Lonely Planet Pocket Kuala Lumpur & Melaka , livre ebook

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur
Top Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Markets & Malls
For Kids
For Free
Architecture
Religious Buildings
Outdoors
Galleries & Museums
Four Perfect Days
Need to Know
Kuala Lumpur Neighbourhoods
Melaka Neighbourhoods

Explore Kuala Lumpur & Melaka

Bukit Bintang & KLCC
Walking Tour: Pudu
Chinatown & Merdeka Square
Masjid India & Northern KL
Lake Gardens, Brickfields & Bangsar
Thean Hou Temple
Melaka City

Worth a Trip

Batu Caves

Survival Guide

Survival Guide
Before You Go
Arriving In…
Getting Around
Essential Information
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writer
Welcome to Kuala Lumpur

Glitzy malls rub shoulders with street markets, gleaming skyscrapers loom over colonial buildings, and world-class restaurants vie for patronage with traditional hawker stands: Kuala Lumpur may be racing towards the future, but its rich cultural heritage refuses to be left behind. Even richer in this respect is World Heritage–listed Melaka, settled centuries before its brash northern neighbour and the vibrant sum of its wildly disparate multicultural parts.

Petronas Towers | ARCHITECT: CÉSAR PELLI; NOPPASIN WONGCHUM/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Petronas Towers
KL’s iconic twin skyscrapers.

PK.INSPIRATION_06/SHUTTERSTOCK ©; ARCHITECT: CÉSAR PELLI

Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Islamic Arts Museum
World-class Islamic art collection.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Tun Abdul Razak Heritage Park
Top attractions in a leafy park.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Thean Hou Temple
Vividly decorated multistorey Chinese temple.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Batu Caves
Limestone caves harbouring Hindu temples.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Merdeka Square
The birthplace of Malaysian independence.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Menara KL
Telecommunications tower offering spectacular views.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Dutch Square & the Stadthuys
Heart of the historic city.

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Kuala Lumpur & Melaka Top Sights

Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad
Magnificent Mogul-style mosque.

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Eating

Ask any traveller what they most enjoy about Malaysia and the answer is likely to be ‘the food, of course!’. As two of the acknowledged culinary hotspots in the country, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka are essential stops for any food-focused itinerary, offering culinary styles and cuisines to suit every taste and budget.

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Hawker Stalls, Markets & Food Courts
To sample Malaysian hawker food, head to a street stall (either standalone or in a street market) or to a food court – many of the latter are in shopping malls or other commercial buildings. Place your order with one or multiple vendors, find a seat (shared tables are common) and pay for each dish either at the stall or as it’s delivered to your table. Many locals prefer to eat in air-conditioned food courts during the day but will head to pasar malam (night markets) on the street after the sun goes down.

Coffee Shops & Restaurants
While some kopitiam (coffee shops) operate like food courts, with different vendors under one roof, others are single-owner establishments. Expect to be served noodle and rice dishes, as well as all-day breakfast fare such as toast spread with kaya (coconut-cream jam).
Restoran (restaurants) range from casual, decades-old Chinese, Indian or Malay restaurants to upscale establishments offering contemporary global cuisine and a full bar.

Best Market & Street Food
Bazaar Baru Chow Kit Scoff Malay delicacies in a bustling wet market.
Jalan Alor KL’s most famous food street, with dozens of choices.
Masjid India Pasar Malam A wide range of excellent food stalls at this Saturday-night market.
Madras Lane Popular laksa stop in the heart of KL’s Chinatown.
Kee Ann Food Street Weekend night market in Malaka where you can sample delicious Nonya dishes.

Best Malay Restaurants
Rebung Seemingly endless buffet of traditional Malaysian dishes.
Bijan Malay cuisine with fine-dining flair in a relaxed atmosphere.
Kocik Kitchen Old-fashioned Malakan eatery serving delicious Peranakan dishes.
Nonya 63 Upmarket Nonya eatery set in a historic Malakan shophouse.
Wild Coriander Melaka’s best rendang and tasty local sweets.

Best Indian Restaurants
Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant Delicious vegetarian buffet served in a cultural centre.
Ganga Cafe South Indian dishes and a wide range of healthy juices.
Restoran Yarl An array of tasty Tamil food from northern Sri Lanka.

Best Global Eats
Chō Chǎ Foodstore Delicious modern Asian cooking in hip surrounds.
Joloko Caribbean food and kick-ass cocktails.
Salud Tapas Spanish wine and ingredients in Malaka’s Chinatown.
Fuego Knockout views, excellent cocktails, tacos and tapas.
Cantaloupe Refined French-accented menus and classy surrounds.

