Monday, February 15, 2010

Tehbus on Tour - Kuala Lumpur (part 2)

So here we go, round 2 of my Kuala Lumpur round up including markets, sights, my cousins big fat Chinese wedding and roti:

Out and about in KL
Out and about in KL
Out and about in KL
Out and about in KL
Brickfields Night Market/"Pasar Malam" - One of the things I had on my list of things to do was visit a pasar malam. These markets are spread across the city and can be found at different destinations on different days. Some are larger than others and focus around selling clothes and food, but most appeared to be focused towards the locals as opposed to tourists. My family were quite reluctant to go as they can get ridiculously busy and parking is an absolute nightmare. However, we did head to the end of a local pasar malam in Brickfields to pick up some fruit. In my whole trip, I must have tried about 5 different varieties of fruit that I had never tried before. These include dokong and chiku.

Eating in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur in the smog - KL is an ever expanding metropolis and wherever you look, you are bound to spot a crane or another new building reaching for the sky. With all this work comes large amounts of pollution. In this picture, you can just about make out the Petronas Towers and KL towers in the distance.

Out and about in KL
Petronas Twin Towers - The worlds tallest building until 2004, this structure towers over the rest of Kuala Lumpur. I managed to head up to the SkyBridge which links the 41st floors of the towers and offers a pretty great view over Kuala Lumpur. Although free, the tickets are very popular and are only handed out for the day so get there early to avoid disappointment.

Out and about in KL
Out and about in KL
Out and about in KL
Restaurant Rue Ee - A Chinese restaurant located in OUG (Overseas Union Gardens) and a particular favourite of my family. It's two specialities are its fried hor fun (flat rice noodles) and filled yam ring. The hor fun is fried in a very hot wok to give the noodles a smoky flavour and is served in a viscous gravy packed with pork, squid and greens. The yam (or taro) ring has the texture of a very smooth and slightly sweet potato and is fried to retain its shape. Filled with a simple stir fried chicken and vegetables, the yam is an excellent accompaniment. Both are excellent, and well worth a visit for these two dishes alone.

Out and about in KL
Cendol - In such a hot country (it was averaging about 35C during my stay) it is essential that you stay hydrated and stay cool. One of Malaysia's most common desserts helps you fulfill both these criteria. Essentially, it is shaved ice with a variety of possible toppings, normally comprising of red beans, coconut milk and grass jelly.

Keong and Christina get hitched
My cousins big fat Chinese wedding - The main event, and the main reason why I had flown to Malaysia. Now I wasn't really prepared for the shenanigans involved in a Chinese wedding. By the time I had landed, a whole pig had already been involved, as well as other fruit and meat related exploits. The Chinese really like their food. On the actual day of the wedding, a Takeshi Castle style mission was launched to "sieze" the bride. My cousin and his convoy of 14 friends headed for his brides house only to be faced with 19 of her cohorts and a variety of humiliating tasks.

Out and about in KL
Out and about in KL

After enduring various embarrassing poses, eating dried scorpions and other strange tasks, he and his cohorts were successful in retrieving the bride. The next phase of the wedding, and arguably the most important part, is the tea ceremony. This practise involves older members giving red packets of money know as ang pow ( I am Hokkien, I guess some of you guys might recognise it as Hong Bao) to the married couple. In return, we are served a sweetened Chinese tea. Younger members serve the tea and receive ang pow. Traditionally, its a good way for the bride to meet all the extended family (I must have gained at least 5 new aunties and uncles on this trip alone!).

Keong and Christina get hitched
Out and about in KL

The final phase of the wedding is the dinner and when you consider that there were over 550 guests (those aunties and uncles again), it is one rather full on experience. Crazy wedding MC's, elaborate entries for food (the first course at a wedding always gets a theatrical entrance), more dress changes than you can shake a stick at (and not just from the bride) and cheering "Yam Seng" as loud and as long as possible. This is an experience that everyone should experience at least once in their life.

There are so many other things to talk about and mention, but here are a few more pics of food, where I ate them and what they are. Kuala Lumpur is a fantastic city and I recommend a visit if you have never been. And you have my word, you will never go hungry!

Out and about in KL
Roti "Paper" or "Tissue" and Teh Tarik ("pulled" tea) at a Bangsar Mamak stall

Out and about in KL
Ipoh Chicken at a restaurant on Jalang Gasing, PJ

Out and about in KL
Ikan Bakkar (Portuguese grilled fish) at the Oasis food court in Mid Valley Mall

For the rest of my pics, you can find them here.

5 comments:

Greedy Diva said...

I loved the night markets in KL!

Hollow Legs said...

Reading this has made me feel even more determined to get to my cousin's wedding in Hong Kong...!

LexEat! said...

Such gorgeous photos! And what an incredible wedding! I knew about the tea ceremony but not the precursor!

I have a friend moving to KL, so will definitely send her your posts.

Wild Boar said...

Your cousin's white suit is awesome! I wish I had worn one for my wedding dinner now.

Bette said...

There is only one thing better than shopping in Hong Kong, and that's eating. From small noodle joints to upscale French restaurant, you will locate all sorts of restaurant, eating hall and snack stall on earth in Hong Kong. Here I found small amount of Hong-Kong-styled snacks online (yummiexpress.freetzi.com). This is definitely a good choice before I have $ for another trip.