10 Things To See, Try, And Do In Kuala Lumpur

Happy new year guys! I've yet to set new goals (doing that soon!) but I know that 2016 was an interesting year for me. Formed new friendships, learned life lessons, started to save(hehehe), met an amazing guy, got out of my comfort zone and tried different jobs, the family grew in size(new nephew!)... and capped the year by participating in a 3-days #aboutKL 2.0 exploration with About KL. Kuala Lumpur is a city that I'm proud to call home, so I was excited to be apart of this initiation by Tourism Malaysia and to try new things.

We travelled by foot 70% of the time to get the full experience, it's not KL if it's not hotHOT. So if you're living in the city or from out of town, it's totally doable!! For full enjoyment, please bring: comfy shoes, a bag that allows you to be hands-free, sunnnies, a phone, and money for the non-stop food breaks! I hope you enjoy these 10 things that you can try in Kuala Lumpur. Lezzzz go!

First stop, check yourself in! I go weak in the knees for an all-white bedding, so a staycation at Avenue J Hotel in the heart of KL was a good idea. It has all of the essentials that you need together with a price that you'd like. Plus, it's literally 5mins walk from the Dataran Merdeka square and Central Market. No more feeling bad about forgetting something (USB wire, sunscreen, decided to change to diff shoes) when you're 15mins out of the hotel simply because you can pop in and pop out of #AvenueJHotel justttt likeee thattt.

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Location: 13, Leboh Pasar Besar, 50050 Kuala Lumpur / Rooms: bookings here 

My room overlooks that beautiful building with yellow shutters (see above), so that's a nice sight to have every morning when I wake up. That same beautiful building is actually the place where we had our breakfast, Cafe Old Market Square.

Over 85 years with multiple generations visiting the place, Cafe Old Market Square is also where a market was located before Central Market was built! Hence the name #cafeoldmarketsquare :) My personal faves would be the chee cong fun and nasi lemak. Get 15% off when you place your orders and make payments online at amaxmall. This way, the food will be ready as you arrive. Super convenient if you're in a group.

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Operating hours: 7:30am-5pm on weekdays / Food served: traditional Malay and Hainanese cuisine / Location: 2, Medan Pasar, 50050, Kuala Lumpur / Visit: get 15% off your orders here

Here's one street that I like. I can't count the number of times I've been to Petaling Street. It started in high school for my tuition (to any ex-Kasturi students, heyyyy) but now it's to buy flowers for dinner parties or to source for party supplies because they have plenty of random knick knacks. Skip those branded knock-offs, and go for the food!! I keep going back for the buah berangan, iced longan, iced soya, and this chewy nutty thing-y (below), etc. Afternoon snack craving, cured.

Just found out about the Sin Sze Si Ya temple, which had the most incredible vibrant interior. A must-see for sure. Petaling Street is quite a big area to cover, have fun!!

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Operating hours: 9am-11pm, daily / Location: Along Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur / Getting there: by car, the hop-on hop-off bus or via LRT(stop at Pasar Seni station) / Visit: http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/klareas/chinatown_petaling.htm

Another Petaling Street love is Ali Muthu & Ah Hock. It's the place that I'd go to for a good nasi lemak in this side of the town or evening tea with the kuih muih. Definitely bring your appetite. #AMAH is a reflection of the Malaysian spirit; a bit of Malay, a touch of Indian, & a bit of Chinese. One hidden gem that you will be glad to find in Kuala Lumpur :)

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Operating hours: 8am-6pm, closed on Sunday / Famous for: Nasi lemak ayam berempah / Location: 13 Jalan Balai Polis, 50000 KL / Visit: https: //www.facebook.com/alimuthuandahhock

Central Market Kuala Lumpur features 3 zones to highlight the 3 main races found in Malaysia; Lorong Melayu, Lorong Cina and Lorong India. It's actually a good place to educate young children about Malaysian heritage. Next on the list; learn how to paint batik at one of the workshops held at The Annexe Gallery(behind #centralmarketkualalumpur) where they host film screenings, exhibitions, and cultural shows.

