Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Day 2 and 3: Inside Scoop + Starbucks Reserve

Saturday 30/3/24

It was 7.15pm when we finished the tour of Petronas Twin Towers. The first thing we did was to look for food at Suria KLCC. However, every restaurant we went was fully seated. It was the Ramadan period so many have break fast and came out for food. We wanted to venture elsewhere but it was raining, making us retreat back to the mall. In the end, we had dessert for dinner instead.

We finally settled for Inside Scoop at 7.50pm, an artisanal ice cream located at the basement, offering a delightful array of ice cream flavour. It was more to cater for take go order, so the shop only provided seating for less than 10 pax who prefer to dine in. We were lucky to find two seats.

Since this was supposed to be our dinner, we ordered one each for ourselves. I had Lotus Biscott Croffle with Lotus Biscott Cheesecake Ice Cream at RM20 (or S$6.67). The fluffy croffle was enhanced with chocolate bits that added a good crunch to the croffle base, each mouthful was a symphony of textures. The drizzled sauce gave a nice sweetness to the overall flavour. 

Inside Scoop

Concourse Level, Petronas Twin Tower, No. OSC02, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily

We then went to Cold Storage to get cake roll for our breakfast in hotel tomorrow. 

It was 9pm when we wanted to leave the mall. Although our hotel was only 10 minutes walk away, our legs were already feel tired from all the 16km walk today. 3 minutes walk away from Suria KLCC was Starbucks Reserve at Four Seasons Place, we decided to take a short rest there before walking the remaining 7 minutes back to hotel.

Since we were not feeling full from the dessert, we had another round at Starbucks Reserve. I had Chic O Cheese with Nacho Cheese at RM11.44 (or S$3.81), a buttery and flaky Danish with airy texture filled with cheesy chicken sausage.

We had a 45 minutes rest over here until it was nearly 10pm. It was drizzling, making us felt reluctant to leave, but with closing time approaching, we decided to embrace the drizzle and walked back to our hotel.

Starbucks Reserve

Level 4a, no, Lot 1, Ground Floor at Shoppes at Four Seasons Place, 145, Jln Ampang, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Operating hours: 7.30am to 10pm from Mon to Fri, 9am to 10pm on Sat and Sun

We were greeted by a clean room when we returned back to hotel. Our room was serviced twice a day. I noticed when we went back in the afternoon, it was already cleaned up. When we returned back at night, the room was being tidy up again.

Sunday 31/3/24

Despite feeling tired, I found myself hard to sleep, awake and dozed off throughout the night. I was awake at 5.45am and snoozed until 6 plus.

It was 7.30am and ready to have my Milk Baumkuchen spit cake gotten from Cold Storage last night at  RM6.35 (or $2.12). 

Infused with milk flavour, the cake had a light sweetness, a chewy and moist texture. It was absolutely delicious. This cake should be able to fill my tummy until I reach airport later.

It was nearly 8am and we were ready to check out of our room. Here's my baggage for the short getaway. In fact, I still have some space left in my bag, I shall go to airport and pick up a few more things before departing.

We took a grab to Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 at RM65 (or $21.67). There was no jam on the way, we reached airport at 8.40am.

I stopped by Ban Heang, renowned for their traditional homemade biscuits and delicacies. Judging by the remaining space in my bag,  I grabbed an assortment of their delectable treats.

I have gotten these snacks for my family and relatives at RM55.30 (or $18.43).

After we were done with clearing the custom, we wanted to look for places for breakfast. To our horror, we found only souvenir shops lining the area. We regretted not grabbing a bite before clearing customs, there were quite a few eateries near Ban Heang just now.

Upon reaching our boarding gate at nearly 10am, our eyes lit up at the sight of two eateries. Between Burger King and Old Town White Coffee, I chose Burger King. They did not have breakfast set, so I went for Fish N Crisp set at RM22.80 (or $7.60).

Our flight got delayed by 50 minutes. The boarding time was supposed to be 11.10am but we only began boarding the plane around 12pm.

We took off around 12.40pm. Despite being in KL for just 3 days (or more like 1.5 days considering our late arrival and early departure), I managed to tick off most of the items on my bucket list for sightseeing, shopping and dining in KL. It was quite tiring to do everything in a day, especially with the rain cutting into our plans.

I'm not particularly fond of flying, but I do enjoy the breathtaking view from the window seat. Seeing the vast landscape through the clouds, it always leaves me in awe. Hence, I tried to opt for window seat if possible.

