After checking-out from my hotel, went over to Feeka Coffee Roasters, just walking distance from my hotel. If you spot an Asian cafe with lots of non-citizens, especially westerners, for sure their coffee and food are good! Since I will be having lunch soon, I just got some coffee and a croissant. There are really, so many kinds of croissant and my ultimate favourite is the diamond-shaped croissant, which is what Feeka offers. Their croissant was flaky enough, and not too greasy. I find their coffee a little too small as compared to other cafes for the same price.
Feeka Coffee Roasters
19 Jalan Mesui, Bukit Bintang, 50200 KL, Malaysia
0800-2300hrs (daily)
#1: Feeka Coffee Roasters.
#2: Croissant and Iced Latte.
Next, headed back to Central Market to get some souvenirs. This place is by far the cheapest place in KL to get souvenirs and local produce, with rates going as much as 50% cheaper. Got some dried mango, chicken floss and magnets. Love the dried mango that is packed with two kinds of mango, yellow and orange. The yellow version was sweeter and softer, the orange version was less sweet and slightly tougher, so it’s good to alternate in between.
Central Market
Jalan Hang Kasturi, City Centre, 50050 KL, Malaysia
1000-2130hrs (daily)
After which, headed to Yut Kee Restaurant, which is popular for its roasted pork, that is only available on Fridays and the weekends, from 1045hrs till sold out. I reached at about 1130hrs, and ordered a portion of Roast Pork special, which comes with 2 slices of pork, some boiled potato wedges, mixed vegetables (the classic pea, corn and carrot combi), and a bowl of sauce - not quite sure what sauce though; as well as a portion of kaya butter toast. The roast pork was sold out by the time I was done, around 1215hrs, within 1.5hrs! But honestly, I find it quite okay only, wasn’t that fantastic. The skin was more of hard rather than crispy, so it was relatively quite difficult to cut through. The food here is generally kind of okay~ Upon arrival, the place was full and queuing, wasn’t quite sure why this place is so popular.
Yut Kee Restaurant
1 Jalan Kamunting, Chow Kit, 50300 KL, Malaysia
0730-1500hrs (Tue-Sun), Closed on Mondays
Then to Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery, listed as a photo taking spot with its spiral staircase located in the middle of the museum as the main feature. It aims to provide information and to learn more about Malaysia’s economy and its economic history, the importance of economics, Islamic banking and financial planning. After which, I was planning to head over to Deer Park next, but realised I might not have enough time to do so, as I will need to head back to my hotel to get my luggage, then to another 2 cafes and lastly to the airport by 5:30pm, and all these needs about 2hrs, just on travelling time.
#3: Yut Kee Restaurant.
#4: Slicing that crispy pork roulade!
#5: Roast Pork Special.
Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery Sasana Kijang, 2 Jalan Dato Onn, 50480 KL, Malaysia
1000-1800hrs (daily)
#6: The centerpiece of the museum is this spiral staircase that has became a popular photo taking spot.
#7: A little Malaysia-currency lookalike ticket as souvenir!
After getting my luggage, I head down to Sunway GEO Avenue for a cafe called 2D, which has everything decorated in 2D drawings. Many might be familiar with the comic themed cafe in Korea called ‘Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20’, simply named after its address. It has closed down and was renovating into another cafe when I visited it back in February. However, just when I was writing this, I googled again and realised it has actually moved to a bigger location 6 units away instead, and is now named as ‘Cafe Yeonnam-dong 223-14’. So anyway, back to 2D, with the current craze about Brown Sugar Boba Milk, 2D’s signature drink is this, and is sold packaged in a cuboid transparent bottle instead of the usual boba tea plastic cup. But guess what? It was closed for shooting when I arrived! Like what?!! What shit luck I have.. So moving on to my next location..
2D
F-03, 10 Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Sunway GEO Avenue, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
1100-2200hrs (Mon, Tue, Thu-Sun), Closed on Wednesdays
Lastly, to Neighbour’s Coffee Bar before I head to the airport. Neighbour’s is famous for its souffle pancakes, and I got one that is served with cream and mixed berries. This is probably the BEST version of souffle pancakes that I have ever had! It has the exact right taste and texture that a souffle pancake should have - fluffiness, softness, sweetness. Some that I had has a firmer texture and tasted more like a cheesecake. Some was able to achieve that melt-in-your-mouth texture, but was way too soft to hold its own shape. Neighbour’s version called the Fuwa Fuwa Pancake, was really melt-in-your-mouth kind of softness, yet firm enough to be cut through and pick-up. Good stuff needs to be waited, so expect yourself to wait for about 20-30mins before you can get your hands on this amazing pancakes!
Neighbour's Coffee Bar
A-G-1 Seri Gembira Avenue, 6 Jalan Senang Ria, Happy Garden, 58200 KL, Malaysia
0900-1800hrs (Mon-Thu), 0900-2300hrs (Fri-Sun)
#8: The BEST souffle pancake I've tasted so far! This is Fuwa Fuwa Pancake with Seasonal Fruits.
With that being said, this concludes my 8-day west Malaysia trip to Malacca, KL and Genting! It is definitely a really enjoyable trip, especially for us Singaporeans with the really good exchange rate, and located not too far off from home! It is really convenient and affordable to get around, as well as to get from city to city.
