Asim’s Guide to visiting Kuala Lumpur

Given I spent many years living in Malaysia and still go there frequently, visitors often ask me for my tips on where to go, so here it is. Thanks to Isabelle for her suggestions!

BTW this was last updated on 11 July 2024.

Things to do in KL
In order of priority (highest at the top)…

1. Shopping in the Petronas Twin Towers. Also worth going to the park and fountain nearby. The masjid is also pretty nice.
2. Mid Valley Megamall and the Gardens (basically they’re two shopping centres right next to each other). Mid Valley is among 20 largest in the world, is about 15 mins away from City Centre. There are two other huge malls that are in the 20 largest in the world – One Utama and Sunway Pyramid, both 30 mins from city centre.
3. Langkawi is worth visiting, you get there by plane. There is this boat ride and eagle hunting and cave visit trip that you have to go on. There is also the cable ride thing as well as a crocodile park.
4. Going by taxi to Putrajaya (45 mins away from KL – the government city built about 13 years ago – most beautiful city in the world, in my view). The road leading to the mosque with all the commercial buildings, the mosque itself and lake are the best parts to see. You can also see the prime-minister’s residence.
5. Bukit Bintang (Leicester Square of KL). Lots of action, and shopping centres too.
6. Batu Caves (30 mins from city centre). A Hindu temple in some caves. You need to walk up a lot of stairs to get to the caves. Lots of monkeys about, but the cave itself may disappoint as it’s just a regular cave with a few alters.
7. Butterfly and Bird Park (very near city centre in Lake Gardens). Both are worth going to especially if you have kids. Bird Park is the one to go to if you can only visit one of these. There is also a general park to walk around nearby.
8. The Islamic Museum can be interesting (although I found it pretty boring) and the National Mosque (Masjid Negara) nearby might be worth seeing.
9. China Town (Petaling Street, near city centre). Lots of fake watches and clothes. Even if you don’t buy anything (very poor quality stuff which looks like it’s good quality) it’s worth a trip at night. There is also an Indian market but I don’t know where that is and it’s not that good.
10. Central Market near the city centre is ok and has been getting better over the last few years. It’s good for souvenirs.
11. A trip to Genting Highlands might be worth going to but I personally would not recommend it. It’s ideal if you like gambling as it’s the gambling centre of KL. Afamosa theme park must be avoided at all costs. VERY poor.
12. Cameron Highlands is great to get some cool weather – but nearly 3 hours drive from KL – you can go for a trek, see a tea factory, buy lots of cheap strawberries, and eat scones and cakes in a few cafes.
13. Make sure you go to a Mamak restaurant, i.e. Indian food that is very commonly eaten in KL. You get them everywhere. Ask for a Roti Channai as a side dish – most commonly eaten food there. Also if at a shopping mall where there are lots of unbranded restaurants (most malls have an eating area like this) must make sure you try a claypot chicken rice. Also a trip to The Curve, near-ish One Utama, is worth it. They have a food street and it’s really good. Best to go there for dinner.
14. Try using the LRT or train system. Worth doing just to see it in action.
15. Foot massage. You can ask for a man or woman to do it. You can find places doing massage everywhere there are shops but there are a lot of touristy ones in Bukit Bintang. If you want a REALLY good one, they’re very consistent, go to Reborn – you’ll find several branches, they train their staff really well.
16. Watch a film at any luxury cinema. There is one at Mid Valley Megamall. Also one at the Curve near Ikea. I think most cinemas have a luxury cinema, but make sure you take warm clothes with you as they freeze the room (if you forget, you can try asking them for a blanket which you need to pay for).
17. The Forest Skywalk in FRIM is a nice trek/walk in Kuala Lumpur’s ancient forest. You get some nice views.
18. Aquaria, which is basically a copy of a huge aquarium in Singapore (you can walk under sharks), is also worth a visit. It’s in near the Twin Towers, in the Convention Centre.
19. Singapore, which is 4 hours by car, could well be worth visiting too, but things will cost a lot more there, and given the nicer parts of KL are basically very similar to Singapore, if you can’t go you won’t miss that much.
20. Most people say Penang is worth visiting. In my view it’s not worth going if you’re in Malaysia for less than two weeks.

My Favourite Cafes:

1. The Red Bean Bag in Mutiara Damansara. Amazing coffee, amazing food, amazing service and the cafe itself just feels so nice to be inside as the ceilings are so high and there is a lot of light.
2. Tapestry near KLCC. Good coffee, really nice food but tiny portions. But a really nice atmosphere inside.
3. I’ll add some more soon! Watch this space!

My Favourite Restaurants:

1. Dancing Fish in Bangsar for spicy Indonesian food (it has a Michelin star)
2. Bedouin in TTDI for Middle Eastern food (BTW we love Arab food!)
3. 27 Scotts in Bangsar for Indian food (but they also have Western food)
4. Hyatt in KLCC for afternoon tea and great views
5. Crust in Mont Kiara for burgers and pizzas
6. Emily’s in the KLCC for some good old British steak
7. Banyan Tree in KLCC for afternoon tea
8. Sushi Mastro Nikkei for Japanese Peruvian food
9. Samad Al Iraqi is pretty good
10. Samba in KLCC for Brazilian Steak
11. I’ll add some more soon! Watch this space!

My Favourite Hotel:

1. The Four Seasons. Great breakfast, great location, pretty new.
2. The Face Suites in the KLCC are really good value compared to the kind of stuff you get on Airbnb.