I touched down at Changi Airport at 1.30pm, the flying time back was about 50 minutes. Not sure if it was a new requirement or due to public holiday, we had to go through bag check at custom. We spent about half an hour queuing for the check. 

My short trip has come to an end, I feel recharged for the busy two months ahead.

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Day 2: Petronas Twin Towers

Since it was raining, we decided to rest in hotel and forgo our plan. After a 50 minutes rest, we left our room at 4.45pm when the rain has stopped, ready to head out to KLCC Park.

I took a photo of the daytime scenery of this location today, contrasting it with the night view I took yesterday. The night view seemed to be more impressive with Petronas Twin Towers lighted under the night sky.

Back at the lake of KLCC Park felt like stepping into what we experienced from yesterday - a déjà vu. Many visitors were lounging around the urban space, basking in the relax ambience.

The 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers stand at a height of 451.9m. There is a double-decker skybridge that acts as the connector between the two towers on level 41 and 42.

When I was looking up at the stainless steel and glass finishing building at the foot of the tower, I felt like a dwarf standing besides a giant tower that looked so intimidating.

Since our main agenda of coming to Kuala Lumpur (KL) was to witness the Petronas Twin Towers, we have pre-booked the tickets to tour the tower at 6.15pm. Remember to purchase the ticket in advance due to limited slot per session and tickets. When we were there, the only ticket available was for next Tuesday slot.

We proceeded up the tower in batches based on the colour coded stickers given to us. Our first stop was a lift up to the Skybridge at level 41. We were treated to the view of KLCC park and ongoing construction works at the other side.

KL in a glance. 

There were many high rise buildings here with hill shape right at the back. The city view was breathtaking and definitely one of the best place to catch the sunset.

We took a lift up to the observation deck on level 86, we were greeted by a unobstructed view of the city enveloped by the hill. This viewpoint allowed us to enjoy the scenery of Malaysia's capital city, it was so impressive to look down at the city from the top.

With many malls scattered throughout, there is no lack of place for shopping. boasted an extensive array of international brands, catering to every shopper's preferences. I only managed to clear two malls during this trip. The skyline was also filled with many office buildings, showcasing the city commercial landscape.

Right beside the towers was Four Seasons Place, standing at an impressive 74 storeys. It was only slightly below the height of the twin towers.

As I gazed down from the observation deck, the entire city was at my feet, offering a 360-degree panorama of the urban landscape. Coming to Petronas Twin Towers was definitely the highlight of my trip.

There was a miniature of Petronas Twin Towers on display, showcasing their proud creation of the iconic architecture.

Every element of the building structure interlocked like pieces of a puzzle. 

The design of each tower floor plate is based on simple Islamic geometric forms of two interlocking squares, creating a shape of an eight-pointed star. Architecturally, these forms represent the important Islamic principles of unity, harmony, stability and rationality.

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Day 2: DOME Cafe + Zoo Negara + Dai Cha Dim

 Lately while traveling, I have been struggling to get a good sleep and it was quite frustrating. I find myself most of the time merely just closed my eyes to rest.

It was 6.40am and the sky was still dark, casting a stillness over the quiet street below.

The sun rose after 20 minutes at 7am, lighting up the sky with shades of gold, red and clouds tinged with purple rays. I was feeling excited to start the day with a list of places to cover.

By 8am we were fully prepared and ready to begin our long day of exploration. Glancing out of the window, I noticed Intermark Mall was located at the right of our hotel, just about 7 minutes walk away. I thought it was more convenient to have our breakfast at this mall.

Intercontinental Hotel is located besides Citibank, our hotel was near the banking district as I saw many banks from the surrounding area. We spotted the twin towers at various corners of KLCC, the iconic towers were impossible to miss. It was nice to soak up at the sight while we strolled to the mall.

As it was only 8.30am, breakfast options were limited. We only spotted McDonald, PAUL and DÔME Cafe opened at this hour. I chose DÔME Cafe as the other two choices are common in Singapore. I wanted to try something more unique here.

DÔME Café has a charming old-world European interiors that drew my attention as I passed by. The dome shaped ceiling seemed to contain some stories with the map of the ocean.

I had a cup of Hot Honey Lemon at RM16.04 (or $5.35) before tax. I found the amount of honey added was too sweet to my liking, a less sweetened version would be more preferred. The lemon slices helped to provide a touch of acidity and citrus flavour, balancing the sweetness.

