5 Days in Kuala Lumpur: What to Do, See & Eat [2023]
This blog post has been updated in December 2023
Kuala Lumpur is a major Southeast Asian hub, and it is quickly becoming a popular place for both tourists and expats alike. The Malaysian capital has much to offer for travellers, in terms of culture, food & city life.
It is often compared to the other big hub in the vicinity, Singapore. However, it is vastly cheaper than Singapore, some statistics say it’s up to 72% cheaper!
In this blog post, I’ll share with you things to do, see and where to eat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!
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Things To Do
Explore China Town
Walk around the main area of China Town area to discover the street art in hidden side streets. Also check out the Central market, where you can find all sorts of trinkets, souvenirs. It is slightly touristy, but still nice to have a walk about the market.
Visit REXKL
REXKL is a cultural centre and it’s based in a very eclectic looking building. There is also a nice coffee place, food court and one or two boutique stores. At the top there is a really cool bookstore that is pretty instagram worthy, so be sure to check that out!
Check out the street art in and around Kwai Chai Hong
In the Kwai Chai Hong street you’ll discover lots of beautiful street art, and it’s a nice area to just take a stroll. There are also lots of cute cafes and restaurants, in case you want to grab a bite or a coffee.
Merdeka Square and Masjid India
Located not far from China Town, you can find Merdeka square, which is one of the main historical landmarks in Kuala Lumpur. From there, you can walk to the Masjid India, one of the biggest mosques in Kuala Lumpur.
Watch the river fountains at the Masjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur Mosque
We saw this purely by chance as we walked around the area one night, but it was somehow magical! When you walk along the river at the Masjid Jamek Mosque, at around 8pm the chanting starts and also the fountains at the river turns on. It's a really cool thing to see, so if you find yourself in the area around Central Market, definitely have a look!
Shopping at Bukit Bintang
KL is definitely a major shopping city, and you can definitely shop your heart out in all the malls that you can find in and around the city. In Bukit Bintang there are literally malls lined up next to each other, so if you need a shopping fix, this is the place to go!
The Pavilion Mall is probably one of the biggest malls in KL. I also really liked their food court, so if you’re in the area and feeling hungry, do check that out.
Petronas Towers & KLCC Park
A trip to Kuala Lumpur is not complete without seeing the famous Petronas Twin Towers!
The Petronas Towers are a sight to behold (and also a fun selfie prop!). The towers light up at night and I really liked how they glowed golden at night, definitely a must-see in KL. Underneath the towers you can find a mall.
In the evening you can watch the fountain light show at the KLCC park, located right next to the Towers. KLCC park is also nice to have a stroll during the day (though maybe not during the hottest time of the day!).
Batu Caves
The Batu Caves are the famous limestone caves located just outside KL. You can find large and imposing statues in this 100-year old temple. Make your way up the rainbow steps (all 272 of them) and find yourselves in the caves. You will also see a lot of monkeys and.. chickens. Make sure to check the train schedule because they don’t come as often as I thought, and when I went back I had to wait a long time for the train back to KL city. The Batu caves are open daily from 7AM - 7PM.
You can also check out tours on GetYourGuide that also includes a guide, which might be more interesting as well.
KL Bird Park
In this park, you can find thousands of birds that are roaming around freely in a big enclosure. It's definitely a nice thing to do if you love being in the nature and watching & hearing the birds around you. I haven’t had the chance to visit it yet, but next time I’m in KL it’s the first thing on my list!
Things To Eat
Food is abundant in Kuala Lumpur, so you definitely won't starve while you're there. There are stalls, restaurants, and cafes literally at every corner, so you can take your pick. If all else fails, simply walk into a mall and find the food court!Here are some places that we tried:
Breakfast & Specialty Coffee
Breakfast at TG’s - For a traditional Malaysian breakfast, we headed to this local place “Tg's" for some Roti and Teh Tarik. The Roti with Egg and Cheese was pretty good as well as the Teh Tarik, which is black tea with condensed milk and the national drink of Malaysia, so definitely a must-try!
Toast Box - Another traditional Malay breakfast is toast with Kaya spread and a slab of butter(a spread made with coconut butter and egg) and White coffee (coffee with condensed milk) along with a very, very soft-boiled egg (this egg is not for people who dislike raw food. I don't think it's that bad, but the white of the egg is pretty liquid, just FYI!). Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the breakfast. It's definitely not for every day though, as it's pretty fatty and sugary! There are various loctions for Toast box, so check Google Maps.
