Day 3: 31 July 2023, Monday

For our third and last full day in Kuala Lumpur, we had a light agenda: shopping in the morning and afternoon, followed by dinner with IK. At 8:54am, we hopped on a Grab car to take us to an eatery in Bukit Bintang called Capitol Cafe for breakfast. It actually wasn’t very far away but the weekday peak hour traffic was heavy, so the ride took 21 minutes. The fare was RM12 (S$3.62).

Capitol Cafe prides itself as selling delicious and authentic Malaysian dishes at affordable prices. Among its signature dishes are the Nasi Lemak and Chee Cheong Fun with curry chicken. For my first meal of the day, I prefer to have something lighter so I went for the Roti Bakar set, which comprised of two half-boiled eggs, a cup of strong Hainanese coffee, and two slices of kaya toast. Dad had the same while mum went for the Roti Telur Goyang set and WY ordered Curry Mee. We also bought three packs of Nyonya Kuehs – Kueh Salat, Kueh Dadar and Ondeh Ondeh. The bill came up to RM63.60 (S$18.70).

Mum’s Roti Telur Goyang (which literally means “wiggly eggs on bread”) was quite interesting because the eggs were placed on top of the toasted bread with margarine spread, a la Eggs Benedict style. For my Roti Bakar, the bread was toasted till it was so hard and dry like a crouton. My half-boiled eggs were also slightly sticky and not as runny as I liked it. I think I prefer our Ya Kun in Singapore, which to me, serves the best version of the classic Singaporean kaya toast with eggs. But the Hainanesee coffee at Capitol Cafe was good though, strong and aromatic. As for the kuehs, I liked the Kueh Dadar the best; the other two were so-so.

After finishing our meal at 10:05am, it was time for shopping. We first went to Sungei Wang Plaza, one of the longest running malls in KL, established in 1977. It has since undergone several rounds of refurbishment and it is quite a comfortable place to shop, with over 800 low-end to mid-range retail stores like F.O.S. and many more mom-and-pop stores. However, when we visited, not many shops were open yet since it was still early.

At noon, we walked over to Lot 10 shopping mall, directly opposite Sungei Wang Plaza and linked by an overhead bridge. Slightly more upmarket, Lot 10 is anchored by Isetan department store and Don Don Donki, which occupied three levels in the building. What caught our eyes were not the retail stores but the artisan bread festival taking place on the ground floor. Several famous bakeries like Kenny Hills Bakers, Sun Moulin and The Dough Factory had taken up booths here selling their pastries and confectionaries. Mum and I love eating bread so we drooled at the sight of all the croissants and cakes on sale. Everything looked so good.

We then walked over to Fahrenheit88 mall next door to shop at the huge Brands Outlet store in the basement. Unfortunately, the Uniqlo store was under renovation so we didn’t get to shop there. With our favourable exchange rate, Uniqlo products are considerably cheaper in Malaysia than in Singapore.

At about 1:30pm, we walked back to Lot 10 to have lunch at the food court in the basement, Lot 10 Hutong, which houses Asia’s best gourmet heritage cuisines under one roof. I ordered Penang Char Kway Teow with duck egg (RM17.30+); dad had curry mee (RM15.30+) and mum had Hokkien prawn mee with soup (RM15.30+). The prawn mee was very good, with a nice thick broth rich with umami prawn flavour. Dad’s curry mee came with pig blood curd, which has been banned in Singapore since 1999 in response to a Nipah virus outbreak. This is because the blood can easily support the growth of bacteria and may contain diseases, so you can’t find pig blood curd in Singapore anymore.

My char kway teow was also very good. Some people will argue and say that the Malaysian or Penang Char Kway Teow is better than Singapore’s version because it contains a special ingredient – duck eggs. In fact, duck eggs were commonly used in Char Kway Teow in Singapore in the 1950s and 60s, but they were gradually replaced with chicken eggs, which were cheaper. The phasing out of duck eggs was also because farming and importation of duck eggs ceased in Singapore after that. Actually, fresh duck eggs are not banned in Singapore. It is just that no local farmers have applied for licences to set up duck layer farms or applied for permits to import fresh duck eggs to Singapore. Probably the demand for duck eggs does not justify its supply anymore.

After lunch, we walked over to Pavilion KL shopping mall. As malls go, Pavilion is as big as it gets, with over 700 stores spread over 10 levels with a good mix of international and local brands, and restaurants to cater to every taste bud and budget. It is a very comfortable and pleasant place to spend a day shopping and sipping coffee.

After we were done with Pavilion, we went back to Lot 10 to buy some pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast. We then took a Grab car back to our apartment (RM9 / S$2.71), arriving at 4:32pm. After unloading our shopping and taking a short rest, we met IK at 5:30pm and she took us out for dinner. WY did not join us as she was meeting her ex-schoolmate.

The drive from KL city to the dinner venue took 40 minutes because of the heavy evening traffic. At 6:12pm, we arrived at Restoran Lieong Kee Bae Good Teh at 23 Jalan Kepong. IK said that like how the SS2 area is famous for durians in KL, Kepong is famous for its many Bak Kut Teh (BKT) restaurants. Indeed, the moment we stepped out of IK’s car, the smell of BKT permeated the air. And on the drive back to the city after our dinner, we saw dozens of BKT restaurants everywhere in Kepong.

