“What did you do for so many days in KL, all I know are shopping malls.”
Many asked if there were that many places to see in Kuala Lumpur when I told them I went with a group of friends to the capital city for five days, from 17 – 21 May 2023 (Wednesday to Sunday).
Five days were surprisingly not enough!
KL is huge. If you spot the mountain hills surrounding the city, that is also part of KL. This was the first visit for my friends, so we packed the trip with lots of tourist spots, nature, and some artsy and trendy places.
We were out in the morning all the way till midnight daily. We were tired, but fully satisfied in that short period of time. This was the itinerary:
| Day | Activity | Address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur International Terminal 2 Airport (KLIA2) | 2/1 64000 KLIA, Sepang Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Dropped off our luggage at accommodation |
| Pavillion | Jalan Bukit Bintang 55100 KL | |
| Farenheit88 Lot10/Sungei Wang Jalan Bukit Bintang Shops | 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 55100 Malaysia | |
| Elephant Republic Cafe Jalan Alor Street Art | 7, Jalan Rembia, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur | |
| Jalan Jalan Japan PLSC Drift | 1 Shamelin Mall, Cheras 100, Jalan 4/91 Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 56100 Kuala Lumpur | |
| Taman Connaught Night Market Macdonalds | Jalan Cerdas, Taman Connaught, 56000 Kuala Lumpur | |
| 2 | Free walking tour (Brickfields to Chinatown) | Meeting Point: Plaza Tugu Negara, Pesiaran Sultan Salahuddin, Kuala Lumpur, 50480 Kuala Lumpur |
| Avenue K Lunch at Taco Bell | UC-3, Level Upper Concourse, Avenue K, 156 Jalan Ampang, 50450, Kuala Lumpur | |
| Suria KLCC | 241, Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| Tapak Urban Street Dining | 2 Persiaran Hampshire Hampshire Park, Off Jalan Ampang 50450 Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur | |
| 3 | Dragonback Trek | Pick up at Accommodation (Airbnb experience) |
| Nasi Lemak Wanjo | 8, Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| National Art Gallery | Lembaga Pembangunan Seni Visual Negara, No. 2, Jalan Temerloh, Off Jalan Tun Razak, 53200 Kuala Lumpur | |
| Big Boss HSP | Jalan Tun HS Lee | |
| Pavilion Jalan Alor Night Market | Jln Alor, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| 4 | Mamak Breakfast | Grab Food |
| REX KL | 80, Jalan Sultan, 50000, Kuala Lumpur | |
| Mee Tarik Fung Wong | 36 Jalan Sultan city Centre, 5000 Kuala Lumpur | |
| Central Market (Pasar Seni) | Lot 3.04-3.06, Central Market Annexe, Jalan Hang Kasturi, 50050 Kuala Lumpur | |
| Chinatown & Petaling Street Night Market | Jalan Petaling, City Centre 50000 Kuala Lumpur 14 | |
| Mountbatten cafe | 58 Jalan Tun Perak 50050 Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur | |
| Jalan Masjid India MYDIN | No. 95, Jalan Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| NSK Grocer | LG-19-21 Lower Ground, Quill City Mall, Jln Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| CU (Near KL Citywalk) Durian | 11, Jalan P. Ramlee, City Centre, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| 5 | Tapestry | 28, Jalan Kamunting, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Berjaya Times Square | Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Only realised on this trip that the locals were so friendly! We were really lucky and had a good time with Ian, the walking tour guide, Eric, our Airbnb host, and Ben, our trekking guide.
Photo credit: Ben
Getting There
We took a one-way flight to KLIA2, and then departed from KL via bus.
Our considerations were to be able to spend the most time in KL, and to bypass baggage fees when returning, and to also try out both options on land and air.
We booked a Scoot flight, and a Transtar Travel bus.
Photo Credit: Janice
The bus trip was underwhelming. Firstly, services that were promoted on TikTok did not match the reality, and the tickets were way more expensive than what was advertised online. In addition, the traffic was terrible, as we had to wait at least 45 minutes for the bus to arrive. We were stuck in traffic for at least 5 hours, especially at Tuas. We departed at 3+ in the afternoon and only arrived in Singapore at 11pm.
Just to highlight, because it was a Sunday, we should have expected the heavy traffic. If we had taken the bus to KL on a weekday, perhaps traffic could have been smoother.
As I mentioned before, flying over to KL is the most recommended option. Grab in KL is also worth it.
Accommodation
We were comfortable staying in a pax of three here. (There was enough space for three people to learn a TikTok dance, if you must know.)
Tip: Choose accommodation that is either near KLCC or Bukit Bintang – nightlife, landmarks and activities.
Our accoms was super convenient. It was a quiet area, but it was walking distance to so many places, and had a really great view of the Petronas Twin Towers. We even saw fireworks from the window! Reviews of our Airbnb superhost speaks for itself.
