24 | December | 2009 | Raja Nong Chik Club

Archive for December 24th, 2009

Where to sleep at brickfields

You’ll find the two extremes in this district – sleazy hole in the walls which only rent out rooms on an hourly basis (mostly in the old Brickfields area), and the two of KL’s newest five-star hotels within KL Sentral.

Budget

* YMCA Hostel, 95 Jalan Padang Bella, ☎ +603 2274-1439, [4]. Like most YMCA Hostels this one feels sterile, but for RM 80 per night you can’t ask for more. It is clean and safe. Make sure to check their website for guest restrictions.

YMCA Hostel

Mid range

* Jeumpa D’Ramo, No. 102, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:+60320944522. Jeumpa D’ramo is a boutique hotel situated right after the traffic lights to Jalan Bangkung. Its exotic name has Achenese origins and when translated to Malay, it means “berkumpul di serambi”. Rooms’ rate begins at RM170 for standard room, RM220 for Duluxe and RM320 for suites. The bungalows resembles a quaint colonial house from outside, but once inside, one can see distinct Asian touches, whether its in the handcrafted Indonesian teak furniture or art pieces from budding local artists like Fizjedar.

* Ritz Garden Hotel, Lorong Kapar, off Jln Syed Putra (Federal Highway), between Brickfields and Mid Valley. Rates RM100, more at weekends.

Ritz Garden Hotel

Splurge

* Hilton, 3, Jalan Stesen Sentral. Tel: +60-3-22642264 – Stylish new luxury hotel adjacent to the KL Sentral train station and the Le Meridien. The Hilton has funky, trendy rooms with open bathrooms and plasma TV. Plenty of restaurants and a cool executive lounge on the 33rd floor. Excellent Clark Hatch gym and one of the best spa/pool complexes in KL.

* Le Meridien, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral. Tel: +60-3-22637888 – Adjacent to the KL Sentral train station, this luxury hotel opened in 2004 has a splendid lobby and modern rooms with great views of the nearby gardens (or the roof of KL Sentral if you pick the wrong side). Shares spa and pool facilities with the Hilton next door. The pool is one of the best you’ll ever see.

2009: 12/24
CATEGORY: Holiday
Places
1 comment

1Malaysia Food in Brickfields

Brickfields is famous throughout KL for its Indian, particularly the South Indian, “banana leaf” meal shops, which are cheap and extremely filling. There are also several Chinese coffeeshops offering the usual types of food. At the other end of the budget, KL Sentral’s two five-star hotels have international-standard restaurants where you can dine in style. There is only one Western fast food place in Brickfields, KFC.

Brickfields - banana leaf food

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Chinese

Budget

* Peking Hotel, Jalan Tun Sambanthan (right at intersection with Jalan Travers) – One of KL’s longest standing coffeeshops. Crowds during mealtimes is testimony to food quality. Unique among coffeeshops is that it also has a Indian banana leaf rice stall.

Peking Hotel

Splurge

* Chynna, 5th Floor, Hilton KL, KL Sentral. Tel: +60-3-22642264 – Wonderfully over-the-top modern Chinese restaurant that looks like it just stepped out of a kung-fu movie, with waitresses in thigh-slit cheongsams and plaited houseboys serving herbal tea from a pot with a meter-long spout. The menu is equally eclectic: try the pumpkin and shrimp dumplings or the chicken feet in black bean sauce, then finish off with coconut ice cream in avocado sauce. Lunchtime dim sum dishes a reasonable RM8-11 each, but dinner is far more expensive. Open daily 11 AM to 2:30 PM for lunch, 6 PM to 11 PM for dinner.

Indian

* Vindya Curry House. Fantastic, authentic Indian curry of every variety. RM 4.50 – RM 8 for lunch or dinner.

Others

* Sangeetha Vegetarian Restaurant, Palace Hotel, 40-46 Jalan Masjid India, ☎ +603 2273 0100. Sangeetha has a diverse menu that specializes in Indian, Malay, and Chinese inspiret food. There is a large selection of special beverages and a “sweets corner” with many Indian desserts. The restaurant is located in the Palace Hotel on the ground floor

Sangeetha Vegetarian Restaurant

Splurge

* Al Nafourah, 8th Floor, Le Meridien, KL Sentral. Tel: +60-3-22637888 – The restaurant decor is as Middle Eastern as they get, with large brass ornaments adorning the entrance and walls, colorful floor tiles and Moorish architecture. Serving authentic Lebanese cuisine, dinner is made even more exotic with a Middle Eastern belly dancer moving to sultry music. The tagine and kebab dishes have always been a favorite here, the semi buffet as well, with its array of cold presentations, hummus, Middle-Eastern salads, condiments, soups, breads and even a carving station for their roast lamb. The main dish comes with a selection of kebabs served with Saffron Ghee Rice or Grilled Vegetables. The semi buffet is priced at RM108 each inclusive of Arabic coffee and Shisha. Open daily 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM for lunch, 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM for dinner.

2009: 12/24
CATEGORY: Food
Holiday
Places
TAGS: brickfields
Food
kuala lumpur
1 comment

Padang Batu? Or Brickfields

Brickfields is Kuala Lumpur’s biggest “Little India” and is located just south of the City Center. Its main road, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, formerly knowns as Brickfields Road, is lined from end to end with shops selling Indian clothing, provisions and foodstuff.

Old Brickfields

Previously deemed as one of KL’s less savoury areas, Brickfields is undergoing a makeover with the construction of the massive KL Sentral project on top of the old railway marshalling yards (for which Brickfields was known). The KL Sentral area now has a collection of tall office towers and also Kuala Lumpur’s main railway station.

Brickfields

For the purposes of this page, Brickfields will also include the area to the east of the Klang River along Jalan Syed Putra and Robson Heights, where the impressive hill-top Thean Hou Temple is located.

Getting there

By train

Since the opening of the KL Sentral transport hub here, getting to Brickfields could not been easier. KL Sentral is the station for all Keretapi Tanah Melayu intercity and its KTM Komuter trains, the Kelana Jaya light rail transit line, and also the KLIA Ekspress and KLIA Transit fast trains to/from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

While also having the same name, the KL Sentral monorail station is about 200m from the actual KL Sentral complex, and transfering between the two requires you to walk along a covered walkway flanked by stalls. The other monorail station in this district is Tun Sambanthan station located on the banks of the Klang River behind the shopping area.

By bus

Many buses go through Brickfields. The ones going into town terminate at Kota Raya or Klang bus stand. Buses heading out of town serve Mid Valley, Pantai Dalam and some PJ areas. All the Rapid buses now pass through KL Sentral.

Interesting places

* Thean Hou Temple, Persiaran Endah, off Jalan Syed Putra – The Thean Hou temple is one of the largest and most ornate Chinese temples in the region. The six-tiered temple was built by the Hainanese community and is dedicated to Tian Hou, or The Heavenly Mother. But, as an example of the syncreticism of Chinese religion, also houses two other altars, one for Shui Wei Sheng Niang, the Goddess of the Waterfront and another for Kuan Yin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. Its grand architecture and fantastic view of the Valley make it a tourist favourite.

Thean Hou Temple

* Buddhist Temple (The Buddhist Maha Vihara), 123 Jalan Berhala, Brickfields (opposite KL Sentral), ☎ +603 2274-1141, [1]. Founded in 1894 by the Sinhales to provide a place of worship for their Sri Lankan Theravada tradition, this beautiful temple with eccos of colonialism in the architecture sill supports an active Buddhist community in Kuala Lumpur.