Day Four (Down the Highlands to Kuala Lumpur): Ipoh - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur Trip 2013

6am - Rise and shine! Not that i have much of a choice since the parents have the tendency to wake up very early in the morning! I am only thankful that Cameron Highlands didn't have much of a night life and i managed to sleep relatively early the night before. 

After the complimentary hotel breakfast, it's time for us to take the pre-arranged shuttle to the capital of Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur! As you could see, it was drizzling and the weather was so chilly! 

Whenever friends ask if it is recommended to stay in Cameron Highlands for more than one night, my standard reply would be "only if you have signed up for tours"! Otherwise, it would be pretty boring unless your purpose is to relax with minimal disturbance. 

Drove past the small town of Ringlet which was still around 45 kilometers away from the Tapah exit of North South highway.

Friends are aware i am the type who would like to make full use of my time to travel within a country. If i am going to spend over 10 hours to get back to Singapore, i might as well stopover somewhere along the way; hence, the visit to Kuala Lumpur before going home. 

The first time i did that at Cameron Highlands, i had to take a taxi (sorry, there wasn't any meter) to a bus station in Tanah Rata where i had to endure a 4-hour journey on a 40-seater bus. The most memorable part was when the bus pulled up at a rest station and there were literally hundreds, possibly thousands of black flies! 

My apology; i digress. This time round, i did a bit of research and found a much better option via Kang Holidays. I forked out only RM35 per person (similar to what i paid for the 40-seater) that came with a hotel pick up!

It was a direct trip with only a short 10-minute toilet stopover and the best part was we practically had the whole 13-seater van to ourselves; saved for a quiet Caucasian tourist who was at the back! You may click HERE for booking and more information on the available transportation services.

Spectacular view of the mountains along the highway! 

8.00am - Shuttle left Rosa Passadena hotel. 11.15am - Reached Times Square (Bukit Bintang). I am so grateful to have found Kang Holiday! Given my last experience, I was fully expecting to reach our destination earliest by 12noon.

KWC Fashion Mall

This was our first stop after exiting the service apartment because i have heard it was comparable to the Platinum Mall in Bangkok! Frankly, it was a tad disappointing and prices were not exactly economical.

You may refer to the above for a rough gauge on what to expect. 

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure too. Of course, i could be biased since there were a lot more lady wear. However, it was a Saturday yet the mall wasn't packed. Try walking into Platinum Mall on a Saturday.

Berjaya Times Square seemed very near right?! I had the same impression too but my attempt to walk from the hotel to Kenaga Wholesale City mall was a failure! We eventually took a cab...

KL Chinatown

A trip to Kuala Lumpur is never complete without visiting Petaling Street (Chinatown), especially when i am bringing along my folks! 

It was teeming with people; both locals and foreigners! As i have always said, i don't have a problem with navigating in KL Chinatown, so long i don't deviate beyond the touristy section. 

The daily night market was still in the process of being set up but i am not that interested; knowing it was just a lot of stalls selling fake branded goods.

Food for the win! Must try number one: Air Mata Kucing!

Must try number two: the nutritious Gui Ling Gao (Herbal Jelly) from 恭和堂. You can find the shop at both ends of Petaling Street. By the way, despite the word "jelly", it wasn't vegetarian and had tortoise shell as one of the ingredients. 

In my recent trip, i chanced upon must try number three: KL hokkien meet from Lian Bee! Please click HERE for my review. 

Hm...... Why is this phrase so popular?! 

Dad was complaining we had eaten way too much, again! To appease him, i suggested walking back to our hotel which was essentially a straight road down along Jalan Pudu

Walked past the imposing KWC Mall.

Arrived at Times Square shopping centre in 15-20 minutes where the Christmas atmosphere was in full force. Damn, it was almost three months and i have yet to finish blogging about the trip. 

Uniqlo was having their opening sale! 

After resting for an hour at our now-tidied hotel room at NS Golden Green Serviced Suite @ Berjaya Times Square, we hit the street again to check out Pavilion shopping center.

Christmas decorations along the street at Bukit Bintang; KL shopping belt.

The crowd was incredibly huge and i don't think i have seen something even close to this in Singapore; save for special festive periods like CNY bazaar. 

Pavilion was amazing and truly a shopping paradise! I went at the right time i guess with many stores having discounts and the whole place was immersed in the Christmas mood! 

It was almost like Christmas wonderland.

Without the snow. 

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For Day One (Ipoh), click HERE. 

For Day Two (Ipoh), click HERE. 

For Day Three (Cameron Highlands), click HERE. 

For an overview of my trip, 

Click HERE.

Original KL Hokkien Mee - The Real Deal (Lian Bee Hokkien Mee 联美福建 面) @ Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia]

The great Kon was insistent that i have gone to the wrong place when i blogged about this supposedly authentic KL hokkien mee at Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur known as Kim Lian Kee. 

He remembered clearly the shop he went to was extremely dirty and the environment was far from being a "restaurant" concept. I thought he could have recollected wrongly until a reader commented the same thing as well!

Hence, in my most recent trip, i was determined to find out the actual location of this original KL hokkien mee shop and came upon Lian Bee after checking with a few friendly locals in the Chinatown vicinity. 

At first glance, i admit i was almost hesitant to step further. 

