My home country of Malaysia - a melting pot of cultures, languages, and flavours - has always been famous for* its unique flavour palate of Malay, Indian, Chinese, dan lain-lain (and others). In the last decade or so the makan (foodie) culture has shifted its focus ever so slightly from cheap, fast, and gritty street food to trendy, photogenic eateries thanks to the millennial and Gen-Z obsession with sharing on social media (Do you remember when you could tuck into a meal right away instead of waiting for everyone to take a dozen shots for their blogs, Instagram, and Snapchat? No, me neither). For an expat who returns to her native Kuala Lumpur every 6 months or so this means that each trip is filled with exciting new dining destinations, and this trip will be no different...except that the moment I land in Malaysia this coming Monday I'm on a strict diet ahead of my detox in Chiang Mai. No caffeine, no meat, no sugar - only raw fruits, water, and steamed vegetables. Oh sweet, delicious irony. Here's my wistful look at 6 of Kuala Lumpur's New Instagram-worthy Cafes & Restaurants - call it a digital FOMO, if you will...
*Let's be real, the food is the best thing about Malaysia. Stunning natural beauty? Rare and exotic species of wildlife? Yes, well, I can't eat a rainforest can I? ...can I?
MORE THINGS TO SEE, EAT, AND DO IN MALAYSIA
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STEALING GLANCES AND TAKING BITES AT
BREAKFAST THIEVES, BANGSAR
There's a name for the international design language of post-social media cool - reclaimed Industrial chic juxtaposed against Calacatta marble, mason jars, and fiddle leaf figs - the hipster aesthetic of which is designed (that is, according to Kyle Chayka's piece for The Guardian) as a soothing balm for the "wealthy, mobile elite" who want their 'authentic and off the beaten track' with a side of wifi. Chayka calls it AirSpace, and bemoans this globalised style as homogenous. Personally? Hey, if it keeps my Instagram feed neat... In all seriousness though, I'm all for the world being a smaller place especially when said globalisation manifests itself in the form of delicious, delicious brunch.
And apart from the New Yorkers nobody does brunch like the 'Strayans. Cafe culture has spread like bushfire in Malaysia thanks to the country's relative proximity to the Antipodes. My second favourite* entity to arrive from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur is the second branch of the new Bangsar café that's got all the Instagrammers and brunch hunters excited - Breakfast Thieves.
*my most favourite is arriving today. Boomchickawahwaahhh |
Idaman (Malay, Indonesian) - n. ideal, craving, desire.
How wonderfully fitting, as Idaman House was my family's choice for a weekend of fresh forest air.
The Malay kampong (village) of Janda Baik - literally 'the good widow' - is, according to local folklore, named after a kindly widow of local folklore who tended to a wounded mercenary passing through the town. My party of ten enjoyed similar hospitality - a 5-bedroom villa in the mountains tended to by a staff of three who took care of our every need, leaving us free to relax and enjoy our verdant surroundings.
While I'm all about the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - or rather "I'll fix it if I only need to use duct tape or WD40" - I am not at all adverse to introducing crazy newfangled ideas to areas where the classics have already stood the test of time. So, in the spirit of the 'something old, something new' of Ipoh Old Town's new retro revival and the 'modern treehouse meets historical house of decadence' of Sekeping Kong Heng, I'm rounding up my Ipoh blog posts with five alternative eateries beyond the city's already-established street food and hawker stalls.
I've slept around. Literally - I've stayed at 5* hotels, country piles, cruise ships, Airbnb's, and then some. I'd rate myself reasonably well-travelled, even so my recent trip to Ipoh ticked off a first for me - sleeping in a treehouse. A treehouse! You may already know about my dinner partychildhood dreamplans in progress but what kidult doesn't still nurture Neverland fantasies? Ever since Sekeping Retreats burst onto the Malaysian scene with their dreamy 'back to nature' getaways, sleeping al fresco has never been so en vogue, an especially commendable accomplishment given the tropical climate with all its nuisances.
Sekeping Kong Heng sealed the deal for me when I contemplated making a trip to Ipoh for Henry's birthday. The latest addition to the Sekeping family is a glass and concrete treehouse in newly rejuvenated Kong Heng Square, the heart of Ipoh Old Town's revival. The 3 storey neo-classical building was once a hostel for theatre performers who performed in the adjacent theatre building that was burnt down in the 50s. True to the spirit of celebrating Ipoh's rich heritage and history, Sekeping Kong Heng has preserved as much of the character of the existing building as possible - evident in details like reclaimed colonial shop windows used for the rooms. The result is edgy and hip yet respectful to its surroundings' history: an exhibit you live and breathe - from the heady aroma of white coffee to the cacophony of Cantonese banter between hawkers - in a real Old Town setting.
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I chanced upon the most remarkable sight last November when I was in Ipoh to review The Haven.
In its heyday, the North Malaysian capital of Perak was an icon of the riches of the Empire. But when the mining boom ended, its star faded as the Town Built On Tin became a shell of its former self. All that remained of Ipoh were decaying colonial mansions and shophouses whose weathered bodies whispered of its glory days of British Malaya. As my father did, many of the city’s young emigrated to Kuala Lumpur for bigger prospects, leaving behind a sleepy hollow seemingly inhabited mostly by those old enough to remember pre-independence Malaysia.
Ipoh, whose star once shone as brightly as Singapore, was now an Adele lyric: “that town where nothing really happened”. Or so I had remembered from my family’s annual Chinese New Year returns to my paternal hometown - it was usually a stopover between Kuala Lumpur and Penang, albeit one boasting some of the best Malaysian culinary fare. Although in recent years Ipoh has become a family-friendly destination for wellness and relaxation, it was not a place I associated with a burgeoning arts and culture scene, and certainly not with the trendy young.
I was about to proven so satisfyingly wrong.
