Imbi Market

One of the ways of experiencing traditional Kuala Lumpur is by paying a visit to its wet markets. Imbi Market is one of them and located only a few minutes away from Bukit Bintang. The market’s original name, “Pasar Bukit Bintang”, stems from a time when it was still located in the area of today’s Lot 10 shopping mall. While the location of the market has changed, its nature is still the same. Locals go there to buy everything from vegetables to flowers, seafood and meat. Even clothes, magazines and toys are for sale. Some patrons don’t come here for their groceries though, they just stop by to have breakfast or their mid-morning break. Imbi Market is also a popular destination for KL visitors who like to explore KL beyond its malls and 5-star hotels.

By 11am the market is slowly closing down. So it is best to make Imbi Market your breakfast destination one day during your stay in KL. If you like hawker food, you won’t be disappointed. Everything is fresh and “home-made” – from delicious “Kueh” (bite-sized desserts, mainly made of rice) to noodles and “Crispy Popiah” (a sort of spring roll with a filling of roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, dried shrimps and other goodies). Oh yes – and don’t forget to order a cup of Hainanese coffee. If you are not sure what to choose, just do it like the locals – you can’t go wrong with this.

Imbi Market is located on Jalan Kampung and can best be reached by taxi. Open daily from 6am until 11am, except Mondays.

Lot 10 Hutong – where excellent food comes with long tradition

We can’t say it often enough: downtown KL is a food paradise that caters to every pocket and taste. One of the great options in our neighborhood is undoubtedly Lot 10 Hutong, a somewhat different food court in the basement of Lot 10 shopping center. As the name suggests, this “food village” specializes in local Chinese cuisine. The operators wanted to create a space for famous local street food vendors and by doing so preserve this aspect of Malaysia’s rich food heritage. And indeed, many of the stalls in Lot 10 Hutong are family owned businesses that look back to generations of cooking experience. Unlike other food courts which are based on an open concept, the food village is more like a labyrinth of walk ways where every corner offers different culinary delights. From pork noodles to Hokkien Mee (fried noodles cooked in Fujian style), from Bak Kut Teh (soup) to duck egg Char Koay Teow (a stir-fried rice noodle dish) the choice is huge and mouth watering. All this takes place in a nice and friendly atmosphere and what makes it even better is that eating at Lot 10 Hutong won’t cost you a fortune. Our verdict: highly recommended.

Lot 10 Hutong is open daily from 10am – 10pm and located in the basement of Lot 10 shopping center next to the supermarket. Try to avoid lunch hour (1-2pm) and share a few dishes with your travel mates for a perfect degustation. Lot 10 in 5-7 minutes walking distance from The Nest.

Recommended: The Tourism Malaysia website

Who has not heard of “Malaysia truly Asia” – Tourism Malaysia’s official slogan for the past 5 years?! But the guys of Tourism Malaysia do not only know how to successfully advertise their country (some 25 million tourist arrivals last year), they also provide travelers with useful information on their official website www.tourism.gov.my

So if you happen to plan a trip to Malaysia, take a few minutes to browse through their pages. Various E-Brochures will tell you more about local customs and etiquette and travel guides for each region provide a good overview of places to visit. On their website the national tourism board also includes an event calendar that is updated on a regular basis. If you are in Kuala Lumpur, you can also visit MaTiC – the Malaysia Tourism Centre on Jalan Ampang (opposite Renaissance Hotel) which is a one-stop information and service centre for visitors of Malaysia.

 

New at The Nest: Tea from Cameron Highlands

During our recent stay at Cameron Highlands we payed a visit to Sungai Palas Tea Plantation – a must for everybody who is in the area. Sungai Palas has a long tradition that goes back to the late 1920s. Since then tea has been grown on the estate which is closely linked to the name “BOH” (Malaysia’s biggest tea brand).

Getting there is a bit of an adventure. A narrow road takes you to a lofty altitude of some 2,000 meters (local tour operators organize tours – so you don’t need a car). Once you arrive you know why this destination is so popular. The setting is really beautiful, the air is fresh and a modern visitors’ centre provides interesting information. Of course, Sungai Palas also has a tea house and a visit would be incomplete without trying a cup of highland tea and one of their lovely scones. We also visited the tea factory where the tea leaves are processed in five steps after they have been harvested. And of course we ended up buying tea from the Cameron Highlands that we took back with us to Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, we can’t promise you scones – but a cup of tea from Cameron Highlands is definitely waiting for you when you stay with us at The Nest.

Tip: Sungai Palas Tea Plantation is open everyday except Monday from 9am until 4.30pm. Factory tours are provided every 30 minutes and are free of charge.

 

 

The Nest Road Trip: Cameron Highlands (II)

Cameron Highlands is all about relaxing. And that’s what we did. We stayed for 2 nights and thought this was just perfect. After we had dropped off our luggage in the hotel, we drove to Brinchang (the other township in the area) where we had excellent “Steam Boat” dinner at one of the roadside restaurants. Brinchang also has a weekend market where you find honey, strawberries and other local produce.

Speaking of which: strawberries are one of the most important crops in the Camerons. If you have time, visit one of the farms where you can pick your own fruits. We opted for Big Red Strawberry Farm and were amazed by the endless variety of strawberry (derived) products that are sold there. From jam to body lotion, from milk eclairs to shampoo – this is strawberry paradise! After a quick stop at one of the bee farms we moved on to Sungei Palas Tea Plantation which turned out to be the absolute highlight of our trip (more on Sungei Palas and Boh Tea in our next blog entry). Forget about the other tea plantations – this is the place to go – and we are saying this not only because of the great scones and the tea that we enjoyed there.

After we had returned to Tanah Rata we browsed through some of the souvenir shops where we found a most useful Cameron Highlands Discovery Map. It only costs a few Ringgit and gives you a great overview of the area. We also discovered that local tour operators offer a number of day tours which allow even those who travel without car to explore the area. If you have time, sign up for one of the jungle trekking tours to discover the beauty of the mossy highland rainforest – you won’t regret it.

Where to stay: Cameron Highlands has an array of hotels and guesthouses that suit every pocket. For some odd reason, not all of them are listed on tripadvisor. If you travel by bus, we recommend to look for accommodation somewhere in the centre of Tanah Rata. This way you are not only close to the bus station but can also choose from a bigger variety of places to hang out in the evening.

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Dear friends, we have managed to fix the problems that we encountered with our web server and everything is back to normal. You can book rooms either via our website www.thenest.com.my or by clicking on “Reservations” on this blog.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this technical problem.

Thank you and see you soon at The Nest!

Our web server is down!

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