Deck the Malls … a weekend in KL

Was up in KL last weekend with Vicky to experience the Christmas shopping and revelry in Malaysia’s capital city. The trip began on Friday morning with a delayed bus ride and two bus changes. The frustrating bus arrangements by Grassland (hey, famous bus company also like this ah ??!!!) left many frayed passengers, especially a group of Chinese aunties who aired their protest and complaints to the helpless bus driver.

We arrived at Pudu about half past four. A short LRT ride took us to PWTC station, where it was a short walk to our hotel.

After a short rest, we took off for the busy shopping belt of Bukit Bintang.

Lot 10 was having a quiet Christmas …

Sungei Wang’s variety and cheap deals drawing the crowd …

The bloke was in town too ...

The next morning, we decided to pay a visit to the grand old dame of KL Malls, who else but the once popular … The Mall. I still remember the days (almost 15 years back) when visiting KL was not complete without paying a visit to ‘The Mall’, the place to be then, with its indoor rides, colourful wares along Medan Hang Tuah, and rows of wonderful shops. Now it is just a collection of printing shops, the obligatory Watsons, the Parkson flagship and a few vacant lots.

The Mall ...

Found Dasher in a part time role at Starlight Express ...

Lunch was at the quaint old Coliseum restaurant along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. We had the roast chicken with sambal rice, oxtail soup, and fish in black pepper sauce. The old waiters in their smart uniforms was a throwback to the old colonial style restaurants. Reminds me of the Shashlik restaurant in Singapore, famous for its smartly attired Hainanese waiters and flamboyant Russian fare.

Sambal Chicken at Coliseum ...

After lunch we paid a visit to KLCC. While Vicky was enthralled with the goods in the Gucci boutique, I was busy browsing the book shelves in Kinokuniya.

The decorated KLCC atrium ...

Kino ...

That night, we went down to Petaling Street to check out the wares on sale. For dinner, we dined on the famous Hokkien Mee at the stall outside Hong Leong Bank. Somehow the noodles here did not measure up to its name. Had tasted better at a stall in PJ.

The famous Petaling Street Hokkien Mee ...

The next day, after checking out of the hotel, we headed to Puduraya for lunch. We decided to check out Nandos and its famous peri-peri chicken.

The Peri-Peri Meal ...

Saying our final farewell to KL, we left by bus back to Singapore.

All in all we had a good time exploring the city and enjoying the Christmas decorations. Shopping was not much different from what you can find in Singapore, only you don’t get blatant pedaling of pirated goods on the open streets. Maybe next time we will try somewhere different like Subang or Sunway, or head up to Bangkok for more MBK shopping (heard that it is cool there in Dec).