What to do in Malaysia?

Old roads are scenic, but very slow. A mix of the two is generally possible, as long as you know how to get back onto the motorways; depending on the small towns you visit, the next on-ramp may be many miles away from them.

I like parts of the old roads, like the one between Ipoh and Taiping. Faster than most parts, and isn't too long to traverse. Probably the most scenic as you go from KL to Penang. Limestone hills are quite neat up close! However, once past Taiping, hop back on the motorway for the fast run to Penang.

If you can spare the time, stop by the naval town of Lumut (peel off in Ipoh, lots of signs will lead you to Lumut). Ask the townspeople for the best "steamed fish" restaurant. I only know of a restaurant owned by a "Ah Wat" that, IMHO, has the best steamed kerapu around. One man's taste .

You can then cut back to Taiping once you head back out of town.

 

What Nizam said......and the 'Ah Wat' fella is right on..!

In Ipoh, ask around for Ipoh Hainanese Chicken Rice and Ipoh Char Kuay Teow. Both are different in the sense they have lots and lots of 'taugeh' or bean sprouts compared to the normal CR and CKT. That's why they say Ipoh girls are the fairest of 'em all, chinese girls in MY!!! Also try the 'white coffee' in Ipoh. Keeps your eyes open on drives...

Penang, Nasi Kandar and Oyster Omelette and of course Assam Laksa and Char Kuay Teow too. There's also the best Air Batu Campur ( shaved ice ) along Penang Road. Manned by a chinese family. The name of the Nasi Kandar stall is 'Line Clear' and it's along Penang Road too and the busiest one...even in the wee hours of the morning, among the many, many shops...

 

Iskandar ... you're like automatic food place map ... lol ...

what's up with 'white coffee' ... ?? .. will go to malay ..

 

Jon,
U got to check out the Char Siew rice along Tengkat Tungshin, parallel to Jalan Alor. Its only open during lunch time... its one of the best char siew I have tasted... the rats there are big too.

 

Hehe...Being bikers too, we sometimes ride out in search of food, 200-300km and back..!

'White Coffee' is a very strong coffee that turns white when they serve it piping hot to you. It's served with condensed milk. In MY, when you say coffee/tea, it means served with condensed milk. Sans milk, you say the word 'O'.

Jon,

I dunno about Char Siew, being a Muslim...but the place, Tengkat Tungshin as mentioned by Lung is packed during lunchtime and at night. During wee hours of the morning though, Jalan Alor specializes in selling chicken of the 'lipsticked' variety.

 

Charsiew...

yummy...

 

Oh, how could I forget. Once in Penang, there are a variety of places to get some good hawker food. One of 'em is the "Esplanade", which is also where Fort Cornwallis is. It's the first British outpost on the island. The self-guided tour costs RM3.00 (about USD 0.80). It's rather neat although unremarkable as far as forts go. Something to kill time with.

The other hawker haunt is Gurney Drive. Sample some rojak, poh pia basah(wet i.e. uncooked) and poh pia goreng (deep fried). Wash it down with some coconut juice.

BTW - driving in Penang with an F-car might shorten your life expectancy by about ten years. I hope you're taking something else
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Best place to stay IMO is the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. Real nice place. Used to be a British Military Base. The owner has a Ferrari 360 Spider that he parks outside everyday to attract customers.
A real relaxing/fun thing to do is take a Tri-Shaw ride at night through the city.

 

Lunchtime at Fort Cornwallis, drop in at the hawker centre just next to the carpark and try the 'Mee Goreng Sotong'. It's mamak fried noodles with the squid sambal thrown in for good measure and reddish in colour. Outta this world taste, though you must be able to withstand hot food to your palate!

Like Nizam says, don't bring the Fcar. There's a saying...." If you can drive in Penang, you can drive anywhere in the world.." for good reason. 2 lanes becomes 3,3 to 4 and so on. Reminds me of Calcutta actually...

 

Chinese Beef Hor Fun: Soo Kee Mee - Jalan Imbi. Best hor fun that I had ever tasted.

 

Cilantro - Mikasa Hotel...very good fusion food. SilverKris(SIA) inflight magazine voted it top 10 restaurants in the world... in the world wor!!!

 

All in KL city area.

 

Jon, as u know I use to live there for the last 4yrs. Drove all my Spore cars there. Testa, 355, Maserati all No problem.
Though once someone said about my Maserati "ini Toyota baruh ah?"

 

Spot on - heard abt this place too.

 

One things Msian stands out from the rest is "take it easy" attitude. I think its safer in P/F cars than say RX300 (target). I normally drives my bro's 7 series back to KL :)

 

U are correct! RX300, CRV, XC90, X5... all hot cars!

 

Ok being native Penang and stayed in KL before, this is my contribution:-

PEN
1. Mee goreng mamak at Pulau Tikus (corner shop near police station)
2. Curry mee - Lorong Selamat

KL
1. Chicken rice at Petaling Street (the older shop next to the famous Nam Heong Chicken rice). Opposite Furama Hotel.

2. Beef noodle - Tingkat Tong SHin (corner) , open 24 hrs I think. Opposite Corona Inn

3. Nasi Lemak - Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa at Kampung Baru (the owner has e36 blue bmw sedan). Its really good.

Music/beer - rum jungle, jalan p ramlee
hotel - KL Hilton/Le Meridien at KL Sentral
shopping - Starhill Gallery

 

Oh, I nearly forgot.

A must try Restaurant Elegant Inn (HK food in mid class suburb of Cheras). Beware of the steep pricing though - u will never believe until u get the bill.

But its one of the best Chinese food I have tasted. Lots of VIP customers too. (PM, Ministers, Dato etc )

 

At Elegant Inn u must try their HK style crabs!!! Cooked in its own roe. Rumour is that the cooks wife use to work at an investment bank in HK. And "chao Lor" coz triads after her... so came to Malaysia to hide... in Cheras!!!

 

Jon,

there are so many roads that are pure driving heaven here in Malaysia.

eg , the JB - Mersing - Endau - Kuantan , coastal B roads .... thats a
real roller coaster ride with accompanying scenic route.

the 'new' ECE (east coast expressway) linking KL to Kuantan (iirc). Some
of the boys here had a run the other day (many cars) but the Alfa GTAs
had to hold off the Fiat Coupes at 265 kmh that day .... awesome.

some parts of the NSE heading north , sungai buloh .... the lighted
near vertical cut cliffs .... wow .... drive that at night at speed ....

if you've really got some time and have got a reliable car , I'd vote
JB - Mersing - Endau - Kuantan - Penang - KL - JB. The leg south from
Penang can be driven on the NSE. The route north from JB should be
done B.

cheers.