Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Disappointing breakfast items, but pretty good chicken rice for lunch! As I'm holding a Priority Pass membership, thanks to one of the credit cards I'm holding, I decided to make use of it by going to the Plaza Premium Lounge at the satellite terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Take your pick for breakfast: rice or porridge? From now on, I shall write about my food adventure during the June holidays that have just passed. Let's start with the very early breakfast that my BFF and I had at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. We went for something light as we'd be dropping by at Plaza Premium Lounge after passing though the immigration later on.

Wasabi mayonnaise in the morning, why not? ;) For my short visit to the capital city of Malaysia, I chose to stay at Swiss-Garden Hotel Kuala Lumpur (4*). It's located not too far from the Chinatown area, where I had air mata kucing  (lit. cat's tears) and Madam Tang's muah chee  (Chinese glutinous rice cake coated with ground peanuts) at Petaling Street.

A gamble of flavours in your 'muah chee'! Somewhere along the bustling Petaling Street in the capital city of Malaysia, an old lady by the name of Madam Tang has been selling muah chee (Chinese glutinous rice cake coated with ground peanuts) for many years. It's said that she managed to fend off three different competitors at the heart of the Chinatown over the years.

Blue-tinted rice with succulent 'ayam percik'! I found myself back in the capital city of Malaysia for a short getaway with my mother and brother. I'd always wanted to try nasi kerabu , a local rice dish where the rice grains are dyed blue using the natural dye extracted from butterfly-pea flowers. A quick online search led me to Serai (lit. lemongrass), a cosy restaurant at the glamorous Pavilion KL. 

"A sanctuary of peace and tranquility" at KLIA! I flew with Malaysia Airlines from Singapore to Yangon, Myanmar, intentionally giving myself about 3 hours at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for a stop at the Satellite Golden Lounge. Even though I use a lot of labels for this post, which may lead to a fallible conclusion about the spread of food in the lounge, I have to say that I didn't see a wide variety the other day.

Organic and completely vegetarian nasi lemak! At Simple Life, you can expect vegetarian dishes which are organic and nutritious. The owner of the chain, Mdm. Tracy Ngo, seeks to raise awareness about healthy eating and prove to the public that healthy food can not only be beneficial to health, but also delectable. With a total of 11 branches available at the point of writing, Simple Life's vision and mission is to be a well-known chain in Malaysia to cater to the generation of health conscious people.

Lunch buffet at the highest restaurant in Malaysia! Completed on 1 March 1995, Kuala Lumpur Tower stands majestically on Bukit Nanas (lit. Pineapple Hill), located within a preserved forest in the heart of the city. Being the world's 6th tallest tower at the time of writing, it houses a revolving restaurant serving a plethora of Malaysian and international cuisine. 

So rare to see grape cordial drink! Beltif Hotel (3*), which provides a basic buffet breakfast for its guests, is located a few blocks away from the grand Berjaya Times Square. A walk to the entertainment district of Bukit Bintang takes approximately 15 minutes from the hotel.

Malay fine dining for the first time! A Malay word for 'sesame', Bijan opened its doors in September 2003 to provide a Malay fine dining experience to each and every guest. While the restaurant is located not too far away from the main roads of the shopping and entertainment district of Bukit Bintang, it may be a bit challenging to find without a map. We left our map behind in the hotel room, but we managed to find it without having to resort to taking a cab.

I need Doraemon's multiplying medicine for the chocolate cake! Having missed the '100 Years Before the Birth of Doraemon Expo' which took place in HK in 2012, I felt really sad. However, upon hearing that Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia planned to host '100 Doraemon Secret Gadgets Expo', I made it a point to drop by no matter what. After a trip down the memory lane through seeing the gadgets being showcased, I went to the Doraemon Café.  Pika's advice: If you haven't gone for the event, remember that 23 March is the last day!

Luscious curry with tender chicken thigh! As mentioned previously, the primary objective of my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was to catch the '100 Doraemon Secret Gadgets Expo'. As soon as I reached the capital city after an unexpectedly long bus ride, I had to satisfy my grumbling stomach. I found myself back in the huge Berjaya Times Square, a 48-storey living, entertainment and shopping complex. Rasa Utara (lit. northern flavour) was the first restaurant I spotted, and my legs immediately brought me there.

Decent pork-free buffet breakfast! :) Citin Hotel (3*) is a hotel brand that marks its presence in the bustling cities of Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Even though it's not a luxurious hotel, I won't mind staying there again as it's not only affordable, but also value-for-money. I purposely stayed in the Masjid Jamek branch the other day because it's just a stone's throw away from the ever-busy Masjid Jamek LRT interchange station in central KL.

Full-bodied beef noodle soup! Yet another simple review of the day... Basically I was overwhelmed by the dining choices available in the tall and wide Berjaya Times Square shopping mall. I gave up looking at the directory, and went straight to the Taste of Asia food court which apparently offers a mind-boggling variety of food with its 28 stalls. At first, I didn't know how that I was supposed to go to the front counter to get a prepaid card to pay for the meals until the auntie explained it, in Chinese (thank God, it was understandable).

Cooling effect of 'cat's tears'! I'm going to do a very simple review today. The humble  air mata kucing  (lit. cat's tears) stall located at the junction of Petaling Street and Jalan Hang Lekir has been brewing the ever-popular concoction of dried longans, Monk's fruits (usually known as luo han guo ) and rock sugar.

Mouth-watering charcoal grilled fish! :D When I told one of my friends that I'd be going to KL, she immediately asked me if I liked ikan bakar  (lit. grilled fish) and mentioned Pak Din as I nodded my head. Apparently, Pak Din's ikan bakar  is popular among not only the locals, but also tourists alike. It may be a bit difficult to find the place if you're not taking a taxi, but since I managed to walk to the place with a piece of map, it should be manageable. Okay, I need to admit that I forgot to take note of the prices, so I'm relying on my memory as I quote the prices below. 

Enjoyable koay teow and nasi lemak! Suria KLCC is, in my opinion, a really nice shopping mall to wander about. With so many dining options, it was really difficult for me to decide where to eat though. Located at the top floor (if I'm not mistaken) of the mall, Little Penang Kafe grabbed my attention.

Serving Hokkien Mee since the 1920s! Kim Lian Kee is known to be one of the most famous eateries situated at Petaling Street, at the heart of the Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur. As I looked around while trying to decide what to order, I noticed that most people ordered (at least) a plate of Hokkien noodle, the star of the eatery.

Decent noodle for breakfast :) Greetings from Hong Kong! While Melon and Pikachu are still settling down, they'll still take their time to help me write reviews. Anyway, I won't start doing any HK stuff for now, but I'll review some eateries I visited during my short visit to Kuala Lumpur a while ago.