Urban Life in KL (Part 2) - The Little India, Brickfields

Rightly called as the Little India of Malaysia, Brickfields has almost everything to offer. What makes this place really special is an element of Indian-ness that spans across in terms of the friendly people, its interesting culture and not to miss the awesome food.

Let’s put aside the current shitty politics for a while and appreciate the beauty of our rich Malaysian culture.

Wishing all Malaysians a Happy Merdeka!

Urban Life in KL (Part 1) - Petaling Street, Chinatown

Petaling Street is the center of Kuala Lumpur's original Chinatown. It maintains much of its traditional atmosphere as a well-known shopping district, particularly at night when vendors spread their wares out on the street, transforming the place into a lively and vibrant night market after dark. Tourists will cite it as a shopper’s haven, albeit in a different league when compared to its more glamourous counterparts, Bukit Bintang and KLCC. While it is possible to purchase anything from gems and incense to toys, food and t-shirts here, enjoying the night market is really a matter of just wandering about. You will definitely be amazed seeing its people, cultue, sights, sounds, and of course, the indefatigable energy throughout the night.

Mataking, The Gem of The Celebes Sea

Arguably one of the most attractive islands off the east coast of Sabah in the Celebes Sea, Mataking is the ultimate island paradise.



With the access from Semporna, a fishing town and also the main gateway to various islands (Mataking, Pom Pom, Kapalai, Mabul & Sipadan), it only takes 45 minutes speedboat ride to Mataking Island.





Mataking is in fact 2 islands (Mataking Besar & Kecil) connected by a sandbar. Couples can take a romantic stroll over the sandbar to Mataking Kecil to explore the pristine jungle.



On this private island, you will find the only one resort, The Reef Dive. It provides comfortable accommodation, with a superb retreat from the adventure of the rainforest. All 32 beach chalets come with spacious balconies overlooking the Celebes Sea.


Sometime you may say the brouchers display the best part of the island with software touch-ups. Nevertheless, there are breathtaking sceneries everywhere on the island, where by software doesn’t do much to enhance the photos.



Sunrise @ Mataking

Sunrise @ Mataking



Sunset @ Mataking

It's like in heaven indulging yourself in the jacuzzi while enjoying the spectacular sunset moments


Sunset @ Mataking


Night scene after the dinner. Looking up the stars, it's actually the formation of Orion.

Dining Out @ Dish, Dua Residency, Kuala Lumpur

Touted as their "fine dining" establishment, Dish is set within the confines of delicious ingredients at Dua Residency. Not very fine dining ambience but more like a deli-like atmosphere I felt. Here, you get full service with very attentive staff, unlike the other Delicious outlets (Mid Valley in particular where you sometimes want to pull your hair out!).

In the menu, you'll find dishes that use items from the deli such as the pastas, the bone marrow, meats and etc. The roasted juicy bone marrow definitely caught my eyes. It's a huge platter of bones (about 3 large ones) served with a caper parsley salsa and toasted baguette. One advice to all of you, share these among a few people as it is one hell of rich tasting item.

Moving on to the main meal, carnivores will love this place as they serve a variety of steaks such as striploin, ribeye, t-bone steaks with a minimum thickness of 2 inches from the US and Australia. We went for the huge US prime tenderloin - a huge chunk of meat at about 700 grams to be shared. It came nicely chargrilled (with those pre-requisite grill lines I love) with a medium pinkish center. You can ask for your steak to be served blue or blood rare, where they just sear it quickly with an inside that is still cold and reddish. They also serve a variety of sauces with the meats, beef jus reduction, truffle butter, green peppercorn, mustards and etc. We also ordered sides to share – charred Brussels sprouts with chilies and anchovy.