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It is about RM80 on Grab between the city and the Airport, a 60mins drive. Alternatively, you can take the KLIA Ekspres, which is a non-stop train between the Airport and KL Sentral, and this takes about 40mins and cost you RM55/trip, RM100 for 2-way. KLIA Ekspres's ongoing promotionincludes a FREE RM10 Grab ride credit per trip (2 sets of RM10 credit for 2-way), which should be enough for you to get to your hotel from KL Sentral, if your hotel is around the city area. If you are not too sure which way is more cost-friendly, you can have an estimated Grab ride calculation from this link.
Since I went into KL from Malacca, and to the KL Airport from a cafe located at Sri Petaling, I did not take the KLIA Ekspres. It was cheaper to go directly to the Airport, then to travel back to KL Sentral, and then take the train to the Airport.
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Here is a summary of how I get from city to city:
#1: Singapore to Malacca
I took a bus from Big Box located at Jurong East, since I stayed in the west. Big Box is connected to Jurong East MRT Station and bus interchange, about 5-10mins walk. There’s a link bridge to Big Box at JEM L2, near UNIQLO. It takes about 3.5hrs to reach Malacca from Malaysia’s checkpoint, via Tues Checkpoint, and you can book the bus from www.easybook.com. Bear in mind, you should only start counting your estimated arrival time after everyone has cleared immigration at Malaysia custom, which took us about 2.5hrs, so total travelling time was 6hrs instead. At Malaysia custom, you will need to bring along your luggage, and any other bags that you have for security scanning, before you load it/them back in the bus. There is other pick-up points from Singapore available, so just check the website for that. For drop-off points in Malacca, it is either Melaka Sentral, which is the bus terminal; or Hatten Hotel Melaka. I chose the latter as it is located nearer to my hotel.
Trip: Big Box (Singapore) to Hatten Hotel Melaka (Malacca)
Price: S$21.20
Indicated Travelling Time: 3hrs 42mins
Immigration Clearance: 2hrs 45mins
Departure from Big Box: 0845hrs
Departure from Malaysia Custom: 1130hrs
Arrival at Malacca: 1515hrs
#2: Malacca to KL
From my hotel, I took a Grab to Melaka Sentral, and collected my pre-book bus ticket at the counter. Similarly, you can book your bus from www.easybook.com. It takes about 2.5hrs to reach KL. This trip is much easier as compared to the Singapore-to-Malacca bus ride as you are not required to get down the bus. Similarly, there is also a few drop-off points in KL that you can choose from, and I chose to alight at TBS, which is one of KL’s bus terminal, and then take a Grab to my hotel located in the city.
Trip: Melaka Sentral (Malacca) to TBS (KL)
Price: S$5.35
Indicated Travelling Time: 2hrs 19mins
Departure from Melaka Sentral: 1015hrs
Arrival at KL: 1235hrs
#3: KL to Genting
Genting is about 1-2hr’s drive from the city of KL. For this trip, I booked a day trip tour from GetYourGuide. It’s a Genting + Batu Caves day trip, inclusive of 2-way cable car ride to Genting priced at RM7. The entire trip, including travelling time takes about 8hrs, with an hour to spend at Batu Caves, and 4hrs to spend at Genting. The planned trip is supposed to be to Genting first, then Batu Caves. However, as it tends to rain every evening at my point of visit, we went to Batu Caves first, and luckily it only started raining when we were back in KL.
Trip: KL to Batu Caves and Genting
Price: S$41.50
Duration of Trip: about 8.5hrs
Pick-up from KL Hotel: 0845hrs
Drop-off back in KL: 1730hrs
#4: KL to Singapore
I took a plane via AirAsia to get back to Singapore from KL. Since it is a low-cost flight, it only comes inclusive of 7kg carry-on baggage, and anything else is at additional costs. You can add-on check-in baggage ranging from 20-40kg priced between S$15-60, or choose the value pack at S$20.55, which includes 20kg check-in baggage, standard seat selection (priced at S$4.45 as an add-on) and a meal (priced at S$3.45 as an add-on). I got an add-on of 25kg check-in baggage, fearing that I will go crazy at shopping with the current advantageous exchange rate, but my luggage only weighed at 12kg in the end. Seat was allocated automatically at check-in, and I was so lucky to be allocated to a hot seat (priced at S$12.40 as an add-on) at row 2. First 5 rows and row 12 and 14 are hot seats, so you get to board the plane first; and being seated at just row 2, I got to alight pretty quickly too!
Trip: KLIA2 (KL Airport) to Changi Airport (Singapore)
Price: S$49.39
Add-on: 25kg check-in baggage, S$17.27
Indicated Travelling Time: 1hr 20mins
Departure from KL: 1930hrs
Arrival at Singapore: 2030hrs
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Exchange Rate at S$1 = RM3.04
Expenses for Day 8
Feeka Coffee Roasters:
- Iced Latte RM12
- Croissant RM6
Grab to Central Market: RM6
Central Market:
- Dried Mango (small) RM10 x2
- Dried Mango (medium) RM15
- Chicken floss RM20
- Clay Magnet RM9.90
- Wood Magnet RM5 x2
Central Market > Yut Kee: RM1.60
Yut Kee Restaurant:
- Roast Pork Special RM20.50
- Kaya butter toast: RM3.20
Grab to Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery: RM5
Grab back to Hotel: RM8
Grab to 2D: RM31
Grab to Neighbour’s Coffee Bar: RM19
Neighbour’s Coffee Bar:
- Fuwa Fuwa Pancake with Seasonal Fruits RM22
- Latte RM11
- Iced Latte RM12
Grab to Airport: RM72.80
Total Expenses for Day 8: RM305 = S$100.33
Previous Spending: S$942.11
FINAL TOTAL: S$1,042.44