chanced upon Zebra.
Felt so nostalgic when seeing it and decided to get 2 of these for my coming trips.
Damansara Uptown Fried Hokkien Mee
I told Chummy that it is a must for me to eat this messy black fried Hokkien mee in KL. This shop is her favorite and so she decided to bring me here.
Right opposite is The Starling Mall (connected via an underpass) so it will be a good place to walk around after a heavy dinner.
We ordered the signature Hokkien noodle, roast duck, fried lettuces and signature pork meat soup.
KL Hokkien noodles is a dish of thick yellow noodles braised in thick dark soy sauce with pork, squid, prawns, fish cake and cabbage as the main ingredients and cubes of pork fat fried until crispy (sometimes pork liver is included). The best examples are usually cooked over a raging charcoal fire. This dish originated from a hawker stall chef, Ong Kim Lian, at Petaling Street in 1927.
As for this shop, the taste lives up to my expectation. It is well fried, and every single noodle is well absorbed by the gravy.
The lard enhanced the fragrance of the food.
Roast Duck
I took a bite and the oil burst out, and the skin is well roasted that it is very crispy.
Tasted so sinful yet satisfying therefore it is a must to order here. Chummy even ordered takeaway for her folks.
Pork Soup
Taste light and flavorful to my liking with generous serving.
It balanced up with the food we ordered.
Fried Lettuce
Crispy and crunchy! A goody old shoe dish.
Sidetrack : Above is how the Singapore Hokkien Mee looks like this where egg noodles and rice noodles stir-fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid. The key to the dish is copious quantities of an aromatic broth made from prawns and pork bones, slowly simmered for many hours. Sambal chilli and limes are served on the side for the diner to blend in, giving it an extra zing and tanginess. Traditionally, small cubes of fried lard are added, and some stalls also serve the dish on a banana leaf, which enhances the fragrance of the dish.
The Singaporean version of Hokkien mee was created after World War II by Chinese sailors from Fujian (Hokkien) province in southern China. After working in the factories, they would congregate along Rochor Road and fry excess noodles from the noodle factories over a charcoal stove. The dish is considered a classic of Singaporean cuisine and several hawker stalls selling it have been recognized by the Michelin Guide.
Montigo Kitchenware
The kiosk of Montigo is located in The Starling shopping mall which is right opposite Damansara Uptown Fried Hokkien mee.
Chummy bought 1 for me and 1 for herself. This is my early birthday present from her.
We like the lavender colour very much.
The whole day with Chummy ended with joy and it seems happy moments passed very fast. I look forward to seeing her soon in the near future.
We start our third day by abandoning the hotel's breakfast for Peter's Pork Noodles again.
Peter's Pork Noodles is located in Money Corner Foodcourt.
As per above video shown, the back door of the food court is found in a small alley along Jalan Tun Sambanthan.
This round, he ordered the soup version while i ordered the dry version.
He said that despite the lards are soaked in the soup, it is still as crispy as before.
The soup version is lighter and also tastes as good as the dry one.
What a great comfort food to start the day.
However, the coffee taste average.
Ascott Sentral
Sentral, the city’s second Central Business District, Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur features 157 fully furnished serviced apartments located in the midst of an integrated transport hub.
A short 7-minute walk will bring you to Kuala Lumpur Sentral railway station, and from there it takes 28 minutes to reach Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and a mere 33 minutes to KLIA2 via the KLIA Express Rail. Superbly connected via six rail systems and major highways, Ascott Sentral Kuala Lumpur is located in the most ideal spot for exploring the city.
We drove straight into Ascott, which is based on cashless and license Plate Recognition systems. Payment is via Touch & Go , Mastercard or Visa. Free parking applies for in-house guest where we can get the card validation at the Front Desk.
NU Sentral Mall is a short walk from Ascott and right opposite the notorious Money Corner Food court, so this is not a boring place after all when I been staying in Bukit Bintang or Golden Triangle for a few times.
The lobby is big and airy where ice water is served, cozy lounge area for rest or meetup. There is a "Starbucks" machine at the corner of the lobby but it is chargeable.
Staff at the front desk are very friendly and polite. Felt so welcome here.