Best Cafe Food
Tommy Le Baker Top-grade sourdough bread, pastries, sandwiches and quiches.
Breakfast Thieves Australian-style cafe serving great brunches.
Lisette’s Cafe & Bakery Ottolenghi-style buffet and house-baked pastries.
Eat at 18 Delectable house-baked cakes, cookies and scones.

Drinking & Nightlife

Bubble tea, iced kopi-o, cappuccino, a frosty beer or a dirty martini – KL’s cafes, teahouses and bars offer a multitude of ways to wet your whistle, and Melaka follows in its footsteps. Muslim mores push coffee and tea culture to the fore, but there’s no shortage of honest pubs, sophisticated speakeasies and other alcohol-fuelled venues.

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Bars
Sky-high duties on alcohol can make a boozy night out awfully expensive, but KL compensates for that by offering such fabulous city views from its many elevated venues. In Melaka, pubs at ground level are the drinking holes of choice. The cheapest beers are those brewed locally, such as Tiger and Carlsberg; cocktails are many and varied, but good-quality wine can be hard to source.

Cafes
Traditional Malaysian kopi is popular in KL’s kopitiam (coffee shops). This dark, bitter brew is served in Chinese coffee shops and is an excellent antidote to a case of jet lag.
There’s no need to go without your daily dose of latte or espresso, though. The traditional kopitiam and their contemporary counterparts are rivalled by a host of excellent independent cafes that deal in single-origin beans and employ baristas trained to use classic coffee-making machines as well as third-wave equipment such as AeroPress.

Best Cocktail Bars
Suzie Wong Flamboyant speakeasy cocktail bar with live cabaret.
PS150 Shanghai-style drinking den concealed behind a fake toy shop.
Coley Tiny cocktail bar serving expertly mixed drinks.
Botakliquor Superior cocktails in the heart of KL’s Chinatown.
Omakase + Appreciate A pioneer of KL’s speakeasy scene.

Best Sky Bars
Bar Trigona Classy cocktail bar with sensational city-skyline views.
Heli Lounge Bar Thrilling rooftop drinks in the heart of Bukit Bintang.
Marini’s on 57 Book a seat for a bird’s-eye view of KLCC.
Mantra Bar KL Look across the suburbs to the KL skyline from the rooftop of Bangsar Village mall.
Mai Bar Fun poolside bar overlooking KL Sentral.

Best Beer
Delirium Café Kuala Lumpur Global brews galore and a great terrace.
Gavel A choice of 30-plus beers and a menu of comfort food.
Taps Beer Bar Plenty of microbrews on offer, 14 of which are on tap.
Coliseum Cafe Colonial charmer where Somerset Maugham enjoyed a drink or two.

Best Cafes
VCR Good cold brew and espresso on Bangsar’s main cafe strip.
Heesan Kopi One of the leading contributors to Melaka’s contemporary coffee craze.
Feeka Coffee Roasters Choose from microlot beans or espresso-based drinks.
RGB at the Bean Hive House-roasted beans and a health-conscious menu.
LOKL Coffee Western- or Malay-style brews and hearty breakfasts.
Pulp Coffee Top-quality coffee from a third-wave Singaporean outfit.
Sin See Tai Melakan hipster haven where they take their coffee seriously.
Daily Fix Retro-styled cafe serving dark-roast coffee.

Markets & Malls

Kuala Lumpur is a show pony on the Asian shopping parade, a serious rival to retail heavyweights Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Most of the retail action happens in modern malls, with traditional outdoor markets also popular. Shopping opportunities in Melaka are less enticing – save your ringgit for the capital.

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What to Buy
Skilled artisans may be a dying breed, but you can still find great handmade craft items for sale in KL. Fashion (including traditional textiles such as batik and luxurious kain songket ), contemporary-art galleries, antique stores and interior-design shops are also worth a look.

Best Malls
Pavilion KL Setting the gold standard for Bukit Bintang’s gaggle of malls.
Suria KLCC A retail nirvana at the base of the Petronas Towers.
NU Sentral Department stores, cinemas, a food court and an excellent bookshop.
Bangsar Village I & II Twin malls specialising in locally designed and produced fashion.

Best Markets
Bazaar Baru Chow Kit Sprawling wet produce market with traditional kopitiam (coffee shops).
Pudu Market Mornings at KL’s largest wet market are a colourful, visceral experience.
Central Market Historic art deco building housing plenty of handicrafts stores.
Petaling Street Market Popular night market chock-a-block with counterfeit goods and food stands.
Jonker Walk Night Market A party vibe prevails at this famous Melaka street market.

Best Mall Food Courts
Lot 10 Hutong Always busy, with plenty of famous hawker stalls.
Malaysia Bo