Shopping
Pavilion
Pavilion is touted as Malaysia’s premier shopping destination. I never got sick of this place after countless visits. There’s even karaoke place, and we did our shopping over a few days. Do visit the Eureka popcorn stall here, recommended to buy in groups to get more free popcorn!
Tip: Check for pop-up exhibitions. During our trip, there was a Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Total Concentration Exhibition in Malaysia at Pavilion.
Farenheit88/ Lot10/ Sungei Wang
There are lots of malls along the streets of Bukit Bintang. Possibly due to the pandemic, it was a bit of a ghost town on the upper levels. We enjoyed exploring the bookstores, cool local brands, photobooth machines, games, and the never-ending franchise stores that I never knew existed.
Tip: Visit eslite spectrum bookstore cafe at Starhill Gallery for an instagrammable bookstore, which sells pretty stationary as well.
Jalan Bukit Bintang Shops
If you walk down from Pavilion towards Jalan Sultan Ismail and cross the road to the side with a McDonald’s, there are lots of shophouses along that stretch. There are food, clothes, sports, bags, and massage shops. Managed to get good deals at the SportsDirect Superstore in that area during their closing down sale.
Suria KLCC
You have to visit Suria KLCC at least once when visiting KL. It is located in the heart of the city, within the first six stories of the Petronas Twin Towers.
I heard it has more than 320 stores, including premium retail brands, even local ones like Duck and Apom! A Piece Of Malaysia – a store that sells hipster local postcards, shirts and other things that makes perfect souvenirs for your friends. As usual, the lower floors are more suited for commoners like myself, like Sephora, Lavender, Family Mart etc.
There is a food court, and other restaurants too. After filling up your hands and tummy, you can also explore the Twin Towers, Petronas Art Gallery, KLCC Park, and Aquaria KLCC, Sky Bar, and Convention Centre.
One interesting thing about this spot is that if you head out to the entrance of the Petronas Twin Towers side (towards Lorong Kuda), you will see many people offering their services to take photos and videos of you with the Twin Towers in the backdrop, at a fee. They all carry some amazing equipment, with multiple tripods sticks, and many phones to capture all angles for you.
Thankfully, they were not aggressive, and left us alone when we declined their offer. We brought a retractable mobile phone stand which had proven super useful to capture great shots in KL!
Overall, I would say Suria KLCC has the same vibe as Marina Bay Sands Shoppes in Singapore. Fancy, with a great view.
Avenue K
Avenue K is located right across the street to Suria KLCC, but there is also an underpass that connects the two with the train station. The mall has more common and affordable shops, which is great.
The main reason we went here was to eat Taco Bell. There isn’t any Taco Bell in SG, and the food was much better than expected! We had a great time exploring the other shops too, especially with the basement having a lot of food, including sushi, bubble tea and even a CU convenience store with seats that face the train station and you could hear buskers performing there!
Cheap thrills also included “meeting” Dato Lee Chong Wei’s standee as Chagee’s ambassador, and spotting BTS-related merch at Tealive for friends.
Tip: You can purchase a cup of Milo from a Milo truck if you cross at street level from KLCC to Avenue K!
Berjaya Times Square KL
This mall has existed for a long time, and the shops cater to fashion, F&B, entertainment, technology gadgets, and knick-knacks. The shops at the higher levels sell very similar things to one another (imagine Bugis Street in SG), and you can bargain.
Berjaya Times Square also hosts the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia. I tried it out when I was younger, the rides were fun, especially the roller coaster. But don’t expect to spend the whole day in the theme park.
There’s also a bunch of other activities in the mall like archery, bowling, karaoke, claw machines, and a new Paint Bomb centre! There was an opening promotion during our trip, but our schedule was too packed to try it out. It’s like an escape room where you carry out missions, which includes a paint bomb. It sounded super fun and will definitely try it out next time.
This is a not only a shopping mall, but also kind of a rest stop for tourists before/after they head to the bus terminal that travels to other parts of Malaysia and to Singapore. There are also apartments and a hotel, and office spaces, so it may be crowded at times.
Markets
Taman Connaught Night Market
I think this was the longest ‘pasar malam’ that we went to, spanning across multiple streets, and is a bit further from the city centre. It felt never-ending, and you will spot some shops selling the same thing after a short stretch. Expect rows of hawker stalls selling street food, fruits, and other products like shirts, bags, plants, toys, and gadgets. Unexpectedly, we found some cute shirts and bags, which we couldn’t resist buying for our friends and families.
The food here is catered more for the Chinese community, and a variety of options like dim sum, lok lok, rice porridge, Hokkien mee, laksa, char siew rice etc. There are bigger stalls that has seats if you order their food. You will also spot many others eating by the roadside.