It was nestled in the back lane, sandwiched between two rows of shophouses; one of which housed an eatery. That should not pose a problem; if not for the fact that i was nearly splashed with dirty water by one of the kitchen staff from that eatery! There were also quite a couple of black flies that seemed to have made the street stall their home. 

Thankfully, Dad didn't complain (a rarity) and i happily plonked myself onto the plastic chair after ordering two items; the signature KL hokkien mee and bee hoon.

Bee Hoon

I have no doubt the wok essence was intensely infused into the vermicelli but at the back of my tongue, it was a tad too dry for my liking. Most tze char stalls in Singapore would make it wetter coupled with a savouriness that was more irresistible!

KL Hokkien Mee

This was just EPIC!!!!!!

The noodles didn't feature that overwhelming alkaline taste detested by many friends, the texture complemented perfectly with the thick glossy black sauce and the wok hei was obviously a key player in upping the taste / smell factor! 

I did complain about the pathetic serving of crispy pork lard in Kim Lian Kee. It was another story altogether in Lian Bee; i had the good  fortune that day to bite into many enormous pieces of extremely yummy yet terribly sinful pork lard! Maybe that's why the mee tasted so so so so so good!

The best KL hokkien mee so far! 

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Location

Along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok, 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Map

As above.  It's actually very easy to find; just remember Lian Bee is opposite the Chinese style arch along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok; cross the traffic light (if you are at the main entrance of Petaling street) and turn to your left. 

Opening Hours
Open daily from 4.30 till 10.30pm.
Closed on Tuesdays.

Menu

As above

Price

Small - RM 6.50

Medium - RM 11.00

Large - RM 13.00

Review of NS Golden Green Serviced Suite @ Berjaya Times Square [Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia]

Berjaya Times Square, with its more than ten levels of retail therapy and Malaysia's biggest indoor theme park, is no stranger to many frequent visitors. I have been wanting to stay at the hotel wing since it started operation ten years ago but budget consideration was always on the back of my head. 

Travelling with my parents this time, i decided to splurge a bit more by checking out Berjaya Times Square hotel (which also has the added advantage of being very close to the place where we would take the coach back to Singapore).

Imagine my confusion when i clicked on the map function for Agoda.com; how come there are so many hotels WITHIN Times Square?! Many of them were in fact clusters of service apartments located in the East Tower (otherwise known as Tower A). 

Since i have to book for a three-bedder anyway and the indicative price was pretty reasonable, i opted for the superior suite at NS Golden Green Serviced Suite!

Let's start with the good things; first of which was the fantastic, panoramic view at the suite assigned to us on the 28th floor! Even my parents were kind of taken aback by the breathtaking scene since they knew i am a miser when it comes to overseas accommodation. 

The suite was large and even came with an attached living room! 

In addition to a fridge and wash basin, there was even a microwave oven! Honestly, we didn't use any of them although i believe i might likely fill the fridge with ice cream, yakult and soft drinks if i went with the Gang of Four. 

A comfortable double bed and a single bed! I admit the furnishing could do with a bit of touch up although decoration, or the lack of it, has never been much of a problem for me, 

Bathroom and washroom were separated - as you could probably gauge from the above, it was a good sized washroom rarely found in hotels without paying top prices. 

Even the bathroom came with both shower and long bath facilities! 

Complimentary wifi in room could sometimes mean a few rooms sharing the same wireless signal. In this serviced apartment, you are guaranteed to have your own router which means surfing was WAY faster! 

You are also given access to the swimming pool and fitness centre; none of which i made use of. In fact, i didn't even have the time to check out the fitness centre! 

Young kids might also enjoy the small playground next to the pool. Older kids should consider paying Cosmo World indoor amusement park a visit instead! 

Just to give you a basic understanding of the suite, you may refer to the not-to-scale floor plan i drew for your easy reference. 

Now's the time to rant about the bad things we encountered. There was no physical counter for you to check in and you MUST make a phone call to a Malaysian number printed on the hotel voucher. Someone would then meet you OUTSIDE Tower A aka Berjaya Times Square East (not Tower B, where the hotel's check in counters were located).

This same person would then bring you up to a non-airconditioned hotel room on the 22nd level where there is a counter for you to pay your deposit and collect your room cards. 

The sight that greeted us as we entered the suite was shocking; bed that had not been tidied up, rubbish bin was filled up to the brim and litter was everywhere! This is the first time i have had such an experience!

Bad luck continued with issues like CRT television wasn't working (due to a loose cable), no towel, password for router was incorrect etc. Thankfully, the Bangladeshi worker was able to rectify them when we returned to the suite a few hours later. 

Another problem was one of inconveniences. The use of access cards for rooms is common practice among hotels. However, it has a much wider use here and you NEED it to enter the main lobby, exit to the shopping centre and even to press the 28th floor button in the lift! 

Most people would disregard the terms and conditions sheet. I happened to glance through and you know what i found? Daily housekeeping is from 9.30am till 5.00pm and there is no such service on Sunday! I could only wish clean freaks all the best if they happen to book for NS Golden Green Serviced Suite...

p.s. i am unsure if this is the same situation with the rest of the serviced suites in Berjaya Times Square that are operated by different companies.

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Location

East Wing (Tower A), Times Square,

No 1, Jalan Imbi, Bukit Bintang,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Price via Agoda.com

One night stay on Saturday - S$93.48

[no breakfast and includes all taxes]