Initially, we were only supposed to have dinner with IK, but when she told her husband S that she was taking us to eat BKT, he couldn’t resist and decided to join us for dinner too. Not only that, it became a family affair as S brought along their son D and IK’s mother too. The more the merrier!

Bak Kut Teh is directly translated as “meat bone tea”, or more commonly known as pork rib’s soup. The dish is very popular in Malaysia and Singapore, and there are generally two types of BKT – the Hokkien style uses a variety of herbs and the soup is darker because of soy sauce; the Teochew style uses more pepper and garlic and the soup is lighter in colour. In Singapore, the Teochew style is more common and popularised by stalls like Song Fa and Founder. In Malaysia, the Hokkien style is more predominant.

I usually prefer the Teochew style peppery BKT because I find the herbal taste of the Hokkien style a bit too overbearing, like drinking medicine. However, the BKT soup here at Lieong Kee was rather sweet and not as bitter or garlic-y. The pork ribs were also really chunky but very tender. But my favourite was the “dry” BKT, which was very well seasoned and flavourful. All the BKT dishes were served in traditional claypots, which further enhanced the taste. Overall, it was a very satisfying dinner and I enjoyed it a lot. Well worth the long drive here!

At 7:30pm, we left Lieong Kee and bade farewell to S, D and IK’s mum. We thanked them for their warm hospitality once again. The drive back to KL city was smoother because most people were travelling in the opposite direction at that hour, making their way home after work. At 7:58pm, we parked at an open-air carpark next to Jalan Ampang Muslim Cemetery and walked to Saloma Link bridge, a short distance away.

Saloma Link is a pedestrian bridge linking Kampung Baru and Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), spanning across the Klang River and a highway. It is named after a famous Singaporean-Malaysian singer Salmah Ismail (stage name Saloma), who is buried at the cemetery beside the bridge.

The bridge opened only quite recently, on 5 February 2020, and it has quickly become a popular tourist spot because of the dazzling façade of the 69-metre-long shelter. The LED lights on the 4,100 diamond-shaped panels change colours from time to time, first displaying the design of the Malaysian flag before switching to solid colours of green, purple, blue, red and more. The design of the shelter represents the Sirih Junjung, or betel nut leaf arrangement, which is traditionally offered in Malay weddings and ceremonies as a symbol of unity. It was very pretty indeed.

Another reason why Saloma Link bridge has become a popular tourist attraction is because of the stunning backdrop of the Petronas Twin Towers in the background. A little pity that the tower on the left was partially obscured by the Public Bank Berhad building, but the overall view was still majestic, especially at night with the two towers gleaming and rising towards the sky.

When we visited, the bridge was crowded with tour groups as well as individuals. Some enterprising locals even provided photography services on site, where they attached portable lights to their iPhones to allow for more professional-looking shots with better lighting. I did not ask how much they charged but several visitors engaged their services.

After 20 minutes of taking photos and soaking up the view, we left Saloma Link bridge. IK dropped us off at our apartment at 8:40pm, and we said our goodbyes to her for the final time. It had been really wonderful to have her show us around the city and bring us to the best places for food. We wouldn’t have seen so many nice places or eaten so much good food if not for her, and not forgetting MH who took us out yesterday too. We hope to repay their kindness and warmth when they visit Singapore in the future.  

Day 4: 1 August 2023, Tuesday

We had our breakfast in the apartment and checked out at 9:15am. At 9:25am, our driver arrived. IK had helped to arrange for our transport to the airport, and the driver charged us RM90 (S$26.50) for the one-way ride to KLIA2, cheaper than the RM105 fare when we checked on Grab. The drive to the airport was smooth and we arrived an hour later.

Our Air Asia flight AK715 was departing only at 2:15pm so we still had plenty of time. We wanted to come to the airport earlier so that we could do some more shopping. However, we were constrained by our 7kg cabin baggage allowance so we couldn’t buy too much anyway.

At 11:45am, we had an early lunch at Oriental Kopi. Mum, WY and I ordered the signature Nasi Lemak while dad ordered the Penang Char Kway Teow. The chicken in our Nasi Lemak was so big and it was tender, moist and nicely marinated. Dad’s Char Kway Teow came with two big prawns. I also ordered a Polo Bun, which came with two large slices of butter on the side and a small goblet of condensed milk. The crust of the Polo Bun was very crispy and tasty.

I also ordered the butter kopi, a strong cup of Hainanese coffee with a slice of butter on the side. When the butter is dropped into the coffee and melted, it adds a dose of creaminess to the drink. Butter kopi is believed to have originated in Singapore in the 1930s, but it is not so common nowadays. Overall, the food at Oriental Kopi was very good, which explains why there were long queues at the Mid Valley Megamall and Pavilion outlets in KL. The price was reasonable too – RM151.05 (S$44.50) for the four of us.

At 12:35pm, we made our way to the departure hall. We approached gingerly as we saw that the AirAsia staff stationed at the entrance weighed the cabin luggage of all the passengers before allowing them to pass through. I held my breath as the staff placed my luggage on the weighing scale. It showed 8.4kg but the staff barely glanced at it and she did not say anything, so I walked right in. Phew! I think they are not so strict if it is not grossly overweight.

Our flight departed on time and one hour later, at 3:10pm, we touched down at Changi Airport Terminal 4. Home sweet home! It was a short but rewarding trip, with the awesome MUSE concert, good shopping and sightseeing, and of course, great food and company. Thanks Kuala Lumpur for four days of fun and memories!