What stood out for me was the variety of cuisine types. There were lots of Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Thai food. We tried this popular Korean cheese coin bread, which seemed to be only available at this market, as I didn’t spot it at other places.
It was also a treat to catch a Mr Douyin Frog, who saluted right in the middle of the street, and had to be cutely escorted so he doesn’t stop traffic again. He was seen holding several small frog balloons, similar to how you see it online!
The place was extremely packed in the front half of the night market as it got darker, and there are officers present to ensure traffic flows smoothly for both drivers and the market visitors. The market opens on Wednesdays only from 5pm until midnight, with the busiest period usually ranging between 7pm and 9pm.
Jalan Alor Night Market
The Jalan Alor Night Market, located at Bukit Bintang is another hot spot for tourists and locals alike. The food all looked very tantalizing, with rows of zi char restaurants, satay, grilled seafood, durian, fruit juices, apam balik, and everything local you can think of! Many were still open even at 11pm.
We also tried the popular Kunafe stall. We could spot many youths hanging around, while families filled the seafood and zi char restaurants. By then, we were already so full , so I only bought a 1rm mini crispy pancake. It was so crispy, and sweet, it was the best I had ever tasted. The stall was located towards the end of the street.
The market is open every day with lots of bustling energy from 5 pm to 3 am, and lively even towards midnight.
Jalan Alor is also a popular spot for visitors to shop for souvenirs, clothes, accessories, and electronics. If you head towards the shophouses, there are also lots of massage shops. Just watch out for the broken tiles on the pavement!
Chinatown & Petaling Street Night Market
This is another popular place for street food and street bargains! The good thing about this place is that it is opened day night. You can find fake branded goods, or unbranded items like bags, clothes, shoes, watches and glasses, which you can negotiate the price for. I rarely buy items whenever I visit here, but it is fun to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. There is also a thrift store at the shophouses behind the tents.
Bought some snacks, some sunglasses, and a tie-dye “nike” socks.
Our walking tour guide also shared that there is a really good noodle stall that sells good meepok and laksa here. It is located in the middle of the street market. It is a bit difficult to find halal food in this stretch though.
Jalan Masjid India Night Market
This is a colourful area which is lively at night. There are cheap clothing and accessories, especially headscarves and other accessories. But the other important thing is also the street food! There were baby crabs, kebab, corn, malay dishes, lekor, keropok, kuih, popsicle, and so much more. I remember we also bought satay and ate at some benches.
The road also leads to the rest of Little India, which sells many clothes and gold jewelry etc. You can also walk to the nearby “mustafa centre” called Haniffa, and SOGO shopping mall, a popular spot to hang out and be entertained by buskers at the mall entrance.
Do note that if it rains, the night market may not be opened and the vendors will not set up their stalls.
Story Time: We couldn’t find the street even after walking so many rounds, and eventually gave up and headed to a 7-eleven for a break. It suddenly poured like crazy, with heavy lightning and thunder, so we changed our plans and grabbed to Pavilion to do some shopping instead. Turned out we were super lucky because it was reported the next day that the heavy rain and wind caused trees in KL to fall, and firefighters had to be called in.
Central Market (Pasar Seni)
If you ask your parents, most of them would have Central Market in their itinerary when they visit KL in the past. It has existed for a very long time and is now known as a landmark for Malaysian culture and heritage.
So, expect unique local and traditional craft souvenirs (they even sell handmade batik scrunchies and lanyards, super cute). There were also vintage camera shops and vintage clothes. You can spot paintings for sale at the back of the Centre too.
Oh, there was this one stall at ground level which sold gorgeous and high-quality batik designed by a local designer. I fell in love.
Pasar Seni is also home to weekend markets, and you can check out their events calendar on their official website. During our trip, it was the Borneo Native Festival, which was filled with entertainment, Borneo-related items, and food!
Arts & Heritage
Jalan Alor Street Art
Photo Credit: Janice
I mentioned this place before in my earlier trip to KL here. It is located in Changkat, Bukit Bintang area. Have fun exploring the graffiti walls, and cafes.
REXKL
REXKL is definitely for the preppy hipsters. The place was airy, had high ceilings, and a very warehouse-kind of interior, which makes it instagrammable at every step.
The highest floor was a huge bookstore, BookXcess, with very interesting reads, and you could hide in small aesthetic corners for photos or book-searching. It is quite obvious that Malaysia is still very into bookstores and thrift stores, even as the trade may be dying out in other countries (*coughs* SG *coughs*).
The middle levels consisted of an exhibition space, a souvenir shop with unique and useful souvenirs, and a few second-hand vintage stores. At that point of time, it was the Levi’s 150th anniversary exhibition, with free entry.
