Raining Ringgits in Kuala Lumpur

Let me start off by saying that Malaysia was absolutely phenom. Got a taste of a little bit of everything; the bustling capital city of Kuala Lumpur to the seemingly laid back nature of the north west island of Penang. Technically Kuala Lumpur wasn't our first "official" stop butttt it kind of was. Our itinerary for zee trip was as follows:

Depart via plane Wednesday evening for Singapore (night time ish) & arrived late that night/wee hours of Thursday

Depart via bus for Kuala Lumpur from Sings early Thursday afternoonish and arrive in KL in zee evening

Chills in KL from Thurs-Sun

Depart via bus for Penang from KL early Sunday morning and arrive in Penang in the afternoon

Chills in Penang Sun-Thurs

Depart via plan Thurs evening for Singapore, connecting flight in KL+6 hour lay over and arrive in Singapore Friday morns

Chills in Singapore Fri-Sun

Depart via plane Sunday morns for HK

Complicado right? Meh, it was worth it so no bother. Anywhoo, back to KL aka Kuala Lumpur - fantastico. This is def a must see on your adventures in South East Asia. We had about 3 days in the city & I feel like that is enough time to see most big attractions, meet new friends, discover delish food & have some chills wherever you may be. So what did I do? Visited chinatown&little india, strolled the infamous "Petalling Street", learned that Jalan actually means street (true story), climbed the Batu Caves & the gazillion steps, almost got attacked by a ferocious monkey, checked out the luminous Petronas Towers, checked out some temples, experienced a "fish pedicure" and roamed the streets like the lost tourist I was. Oh and ate mucho mucho, duh!! Fave part? Definitely the Petronas Towers - they were so gorgeous & it was extra nice since we met up with some friends from school that happen to be in KL. Where did we stay? BackHome Hostel, which by the by is ranked #1 hostel in Malaysia & let me say it def lived up to its name. Great staff, great location, great room size, just great overall! Enough w this bantering, time of photographic memories. Take a look!

entrance to Petalling Street aka Jalan Petalling aka crazy cheap

tots real, I swear

  

this guy is a legend, kung fu nut roasting master

first meal in KL & 100% vegetarian

some noodle goodness for others

more pics from our first lunch

capturing some sweat beats from the intense heat

street food in little india

henna tattoo for this bride-to-be

Batu Caves - glorious sight to see

Most popular Hindu shrine outside of India - Murugan statue

most aggressive set of stairs though

view inside the caves

another view

playful monkeys that surround the caves

monkeying around (srsly, how could I not??)

Petronas Towers 

one of my fave pics w 2 babes

mini ivey reunion anyone? 

Chinese Temple decked out for the Chinese New Year in KL

so much beautiful colors & lights in these temples

love this one

@ a food court in KL

fish tank pedicures... a wee bit scared perhaps? 

probably one of the weirdest feelings ever

THE MOST delicious - Hot&Roll at Central Market is a MUST!! http://www.facebook.com/hotandroll.cm

enjoying her hot&roll 

Lessons Learned (part uno)

Oh herro again! It's been a few days now since my last delicious posting (dim sum anyone?) so I obvs must update what's been going on. HKU (aka Hong Kong University aka where I go to school at the moment aka if you didn't know that...well now you know) gave us a week off for the Chinese New Years. Naturally, myself & a few friends decided to use this opportunity to TRAVEL & discover some awesomeness around South East Asia. Our destination? Singapore & Malaysia. This post, however, is not about those increds adventure (don't fret they will come) but more about what I LEARNED from this trip. Think of it as a sneak peek to what's to come this week. ENJOY!!

1. Always, let me repeat, ALWAYS bring your camera charger with you. Since smarty pants over here forgot to do this (awks), I was only able to catch the first 4 days of my 10 day trip. BUT don't fret my pets, I captured some memories with the cameras of my fellow companions (slash will steal some of their pics). This may or may not be the reason why it will be a wee bit longer to post about my trip. FYI. Sorry.

2. Travelling in a group of 9 people is very difficult. Especially when you don't know everyone very well. And it's Chinese New Years slash most hostels are booked up. And everyone has different opinions on what they want to do, where they want to go etc... Just don't do it unless you are all BFFL's but even that could be dangerous...

3. Rotti is quite possibly the most delicious thing ever. 

4. Malaysia is MEGA cheap. Ultra-Holy-Sh*t-Cheap.

5. Don't underestimate places "you've never heard of" when travelling, sometimes they are the BEST times during a vacay/trip.

6. I learned how to make some basic Indian dishes. NBD. Ok, maybe BFD (big f*** deal - gotta keep it PG people... Hi Mom!).

7. No matter how much you try, you're hair will look awful whenever you travel. Just give up. Or buy extra hairspray.

That's all the knowledge I have for now, here are some teaser pics while I retrieve photographics from some peeps. 

Real "iced tea" - SO GOOD

Petronas Towers @ Night

Glorious food was had (obvs)

DimSum HK: Take 1

As promised, this blog is about travelling, experiences & above all else FOOD. I've been in Hong Kong for little over a week & instead of blogging about my daily whereabouts (I'd like to think I can be a bit more organized with my blog content) I will try to structure the posts by popular areas, cuisines, specific restaurants etc... Enough jibber jabber, on to the good stuff. I am extremely thrilled to announce that I was able to visit 2 of the "best" & most "authentic" dim sums in the last few days (according to Times http://www.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1850110_1850124_1850300,00.html & the Michelin Guide).

The first is the Lin Heung Tea House, located on the busy street of Wellington in the Central neighborhood. I went with 2 other exchange students & it was a bit of trek to get there. It's a bit far from the hustle & bustle of the main areas of Central but definitely worth the trip. I suggest you go with the least amount of people as possible because this place gets packed fast, is always busy & very difficult to find a spot. Luckily a nice gentleman invited us to sit with him at his table (it is customary to share tables at busy restaurants, so expect to meet new strangers all the time while you're in HK). It's a very traditional restaurant and strictly Cantonese, but again a nice gentleman who spoke English sitting behind us helped us with ordering and showing us how everything works (fun fact: he was a Western alum, what are the odds?!)

busy busy for Lin Heung

 Val learning how to "clean" our dishes

 lotus seed bun=DELICIOUS & a house special, absolute MUST

 fried noodles w BBQ pork & chinese broccoli - drool worthy 

beef siu mai 

 shrimp siu mai

brown sugar cake is also a house special and so light&delish

 our new friend from Western (we had to)

 The second place we visited (this time with 5 people) was the Tim Ho Wan, situated in tucked away side street in the busy Mong Kok area. Not only is this place rated a 1 star in the Michelin Guide but it is also the cheapest restaurant featured/starred in the Michelin Guide... in the world!! It is a hole in the wall kind of place, very tiny & cramped (fitting max 30 some people) but the food is to die for. They have a fairly limited menu compared to most dim sum places, but all dishes are incredibly scrumptious and savory. When we first arrived we were given a ticket and told it would be a 2 hour wait. It was worth it.

 first order featuring dumplings of all sorts, glue rice & custard buns

 what they are famous for BBQ pork baked buns

totally worth it

 val enjoying the tea

 biting into some dumplings

 a little bit of everything

 spring rolls, siu mai, more dumplings, BBQ pork buns etc etc...

 tiny tiny place

 from the outside

our cook hard at work

Overall, I really loved both of these restaurants. Now that I have these "must eats" out of the way, I am excited to explore more restaurants all over HK & stumble upon some hidden jewels along the way. Enjoy these drool worthy pictures.