Home  >  Holiday / Summer 2023

Wed 20th Dec – KL

Published date

Last modified date

Author

I’ve been impressed at how different I am finding Malaysia to Thailand. Driving into Malaysia yesterday, there were no little towns along the highway and no sight of hawkers. In Thailand, you cannot go 10 minutes on any road without crossing a lone food cart venue, ladelling steaming pork noodle broth for motorcyclists. The periodic, plangent chanting from the mosque is also different. The food is less vegetable based and to get a plate of greens I have to order a second dish. So far I haven’t seen many of the disintegrating tin roof shacks that congested the outskirts of Thai cities. Malaysia feels less friendly than Thailand, although I wonder how much of that impression is based on the fact they are clearly Muslim and I am clearly not.

We have what is one of my favourite tours of the trip for the first half of the day: street food tour. It’s really really good. There’s lots of food, a bit of walking, and the local Malaysian guide copes well with our shitty, fussy British. He’s also pretty young, maybe a few years older than me, and regales us of tales with what young Malaysians think politically. He is big on hipster culture.

I am full and hot by 2pm. I am struggling to find things to do in KL for the free afternoon. The city seems like 10 little cities, stitched together by large motorways. With no clear contender for day plan, I spend the afternoon in the hotel room reading a book and sneak in a nap. I am ready to wrap up this phase of my break, and meet Declan in Singapore on Christmas Eve. Just a few more, heart stopping, heart wrenching cups of Kopi to go.

Nasi Lemak, beef rendeng and roti chani for breakfast.

What looks like a whole container of Chat Thai goopy drink. Unfortunately, having gorged myself on roti, am too full to test the theory.
A fruit vendor pushing his cart, ready for the day. Where do the food carts live at night?
A historic Malaysian house dwarfed and nearly consumed by modern high rises.
Spot the cow head. No pork here, as a result of Muslim majority.
The market was meticulously arranged. It’s in a region called Chow Kit, which our tour guide refers to the ghetto of KL. It began with fruit, then vegetables, then dried meats (this photo), then fish and finally fresh meats and poultry.
Corn pancake crepe filled with peanuts and sugar.
An afternoon storm keeps me inside the hotel for the afternoon. It’s currently the rainy season, although in terms of temperature there’s little variation throughout the year. The coldest month is 26deg and the hottest month is 27deg.
I find it difficult to make a plan for free time in KL, where the motor ways throb through the city like veins.

Categories:Holiday​Summer 2023

Cait

Related Posts

4 Responses

  1. Hello VGW! I learnt a new word today – plangent. Glad the food continues to be of interest. You should look up up Helen Goh on Instagram. She is a few days behind you – just moved from Penang to KL. Love M xx

  2. As I was reading the blog I asked mum what did plangent mean and she said that is exactly what she said. Your blog is exciting, enjoyable, occasionally eviscerating and also educational.

    The red sauce on the blue plate looks like it could burn straight through your oesophagus.

    I much prefer Thai food to where you are now.

    Have you been drinking lots of green goopy on your holiday. How does it compare to chat Thai. How much would one drink cost.

    So much to say about the cow head.

    As a meat eating person living a privileged economic life I feel anxious about making any statements about this matter.

    As a child I also killed and ate our home grown chickens.

    However, even for me that is confronting.

    I admire the no waste philosophy but I am so happy that I don’t have to consider eating any part of the cow head.

    If you wanted to cause national outrage in Australia all you would have to do is an entire episode of master chef where it starts with them buying the cow head from the market and then having to cook a meal with it and then serve it to the judges. I can hear people vomiting already.

  3. I am glad you are enjoying the blog because something tells me that you are not going to ever go to South East Asia.

    I agree, I preferred the Thai food too. It was easier to eat fresh vegetables too with the Thai food, which is important when you eat three meals out a day for a month…

    I haven’t had even one green goopy drink! The coffees are so sweet that I can’t have another sweet drink.

    I can’t even think of how you would cook the cow head. It had all of its fur still on… That’s a fantastic idea for MasterChef. You should pitch that. I would definitely watch it and you’d get a lot of online engagement!