In planning our trip, I compiled a list of places where I wanted to eat. A couple of short email interviews with people who've been to Kuala Lumpur before and a lot of internet research resulted in a rather lengthy list.

Alas, due to a husband who wanted only western food, we were able to eat at just one place. Since Malaysian cuisine is almost identical to Singaporean food, which he eats everyday for lunch at work, Earl wanted something else. Thus, it took a bit of cajoling for us to get here:

I tried to pick out the most "neutral" looking dish for him - no curry, no chili, not too "Chinese" - and came up with this:

Aromatic Chicken Set - MYR 15.00
Coke - MYR 3.80

This consisted of chicken cooked in dark soya sauce and mushrooms, Kerabu Bok Nee and Ju Hu Char. Earl was not too fond of the chicken but liked everything else.

On the other hand, I picked out a popular breakfast dish:

Chicken Nasi Lemak - MYR 11.30
Sugar Cane Juice - MYR 3.50

This was served with chicken curry hantu, fried ikan bilis (anchovies), groundnuts and an egg. It was okay, but nothing out of the ordinary. This is more of a lunch or dinner meal for me as I still prefer bacon and eggs for breakfast. Maybe I should have tried something else? Hopefully during the next trip.

The restaurant is conveniently located at the 4th floor of the Suria KLCC Shopping Mall, so it's easy to go to after visiting the Petronas Twin Towers if you want a try a local meal.

Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur

I must say that I had high hopes for this hotel, and while the overall service was great I was not too fond of the decor. Red is, unfortunately, not my favorite color.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start with check-in which was a breeze, though I wonder if they do an x-ray scan on our luggage prior to delivering them to our room. Unpacking would have been much faster had we brought our bags up with us instead of handing them over to the bellhop.

As per my last post, we decided to transfer here from One World Hotel in Petaling Jaya to be closer to the city. While moving was definitely a good idea, we could not help but make a comparison. This room seemed smaller and the bathroom was definitely more cramped. Also they had less cable TV channels than at the other hotel.

The bathroom though was cleaner. Please note that the bathroom at One World was also clean, but there were fewer mold spots at Shangri-La.

Breakfast was also better than at One World - maybe it was the chocolate fountain, but somehow despite the smaller size of the dining area, it seemed that the layout and the options were much nicer. Still no bacon though.

As to getting around, rail stations are walkable but they are quite far from the hotel. It's a good thing that there's a shuttle service to some of the malls in Bukit Bintang and to the Petronas Towers (which is approximately a 10 minute walk from the hotel).

On the second day of our visit, we went back to our room after lunch and found that the bed was a bit haphazardly done. We're not that picky, but both Earl and I have stayed in enough hotel rooms to know when something was done in a hurry. I guess I was just expecting more out of Shangri-La.

I was impressed with the check-out service though. When the front desk agent found out we were leaving for the airport already, he immediately called to reserve a cab without being asked. As mentioned earlier, we've been to quite a few hotels but that was the first time anyone did that for us.

Petaling Jaya: One World Hotel

Earl had a business trip to Petaling Jaya last week and I decided to tag along. The office booked him at One World Hotel which is linked to the 1 Utama Shopping Centre (currently listed as the fourth largest mall in the world).

At first I thought that I could take the train and then board the hotel shuttle from the KL Sentral Station, but my flight was arriving at a non-peak hour so there was no shuttle service. Thus, I would first need to get the KLIA Ekspres to KL Sentral, transfer trains and take the MYRapid to Kelana Jaya station and finally board a taxi to go to the hotel (around 15 minutes).

I've discovered that Malaysia is a lot like the Philippines - you never know if the taxi driver will use his meter. That said, the best and safest* way to get to the hotel from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport is to book a cab from the airport counter. The trip will cost MYR 73.50 for the budget version and will take around 40 minutes (this counter is located right after the baggage and customs area and before the exit).

*According to the local newspaper, there's been a number of robberies and one case of rape courtesy of unscrupulous taxi drivers. One driver advised that it would be best to book a taxi over the phone that way the head office will know the name and plate number of the person who picked you up in case something unfortunate happens. Also, you would not need to negotiate the fare since it's either a set price or metered.

The room itself was nice and spacious. The bathroom was relatively clean with just a few mold spots towards the bottom of the shower stall. The bed was more on the firm side - it wasn't hard but it was not as soft as some hotel beds we've tried. The pillows were nice though.

Interestingly enough, they had more cable TV channels than at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur which is the subject of my next post.

Buffet breakfast was okay, though I was disappointed to find out they had no bacon. Not surprising since we were in a Muslim country, but it didn't stop me from missing it. Somehow, breakfast didn't seem complete - they had the beef version but it's not the same. Take note that the food stations are not close together so one will need to go all around the dining area to find more options.

In closing, I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone who needs to stay in the area. They also have a shuttle service to the Petronas Towers but we opted to transfer to another hotel to cut down on the commute and save time.

Johor Premium Outlets

My mother-in-law was in town over a week ago and requested to see Malaysia. So we decided to bring her to the Johor Premium Outlets as it's only a short bus ride from here.

The place is also just a few minutes away from Legoland and uses the same bus so it's a very convenient day trip for anyone interested in going over the border.

I've been to outlet malls in the U.S. and I must say that if you plan to go bargain hunting, best to do it in the States as the prices here are rather steep. A pair of Nike shoes for example, range from MYR 169 to 209. Basically, MYR 169 is equivalent to SGD 70 or PHP 2334 which makes it cheaper than Singapore but more expensive than Manila or the U.S.

Ah, but then again prices in Singapore are really more expensive to begin with. My Mom found a bag she liked from Mango while window shopping at Orchard Road, but found the exact same bag in one of their Manila branches to be PHP 1000 less (SGD 30).

Another concern is that you have declare all items purchased from abroad and pay the corresponding tax (GST) once you reach Singapore. That lessens a bit of the savings any long term resident might be hoping to have.

Well, if you want things a little cheaper and can't go anywhere else at the moment, then the Johor Premium Outlets will do in the meantime. Also, the place reminds me so much of Alabang Town Center back home that I'll definitely return if only for the scenery.