At street level, there was an open-concept cafe, with some really can’t be bothered cats. It was a nice place to relax and chill. There was also a mama-concept store, which featured a lot of old school snacks, and a grandma that sold vintage rings right at the entrance, which amazingly had big sized rings for guys!
Photo Credit: Janice
The food hall was at the basement, with a variety of international cuisines, and a bakery.
One thing that I remembered was how the toilet was as funky as the rest of the building, in terms of the interior, and also how me and another ang moh tourist had no idea how to lock the toilet door! All we could do was…pee and pray no one busts through those doors.
Free walking tour
If we could go on free walking tours in Europe, why not in Asia too?
If you are an arts and heritage enthusiast, it would be fun to join a walking tour. There are quite a few available online on guruwalk, but the one we went was this.
The meeting point was at one of their national monuments called Plaza Tugu Negara. Being a Singaporean, we typically do not visit such places. Even the tour guide said it is rare for Singaporeans to show up for his walking tours.
It was really fun listening to the stories, and listening to our intertwined history. Learnt a lot from it, and how they had their own resistance stories that I’ve never heard before.
It was also cool to see MY’s version of “City Hall”, and how various landmarks reminds me of SG. At the end of the day, we all just want what’s best for the people.
We also learnt the power of the Hand when crossing the roads of KL. It usually works for the locals.
We had fun popping by various landmarks like River of Life, Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Merdeka Square and learning its significance. The final stop was Chen She Shu Yuen Clan ancestral hall at the edge of Chinatown. It was cute how our guide, Ian, was super excited to share all the amazing food locations in Malaysia, but all we wanted to eat at that point of time was Taco Bell.
Dragonback Trek
I had always wanted to trek in Malaysia and found this experience. We started early morning with our guide, Ben, who picked us up at our accoms. It was fun seeing the traffic entering CBD instead of being on that side of it and seeing the suburbs.
The trek was involved climbing up a forest, and the journey did look scary at times, but definitely manageable. My friend has a fear of heights, but he somehow managed to reach the top and headed down safely, with the help of Ben (and us, of course). Ben was very patient and kind to answer all our questions and take photos for us.
Photo Credit: Janice and Ben
Halfway up the trek, we could spot Genting Highlands at the top of another mountain. It was also surreal to see a scenic landscape on one half, and the city on the other. There was even a bench built by regular climbers at the top to rest and enjoy the scenery.
Spotted some ‘ulam’, but because this was grown on land, it is not suited to be eaten (only those growing at riverbeds are!)
Dragonback mountain is full of these crystals, although they are not valuable crystals.
Lush greenery and flowers were all around!
Photo credit: Janice
Ben also brought us to a mamak shop nearby for breakfast after our trek!
National Art Gallery
Their art and major entertainment landmarks were located near a hospital. So, the vibes felt off as we thought we were heading in the wrong direction during our Grab ride. But it all turned out fine!
Entry is free for all, and there were quite a few exhibitions. Personally felt that they were not as greatly curated as I hoped. Some pieces had depth and reasoning, but some seemed to just fit the theme on a superficial level.
My observation is that the visitors were really all about the gram. I saw visitors who did not look interested in the art pieces and was using the place for photos. Was aghast when I saw a young couple walking inches away from the paintings on the wall and actually touched the painting! There were clear signs of ‘do not touch’ signs nearby.
The store was also not really enticing, considering that it was a visual arts focused gallery. But view was great!
For the Vibes
Jalan Jalan Japan
Thrift stores are a thing here in Malaysia. We went to this very unassuming mall, which was mostly empty and we had to climb up the escalators that were turned off to find Jalan Jalan Japan.
The thrift store itself was huge though and sold an assortment of things, and we spent about 1.5 hours in that space alone!
There were also other second-hand shops on the same floor. If you are claustrophobic, not advisable to visit these shops.
You can always find more of such stores on TT and IG. That was how my friend discovered this place! Just remember to set your expectations low cause it might be as how you expected it.
PLSC Drift
In the same mall as Jalan Jalan Japan, it’s a cute space for some quick races with your friends! Apparently it is the first drifting e-kart in Malaysia.
Music Shows
Like any music-goer, I would usually google to see if there were any concerts or music shows. It just so happens that there was a Hip-Hop Night at a club with my favourite artists like Joe Flizzow,Sonaone, Alyph, and Ironboy at Kyo.
Supermarkets
MYDIN
Mydin is their local supermarket like NTUC. We visited the one near Masjid India.
NSK Grocer
We wanted to buy some snacks as souvenirs, and asked a local where we could get some from. They recommended NSK Grocer at Quill City Mall, and it was big like a warehouse size and you could buy things in bulk. It was similar to Giant at IMM.
There were way too much things to do in KL, but there are also lots of food to eat (which will be served hot in another post soon!).
Always a wonderful time with you. Till I see you again, KL!
Uminsummer 
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