Nimi & Aaron
Nimi & Aaron
KUALA LUMPUR
Arts & Culture
A popular Malaysian pasttime is eating and hanging out in air-conditioned malls to escape the heat and humidity. Therefore, Nimi's including “mall culture” in Arts & Culture. You'll see that malls in KL are way bigger than in the United States and are a regular part of daily life.
Central Market
This is a touristy craft market but it was recently renovated so that it's clean, air-conditioned, and has an awesome food court. Nimi recommends getting a fresh coconut or ais kacang (shaved ice dessert) from the food court's beverage stall, then browsing the market's maze of stores.
Jakel Mall Kuala Lumpur
Locals shop at Jakel Mall for affordable, decent quality traditional clothes. If you're looking for men's baju melayu or women's baju kurung or kebaya, you'll definitely find something here.
Cwoks Batik workshop
Take a batik lesson with Nimi's childhood art teacher, C Wok [see-wok]! She's a wonderful teacher and you'll make a piece of traditional batik artwork to take home.
Her studio is in a cozy hut located toward the back of Kompleks Kraf Jalan Conlay (Conlay Street Craft Complex). Send a WhatsApp message to her phone number above to schedule a lesson. Mention you're Nimi's friend so she can try to schedule people from our group together.
Kompleks Kraf Jalan Conlay
This sprawling complex has stores dedicated to high quality local handicrafts. The location is the same address as C Wok's studio, but the stores are in the main complex and C wok's studio is in a separate building toward the back of the property.
Hartamas Shopping Centre
This clothing stall called jawa.my, located in the Hartamas Shopping Center, has modern styles of Malay clothes made with traditional batik fabric. Men's shirts cost around USD$50 and women's outfits are around USD$70. Azimah really likes their kebayas (women's outfits).
REXKL
REXKL is a community & cultural hub that occupies a building that housed one of the country's first theatres. It features emerging craftsmen, restauranteurs and retailers. It's a generally cool place to check out.
Street Food & Night Markets
Drinks and dishes to try:
- Teh tarik [tay tar-rick]
Frothy sweetened milk tea. Teh tarik means “pulled tea” in Malay because it's poured back and forth between two cups to froth it. It’s fun to watch.
- Roti canai [ro-tee cha-nae]
Another dish that's fun to watch. Dough is flipped in the air until it's paper thin, folded to create multiple flaky layers, and fried on a griddle until crispy. Commonly served with curry.
- Asam laksa [ah-sam lak-sa]
Mackerel noodle soup with a very complex flavor of sweet, sour, spicy, and umami. Asam means “tamarind”, which gives the soup its sour flavor, and its lemony umami aroma comes from bunga kantan (torch ginger), fish-based stock, shrimp paste, and herbs like lemongrass.
- Satay [sah-tay]
Charcoal-grilled chicken or beef skewers with peanut sauce and rice cubes. True Malaysian peanut satay sauce is sweet, savory, spicy, acidic, aromatic, and nutty.
- Nasi lemak [na-see luh-mak]
Malaysia's unofficial national dish. Literally meaning “fatty rice”, nasi lemak's distinctive taste comes from cooking the rice in coconut milk and pandan leaves which gives the dish its rich flavor and fragrant aroma. Commonly served with roasted peanuts, egg, ikan bilis (anchovies), and slices of cucumber.
- Cendol [chen-dol]
A popular sweet, layered, iced dessert made of shaved ice, pandan jelly, red beans, coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup.
- Durian [doo-ree-an]
A large tropical fruit with a spiky, hard outer shell. It has a pungent smell and custard-like flesh with large seeds. It’s popular in Southeast Asia, where it’s nicknamed “the king of fruits.”
Jalan Alor
Jalan Alor is a good spot to ease into the street food scene. The entire road is a river of authentic street food.
Petaling Street Market
Nature
Within KL, you can easily get to the Perdana Botanical Gardens, Bird Park, and Butterfly Park. They're in the same area and only a 10-minute drive from the city center.
Just outside KL, we'd recommend visiting the Batu Caves and going on a nighttime firefly tour. By car, the Batu Caves are 20-minutes north and the fireflies are 50-minutes northeast so, for convenience, you may want to book a guided tour from KL to visit them both in one day.
KL Bird Park
Admission
Adult: RM85 ($20)
Child: RM60 ($14)
Hours
9:00am to 6:00pm daily, including public holidays
KL Bird Park is one of the world's largest covered bird parks. It's a free-flight aviary, which allows the birds to breed naturally in an environment that closely resembles their natural habitat.
Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park
Admission
Adult: RM30 ($7)
Child: RM18 ($4)
Hours
9:00am to 4:30pm daily, including public holidays
Located adjacent to the Bird Park.
The Butterfly Park has over 5,000 butterflies from more than 120 species, many of which are native, as well as insects, exotic plants, butterfly-host plants and ferns.
Batu Caves
Admission
Free
7:00am to 9:00pm daily, including public holidays
Dark Cave Environmental Tour (45min)
- Adult: RM35 ($8)
- Child: RM25 ($6)
Monday-Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays 10:30am-5:30pm
A limestone outcrop just north of Kuala Lumpur, the Batu Caves have three main caves featuring temples and Hindu shrines. Its main attractions are a large statue of the deity Murugan and a steep 272-step climb up to the caves.
Kampung Kuantan Firefly Park
Admission
RM50 ($11) per sampan (max. 4 guests per sampan). The entire boat journey takes around 20 minutes.
Hours
7:30pm to 10:30pm daily
Visitors ride on a sampan (traditional, non-motorized wooden boat) along the Selangor River to watch fireflies up close.
For maximum visibility, the best time to go is slightly after 8pm on a clear, moonless night. Any later than that and the fireflies may have found a mate, causing them to stop flashing.
Guided Tour from KL: Batu Caves and Firefly Watching
Cost: ~$75 per person
Duration: 6.5 hours (includes dinner)
- Pickup and dropoff at your hotel
- Visit the Batu Caves on a private or shared tour
- Paddle on the Selangor River to see one of the world's largest firefly colonies
- Say hello to the friendly Silver Leaf Monkeys of Melawati
- Sit down to enjoy a simple seafood dinner
Night Life
PS150
PS150 is a speakeasy located on Petaling Street in the heart of Chinatown. It's in a pre-war building, hidden away in the back of an antiques shop. They serve signature cocktails that bookmark significant eras in the history of mixing.
Concubine KL
A bar in Chinatown with creative dishes.