MALAYSIA: Hopping around Kuala Lumpur

2011 Holy Week SEA Trip

Malaysia - Singapore - Thailand

Before you start your journey, it’s a must that you have a city map and the hotel’s calling card with you.  Just in case you get lost, take a cab and show the calling card to the driver. You can always ask the hotel's reception for these.

As we walked around Bukit Bintang, we looked for a money changer first to change a few dollars since the ringgit we had was used to pay for the hotel.  I decided to just change 100USD only since I still have some ringgit left. By the way, finding a money changer is not a problem in Bukit Bintang since there were several in the area.

There were so many restaurants to choose from but we already planned to try Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese Restaurant, located at the Pavilion 10mins away from Bintang Warisan.  Since we stopped at some points to take pictures and checked out the shops going to the restaurant, it took us almost an hour to get to the mall.

Pavilion is a high-end shopping mall situated at the trendy Bukit Bintang district. 

You may be wondering why we chose a Taiwanese restaurant in Malaysia.  Well, we just love Din Tai Fung and since we don’t have it in the Philippines we try to visit their branch in every country we go to. 

DIN TAI FUNG

http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp

Din Tai Fung, an award winning restaurant that originated from Taiwan, is popular for their Xiao Long Bao.  They have branches in some parts of Asia, Australia and United States. In Malaysia they have 3 branches, one in Pavilion located at Level 6, The Garden at Mid Valley City and at the Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya.

Xiao Long Bao

(Steamed Pork Dumplings)

Fried Rice with egg, fried shrimp

Shrimp and Pork Wanton Soup

Sauteed Spinach

Spring Roll 

Breaded Chicken

Burp! Sorry hehehe… we paid a total of MYR127.90 so divided by 5 people = MYR25.28 each, hmmm not bad hehe…

Where to next?...

Our next stop is Titiwangsa Lake.  We took a cab to go there.  Good thing is that they are

 not strict as to how many people are allowed in the cab so the five of us squeezed in one taxi.   Learning that the place is under renovation, we were discussing on where to go next when the driver handed us a notebook with pictures of places we can go to around Kuala Lumpur.  We were able to haggle his fee down to MYR60, half of his asking price, to go around 4 places of our choice.

*****

Our first stop was ….

BERYL’S  CHOCOLATE  KINGDOM

http://www.berylschocolate.com/

38, Jalan Utara, Off Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel : 603-21458211

Fax : 603-21459211

Operation Hours : Monday - Sunday from 9am to 6pm

Email : lausanne@berylschocolate.com

“Heaven in your mouth with Beryl’s fine chocolate”

This is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, chocolate brand in Malaysia.  We included this in our itinerary since one of my friends wanted to visit the place and buy her favorite truffles.   I’m not really into chocolates, but when I tried their samples, it was sooo good!  I wanted to buy one but it’s expensive for me.

They also have one shop where you can schedule a tour inside their factory.

Beryl’s Chocolate Wonderland

No. 2, Jalan Raya 7/1, Kawasan Perindustrian Seri Kembangan 

43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

Operation Hours: Monday - Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday until 3pm

Email : tour@berylschocolate.com

*****

ISTANA NEGARA (Kings Palace)

The official residence of Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Malaysia’s King. 

Tourists can see the Palace from the gate only.   This is why most of our pictures were taken with many extras hehe…  We also got a chance to take pictures with guards dressed in White Malay.   We spent only 10-15 mins here.

*****

MERDEKA  SQUARE

Their Independence Square has been the usual venue for the annual National Day Parade.

It was so hot when we got there so we didn’t stay that long.   But, the place is very relaxing and has a nice view especially the structure in front of it which is….

*****

SULTAN ABDUL SAMAD BUILDING

This was built in 1894 – 1897 to house several important government departments during British administration.   Many historical events held in front of this building.  

One of my fave attraction here in KL

*****

MENARA TOWER

Along the way we saw the Menara Tower or the Kuala Lumpur Tower.   This is the second tallest freestanding tower in the world.   We decided not to go here since we already planned to go up the Petronas Tower.  We were ok just to see it from a far.

Here are the ticket prices and packages for the Menara Tower

http://www.kltower.com.my/index.cfm?sc=cultural_adventure_or_total_tower_experience_promotion

*****

Our last stop was the….

PETRONAS TOWERS

We were able to complete the tour as early as 4pm and asked the taxi to drop us off at the Petronas.  We wanted to see it during the day and night.

Wow! Its structure is amazing.  Love the architectural construction of the building which was designed by Argentine architects under the consultancy of one Filipino engineer.  This was completed in 1998 and became the tallest building in the world for seven years until it was surpassed by Taipei 101.  But, it has remained the tallest twin building in the world.  It has 88 floor and feature a Skybridge between the two towers on the 41^st and 42^nd floors, which is the highest 2-storey bridge in the world.

Finally! Set my foot inside the Petronas Towers.

Since it was already late and a signboard was saying sorry for there were no more tickets available, we just went down to the Concourse Level  (Lower ground level) to check the place.  

Tips for those who want to visit the Skybridge.  Be at the Concourse Level as early as 7am for there are limited tickets issued per day on a first come first serve basis.  There are no advanced or group booking.   Expect a long queue when you get there.  The ticket counter opens at 8am and tickets sell for MYR10 each.    

We wanted to capture the towers while the sun was still up for a daylight shot.

After the photo shoot, we headed to KLCC Suria located at the base of Petronas Towers.  The mall features signature brands like Hermes, Prada, Louis Vuitton etc…

KLCC Park is located at the back of the mall.

At 7pm, the sun was still up in Kuala Lumpur so we went to Coffee Bean to kill our time until it gets dark.

Well i must say it's worth the wait.  The night view appealed to me more.  I loved it!  I just wanted to sit by the side and stare at the beauty of it all night.

This is one amazing thing created by man!

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More Malaysia Trip here: 

Malaysia Truly Asia
Bintang Warisan Hotel
Batu Caves
Genting Highlands
Nando's Chicken