If you're not looking to shop for local items, try eating local food instead at Precious Old China. This is by far the jewel of Central Market in my opinion, from the interior to the food. Order a main meal + a bunch of side dishes and seat back.

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Operating hours: 11am-10pm, daily / Food prepared: Authentic Nyonya cuisine / Location: Lot 2, Mezzanine Floor, Central Market, Jalan Hang Kasturi, 50050 KL / Getting there: by car, the hop-on hop-off bus or via LRT(stop at Pasar Seni station)

Managed to visit the National Museum last August when they had a whole exhibition dedicated towards Malaysia's Independence Day. It was a small one, but still good. The current focus is on Wayang Kulit Nusantara. You need to see up-close on just HOW intricate this form of art is. It's so colourful and the usage of patterns on each of them. True artists. This free exhibition will be available at #jabatanmuziummalaysia until Feb 28th.

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Operating hours: 9am-6pm daily / The tickets: free / Location: Jabatan Muzium Malaysia, Jalan Damansara, Tasik Perdana, 50566 Kuala Lumpur / Getting there: by car, the hop-on hop-off bus, or LRT (here)

If you want some dose of Bollywood to light up your life, walk through Jalan TAR or Little India. Explosion of colours coming from the Indian textiles, jewelleries, and food. We had a tour guide with us to elaborate more on the history behind Little India, like how the spiral-shaped street lamps (shown above) were designed to look like the Indian snack, Murukku! So, if you're unfamiliar with the area, joining a walking tour would be a safe bet.

A 10minutes walk from Little India got us to see the house where Ananda Krishnan grew up in(so cozy). Next to it was Annalakshmi, an authentic vegetarian restaurant situated within their new 5-storey Temple of Fine Arts. All the recipes are carefully planned on a weekly basis and are cooked by the mothers and grandmothers in the group. They call these ladies, mummies. So cute, I cannot. The same mummies actually served us and explained to us which dishes goes together. I wanted to hug each one of them in their beautiful saris. 

On the lower ground is the connecting canteen where they practice the "pay as you wish" system. They believe that you should not turn anyone down and NO ONE should leave the place feeling hungry. Most of the people working at #annalakshmi are volunteers that just have a passion for serving the community. <3 p="">

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Operating hours: 11:30-3pm / 6:10pm, everyday except Monday / Location: 116, Jalan Berhala, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur / Food prepared: Ala carte or buffet, bookings here

NO THANK YOU. That's the first thing that my mama replied when I showed her that I was up in the sky, having desserts. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted. But! If you're one to live life on the edge(literally), having Dinner in the sky would be an exciting way to see the city at night. Make sure to book in advance if you have a specific date in mind. #ditsMalaysia

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Dinner slots: 6:30pm or 8pm daily / Duration: 1 hour/  Food prepared: 3 course meal / Location: MATIC, No. 109, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

If you have one night off to spare, seriously, spend it watching MUD KL. The musical's held in our quaint little cinema of Panggung Bandaraya and will present to you KL's diverse cultures and it's history starting from the 1880 mining boom. It's super interactive(got called onto the stage!) and you'll leave the cinema feeling proud. Proud of the cast, the showmanship, and how far we've come as a country. Skip the movies, and opt for the #mudkl musical. Perfect date night!

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Show times: either 3pm or 8:30pm / The tickets: purchase them here / Location: Panggung Bandaraya, Jalan Raya 50350 Kuala Lumpur / Getting there: by car (park at Dataran Merdeka Underground), the hop-on hop-off bus or via LRT(stop at Masjid Jamek station)

The gold accents and marble countertops sold it to me. A good place to settle in the night with your friends! Having situated right smack in the city, you're basically walking distance to eeeeverythang in Kuala Lumpur! 

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Operating hours: 7am - 4am, daily / Location: 12, Jalan P Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur, 50250 Kuala Lumpur

{This trip was sponsored by AboutKL, an organization that I support dearly}