Undercover Boss: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Finally, I find some time to do up this entry. There is always post-trip madness when you get home.

'Good Fren' and I made our way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week for a short getaway.

Using booking.com, we ended up staying at Fraser Place, i.e. the serviced apartment arm of F&N. There are 2 major Singaporean serviced apartments providers that operate within in the region and beyond.

The Ascott Group (Ascott/ Somerset/ Citadines)
Fraser Hospitality (FraserSuites/ FraserPlace/ FraserResidence)

Little did we know that this FraserPlace serviced apartment in KL was so new. It'd only just been officially opened a few months ago.

Located in KLCC's Golden triangle and as part of commercial/serviced apartment development, FraserPlace is a convenient and comfortable option for leisure and business travellers who want to rest in a space bigger than a hotel room.

The bright and cheery reception on the 2nd floor. This bird cage theme repeats itself later elsewhere in KL.

This is the smallest possible room in FraserPlace. It comes with a large bathroom (separate shower and bath), a kitchenette that is the same as ours back home, a small living area, a full-size wardrobe, a desk and a king-size bed with a very comfortable firm mattress, pillows and high quality sheets.

We like the mattress very much. It's a Slumberland.

This picture summarises KLCC neatly. At the centre of it all are the Petronas Towers and other commercial buildings. One cannot help but to notice the construction activities going on at every corner, and the presence of a huge CBD live-in population.

Wanna know how Singapore 'progressed' so fast?
Use a simple proxy.
For the past years, construction in Singapore is allowed to go on 24-7 (with some ineffective limits on noise-generating activities at night. Only recently, MEWR announced more limits).
In KL, construction activities are allowed between 8am to 4pm only. That's like 1/3 that of Singapore. So, yes, Singapore's progress is at lightning speed, but at whose cost?

I like this building near where FraserPlace is. It is under construction.

Another reason why we choose FraserPlace is because it's about 5 minutes' walk away from the Angsana Spa. =))))

I got so excited that I forgot to take pics before the session. Here you witness the aftermath of a 2-hour session. Bliss..... My therapist was a Malaysian lady with large firm hands, while 'Good Fren's therapist was a small, soft-spoken and skilful Thai lady. A foreign worker who has been in Malaysia for 3 years.

After the massage session, we were both zonked out. Headed back to FraserPlace and spaced out for a while, before making our way to Jalan Maharajalela for dinner.

For a new operation, the FraserPlace reception service was efficient, helpful and friendly. Here we see the lobby person showing our cabby where we headed for dinner using Google Maps. =)

Check out this building. It is right beside a major road with a flyover. In Singapore, this is hardly the type of place you'd look in to find fine dining/ European food. Behind the clump of bushes, there is a dark door into a dark restaurant.

So dark that the digicam did not work too well.

But behind those doors... A French restaurant called Cafe Cafe is revealed... One is enchanted by the chandeliers and crystals hanging from the high ceiling.

It's just sooooooooo dark...

Did I mention 'major road' and 'flyover'?

The reason why we ended up at this restaurant is TimeOut KL. Initially, we had wanted to go to this wildly popular and gay joint called Frangipani, but it was closed for the evening. So we thought... Ok, Cafe Cafe instead. It's one of the Top 40 Restaurants in KL.

I must be fair and conclude that... the experience of its ambience is wonderfully surreal.

However, the food is a disappointment. We ordered the most expensive steak ('Good Fren' loves steak), the lamb rack, the deep-fried brie and this... the foie gras with scallop.

Only the bree and the foie gras (not the scallops though) are ok... And one does not really need to do much to bree and foie gras... Oh yes... The glass of cab I had was fine too. We were not interested in desserts by then, and 'Good Fren' was starting to miss his favourite restaurant in Singapore.
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The next day was all about food...

Starting with lunch at the basement of Starhill Gallery...

It felt like an underground Clarke Quay. Delightful to explore and discover.

Not merely a feast for the stomach, but also a feast for the eyes and other senses.

And then we found this. Luk Yu Teahouse...
Eh? Didn't we go to THE Luk Yu in Hong Kong?

We were told that this Luk Yu in KL had nothing to do with that Luk Yu in Hong Kong. O_o

But the name is the same and the concept is similar?!

See? Birdcages again... This time... Chinese-y birdcages...

Down to business... The fried carrot cake was delicious...

The rest of the dim sum was so-so...

But this bun... with the yolk and everything sweet and sticky overflowing... It's heavenly... Mmmmmm...

I was so stuffed... I had to walk it off... So we made our way to Pavilion next door.

It's so huge that I regretted ever suggesting the walking!!

Just shops after shops after shops....

We must have spent at least 1 hour walking... It's really hard work...

For dinner, we headed to Suria at KLCC... =)) MORE FOOD!!!

The Little Penang Kafe was recommended to me by a foodie Singaporean friend.

It's on the 4th floor.

A relaxed joint that resembles a modern kopitiam.

The food... I tell you... Is much better than Cafe Cafe and at a fraction of the price...

The assam laksa is perfect. If Blinky could take spicy foods, he would love it too. The chunks of fish in this bowl could feed... 2 fat cats.