DÔME Café served All-Day Breakfasts and for a lighter option, I decided on Eggs on Toast at RM15.09 (or $5.03) before tax. The bread was lightly toasted with crunchy crust, complementing the soft and creamy scrambled eggs.

The Intermark, 06, Jln Tun Razak, Kampung Datuk Keramat, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Operating hours: 8am to 10pm daily

Majority of the shops were still closed by the time we finished our breakfast at 9.15am. I chanced upon Big Pharmacy which had start operation and went in to check in out. I got a box of Chocolate Butter Cookies at RM11 (or $3.67).

We returned back to hotel around 9.40am for toilet break and to keep away my purchase. 

As I gazed out of the floor-to-ceiling window, I spotted Ampang Park LRT station just opposite our hotel. Though KL has an extensive train system connecting various parts of the city, we just use Grab for transportation during our trip due to the reasonable fare, comfort and time saving benefits.

We had a 25 minutes rest and left our room at 10.05am to our next destination. 

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is known for their abundance shopping destinations and amazing food scenes. Beyond these, the vibrant city has other attractions and interesting places to explore. Being a typical tourist, I went to check out these attractions. One of the places I found was Zoo Negara which was 20 minutes drive away from our hotel, we took a Grab ride and the fare was RM24 (or $8).

We reached Zoo Negera at about 10.35am. The zoo covered 110 acres of land with over 5137 specimen from 476 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Despite a number of visitors visited the zoo like us, the zoo did not feel overcrowded, allowing us to explore at a leisurely pace.

The first animal I saw was a giraffe, it was munching on some leaves hanging on the pole. We were lucky to catch the giraffe in action because shortly after snapping the photo, it walked away to the shaded area. There was only one giraffe spotted.

We came across the free flying zone where pelicans were free to soar around, flying over from the lake to this open area.

This was the lake that the pelicans flew from. I love looking at beautiful scenery like this, the lush greenery exuded a positive energy and a sense of tranquility. It would have been better if the weather was not so hot.

I was initially standing near the railing to take photo of the deer, my attention was suddenly diverted by the sight of a monkey approaching. I stepped back just in time as the monkey climbed up and sat on the railing. It was really a close encounter with the monkey.

The animals looked weary and lonely for some. Looking at their enclosures, it seemed like they needed some refurbishment to make the enclosures more conducive for the animals to live in.

I was attracted by the scenery ahead, I saw a viewing point at the hut looking place ahead. Going to stop by there later.

Visiting the home of camel and panda. The panda was the most fortunate animal in the zoo, enjoying the comfort of a cooling air-conditioned enclosure. This area attracted the largest crowd as everyone sought refuge from the heat in the air-conditioned space.

We spotted two giant tortoise munching on their lunch. 

I was starting to feel tired from the constant walking under the scorching sun. After two hours of exploration, we finally completed our tour of the zoo. 

Zoo Negara

Jalan Taman Zooview, Taman Zooview, 68000 Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia

Operating hours: 9am to 5pm daily

Entrance fee: RM88 (or $29.33)

It was 12.30pm, we decided to hail a Grab ride to our next location, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, a shopping mall at Bukit Bintang. The journey was about 20 minutes drive and the fare was RM21 (or $7).

It was about 1.10pm when we reached Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, it is a large 7-storey shopping mall. It seemed even better than Suria KLCC with a good mix of luxury and mid range stores, you can get almost everything here.

We were in need of a place to rest so our first stop was to find a lunch spot. We settled for Dai Cha Dim, a casual Hong Kong style restaurant serving authentic cha-chaan-teng favourites.

I had Signature Milk Tea at RM7.80 (or $2.60) before tax. The milk tea has a smooth and robust flavour, with the signature taste in every sip.

I had Curry Pork Chop Rice at RM24.80 (or $8.27) before tax. It came with generous portion of pork chop and curry filling the plate, and a fried egg placed crowned the rice. Break the egg yolk apart for a silky and creamy texture.

Lot 6 . 01 . 03, 168, Jln Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily

After the lunch, we spent the next 1.5 hours to shopping. One place I knew I will spend my money at was their supermarket, I always love exploring supermarket when traveling. It was hard to resist buying various snacks to try and share with others. I spent RM102.97 (or $34.32) at Mercato Supermarket. 

We decided to grab back to our hotel at 3.40pm to drop off our shopping bag before proceeding to our next destination. The journey was about 10 minutes drive and the fare was just RM8 (or $2.67). However, halfway through the ride, it began to rain and disrupted our next outdoor exploration plan.