103 Coffee Chow Kit - Great specialty coffee at this cute cafe in the Chow Kit area. They also have decent breakfast items. Try their “Barista Breakfast” to try different styles of coffees.
Stellar Coffee KL - This coffee shop is located on the ground floor of the REXKL in China town. I loved the vibe of the cafe and of course their excellent coffee.
Local Food
Alor Street Food Night Market - Although this street is quite touristic, you can still find good and different kinds of food here, such as Malay, Chinese, Indian and even Thai or Vietnamese. The market opens at night and becomes lively. We tried several stalls, but we particularly loved the chicken sate, the grilled stingray, the egg fried rice and the conocut ice cream.
Kwong Cheung Loong Kopitiam Bar - Loved this local cafe with many Chinese/Malay delicacies! My favorite was the pandan bun - it was impossibly soft, so good! I also had a chicken satay which was super good too. Their menu was really big, and I couldn’t try many dishes, but I’m sure it’s all good!
Kasturi Walk & Restoran Yusof Dan Zakir - There's a little street just next to the Central Market, where a few stalls sell some really nice food. In that street there's also a nice Indian restaurant located called Restoran Yusof Zakir.
Food Court at the Pavilion Mall - Though the Pavilion Mall might be quite an expensive mall, the food court called “Food Republic” in the basement level has a lot to offer in terms of selection and price-quality ratio. You can find anything from Japanese to Indian food, as well as some more upscale dining restaurants.
Other Cuisines
Heritage Pizza - If you feel like having a decent Neapolitan pizza, go to this place in Chow Kit
Dinner Buffet at the Majestic Hotel - While we stayed at this fancy hotel we decided to 'splurge' and go to the dinner buffet at the hotels' restaurant, Contango. And it was absolutely amazing! They had a wide assortment of food, including sushi, Indian, Malay and Western cuisine. And the desserts were absolutely amazing! We ate so much and we still didn't manage to try everything. If you're in the neighborhood, definitely try this amazing buffet!
Where To Stay
Kuala Lumpur is really cheap in terms of accommodation, so you will be sure to find something really nice on Airbnb in the center of the city (Bukit Bintang), including amenities such as a pool and gym.
There are also some great hotels that I’ve stayed at; see below!
Hotel Stripes (Autograph Collection)
This 4-star hotel is located in an area called Chow Kit and is close to the metro, which takes you anywhere you want to go in KL. I really liked the design of this hotel and the rooms were spacious and new. The shower was amazing! The rooftop pool was glorious as well. I wasn’t super excited about the breakfast though - go to the nearby 103 Coffee for some amazing coffee and nice breakfast. The nightly rate starts at 70 euros per night.
You can book your stay at Hotel Stripes here.
The Majestic Hotel
As prices are so cheap, we also stayed two night at the luxurious Majestic Hotel. It was a really great stay; we got a really beautiful corner room and the breakfast buffet was simply delicious. You can find a full hotel review on this blog post. Per night, it’s about 90 euros, which is a steal for a luxury, 5-star hotel!
Book your stay at the Majestic Hotel here.
Where To Work From
VCR Cafe
The VCR cafe is apparently THE go-to place for digital nomads in KL, and rightly so! It has fast and stable internet and great coffee and food, as well as plenty of seats. I definitely recommend this place to get some work done or just try the amazing coffee & cake. There are more locations as well, so be sure to check on Google Maps which one is the closest for you.
There are also a few coworking spaces in Kuala Lumpur. We didn't manage to visit them, but here's a nice list of awesome coworking spaces in KL.
When To Visit
Weather in Kuala Lumpur is tropical all year round, similar to Singapore’s climate. It’s around 30C everyday, and there can be rain showers and thunderstorms once in a while.
The cheapest months to visit (off-season) are February, March, September & October. The more popular months, when there are many festivals, are December to January and the summer months, June to August.
How To Get To Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is a major South East Asian hub, so there are many flights internationally going to and from the Malaysian Capital.
You can check the flights here on Kiwi.com:
Other Tips
Public Transportation
There's an efficient metro & train system in place in KL, but Uber and Grab are really cheap and efficient as well. So loads of options in terms of transportation! It’s also easy to get to the airport via public transportation, as there is a train called the KLIA Ekspres that takes you straight to the airport. It’s very cheap too - a ticket costs around 10 Euros (around 50 RM).
Currency
The official currency is Malaysian Ringgit and 5 RM is around €1 at the moment of writing (2023). Most places accept credit cards, but it’s always good to have some cash with you.
Power Outlet
The power outlets in Malaysia are the British ones.
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