The Room
Love the room very much. Spacious that come with a full fledge kitchenette and a working desk.
The toilet comes with full amenities that also include bedroom slipper and bathrobes.
King size bed with comfy linen though pillows is too flat for me.
A big couch which can be used as a single bed for third pax, there is also a coffee table for dining purpose too.
The Breakfast
Hmmm, finally something negative.
Usually, service apartment does not have dining facilities.
So guest is welcome to ordered food deliveries.
As Ascott is connected to an office tower (Menera Shell) so the breakfast restaurant is actually located at the office tower level 5.
Buffet breakfast at RM25 per pax.
The spread is average, food taste average. Though there is nasi lemak, but I think any other shop outside would taste better than here.
Okay, we had it once, is enough.
Big Baba
We walked in at 1pm and were glad that the lunch crowd started to disperse.
The owners made a huge effort on the decoration.
See the entrance, feel so cozy and welcoming.
The interior is very warm and relaxed.
This hidden gem is run by the Nonya family that originated from Malacca.
We ordered a Ayam Pong Teh rice set, Chicken Curry Debal rice set & Kueh Pie Tee set.
The taste are very authentic, herbs and spices well balanced into the cooking.
Kueh Pie Tee is a thin and crispy pastry tart shell "kuih" often filled with a spicy, shredded Chinese turnips, sweet mixture of thinly sliced vegetables and prawns. This is one of my favorite dishes and I ever ate 15 at one go.
Chicken Curry Debal is also known as Devil's Curry, it is a Malaysian dish that is originated from Malacca.
It is a very popular dish in the Portuguese Eurasian community where the curry is cook with vinegar.
During the older days, there were many Portuguese settled down in Malacca and ended up marrying local women.
This dish is the combination of both countries.
Ayam Pong Teh is a Nonya dish which uses fermented bean paste as the primary ingredient. It is braised together with potatoes over low fire with a dash of palm sugar and soya sauce until it is tender and soft. This is also my favorite Nonya dish.
Therre is also another version of using pork instead of chicken and it is called "Babi Pong Teh" which pork belly is usually used.
After the wonderful lunch, we made our way to JB where we will made stops in Muar for coffee break before heading Kulai for dinner.
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Assam Pedas Bali Puri
Newly opened yet receiving a lot of attention from the local.
The restaurant was full during dinner time.
We reached this restaurant at around 530pm and we were the first customers. At first, my man was still commenting that "how come there is no other customer except us", nevertheless we still went ahead to enter the restaurant which we have no regrets.
The signature dish for this restaurant is Asam Fish where you can choose fish head, fish tail or fish slices and we opted for fish tail. The assam pedas is very good, indeed sour and spicy that it opens up our stomachs. It is very appetizing that to our liking.
The video of the Assam Pedas Fish Tail was served in a piping hot claypot and the smell was "OMG".
Another must order dish is the Curry Prawns, the curry they used is different from what I usually had. Heard from the staff that the curry paste is a secret recipe from their chef. We also nearly finished all the gravy.
This is another picture taken on the curry prawns after I moved the garnishes aside.
Ordered this stir-fried lettuce just to balance up with the assam pedas & curry.
This goody old shoe will always taste good and crunchy as it is a very simple dish, unless the chef is so under skilled to overcooked it.
After a heart filling dinner, it is the time to make our way back to Singapore.
Alas, this blog of my short trip to Kuala Lumpur end here.
PS : To Cecilia, if you are reading this... I hope this serves as a memory for us.
Well, the ending of a blog means the starting of another.
The next few blogs coming up will be on Switzerland, please stay tuned, air ticket already bought!
There is also planning to visit Aalborg again, as well as a visit to Tromso for Northern Lights, hope it will happen!
Nevertheless, since you are already here, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the other blogs I had on Malaysia.
1) Malacca 3D2N Food Hunt Trip April 20184) Malacca Food Hunting Trip again - 2019 part II
9) Malacca - July 2024
Lastly, you are most welcome to browse through the content page for my other travel blogs to Thailand, Korea, Japan, Europe and etc. I will be deeply blessed if you can like my Facebook page: followblueginger
Thank you for dropping by.
Wish you good luck. 😄