Once again, we embark on another Malaysia shopping journey. This time, we travel the Singapore Malacca route via the North South highway enroute to Kuala Lumpur. We were fortunate to taste some delicious local Malaysian food.
We started on our Singapore Malacca journey bright and early at 0630 hrs. Having made good timing, we cleared both the Singapore and Malaysia customs and immigration by 0720 hrs even with a little queue at the Malaysian side of the Second Link.
Queue starting at the Malaysian end of the Second Link
Booth where we used to be able to collect Malaysia's white card - the immigration form - but which have been out of stock for the past few months. Fortunately for us, we managed to get them from the immigration officer... finally!
Exiting at Ayer Keroh, the latest toll was RM24.30 (USD7.15). However our Touch & Go card was short of RM1.80 (USD0.55) after having paid RM10.80 (USD3.15) and RM3.90 (USD1.15) in tolls earlier. The toll attendant came over and told us to pay up RM2 (USD0.60). Pulling up at the Ayer Keroh toll office just a few metres away, we immediately topped up our Touch & Go Card.
Holiday Travel Tips:-
Ensure you have sufficient amount in your Touch & Go card so that you do not need to pay any extra. And it makes for a much smoother journey.
Malacca, here we come
Our first destination in Malacca was Jalan Temenggong. Arriving at about 0945 hrs, we took a while to find a parking lot. Next we had to find a place to purchase the parking coupons which cost RM6 (USD1.75) for 10 hours of parking at RM0.60 (USD0.20) per hour.
A make-shift stall frying Chinese cruellers, just next to where we parked
Gan Hong Hoe Market
We headed straight for Gan Hong Hoe Market to check out the place. Selling mostly meats, fish and vegetables in the wet market section, we proceeded to the back and found some food stalls at Medan Selera. We decided to try their Malaysian food and ordered their prawn noodles as well as fish head noodles.
Medan Selera Food Centre
The prawn noodles at RM3 (USD0.90) was quite plain though the chilli was spicy. There was a long wait for the fish head noodles but it was well worth it. At RM5 (USD1.50) a bowl, it was very tasty with a generous topping of fish. What a great choice indeed and we look forward to coming back for more from this stall which does not even have any sign to indicate what it was selling.
Stall selling prawn noodlesPrawn noodles 
Fish noodle soup - oh, so yummy!
Stall selling fish noodles
The wet market
After a hearty breakfast, we walked a few metres down the same street to King Hin Plastic Enterprise, a favourite haunt for avid bakers and stallholders. Well-known for their wide range of packaging including cake boxes and plastic containers of various shapes and sizes, it was quite crowded.
Great place to shop for bakers and stall holdersSince Chinese New Year is just around the corner, some of the prices have been raised. However if you are looking for Chinese New Year stickers, a sheet of 9 stickers, approximately 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter cost RM1.10 (USD0.30) . Buying in greater quantity would get you a better price as well. We had just bought these stickers 3 days ago in Kulai, Malaysia, for RM1.80 after bargaining.
Next stop was Dataran Pahlawan Shopping Centre since we had a request to buy some coffee from San Shu Gong. Since we were there we took the opportunity to enjoy Malacca’s famous dessert, the chendol (dessert of shaved ice with coconut milk and brown palm sugar). Both the original chendol at RM4.80 (USD1.40) and the durian chendol at RM5.80(USD1.70) tasted good and the portion was generous. With a strong palm sugar flavour, this chendol is very different from others that we have tried for the fact that the ice is very smooth and find. This is definitely a ‘must-try’ if you are in Malacca, especially in San Shu Gong.
San Shu Gong, great place to buy Malaysia's local products
San Shu Gong's hampers (left) and trinkets (right)
For those of you who are shy of the durians, then go for the original chendol
Chinese New Year decorations
Chinese New Year clothings 1240 hrs saw us carrying on with our journey to Kuala Lumpur. Along the way, we managed to snap some interesting clouds images.
Clouds imagesWe stopped by Palace of the Golden Horses, a resort we stayed last November and met up with the Director of Operations, Mr Andrew Satu, for a friendly chat. At the same time, we managed to snap some pictures of the Chinese New Year decorations in the Palace of the Golden Horses. Oh! Not forgetting if you are looking for a great, grand and unique place for a wedding shoot, this is definitely one such place.
Happy Chinese New Year at The Palace of the Golden Horses, a beautiful resort hotel
Chinese New Year decorations 
With Mr Andrew Satu 
Looking for a great place for a wedding shoot?Leaving the Palace of the Golden Horses just before 1600 hrs, we made our way to our Kuala Lumpur accommodation for the night – Citrus Hotel. Located off Jalan Raja Laut, this 171 rooms budget hotel enjoys easy access to the city centre. The hotel is in an excellent location with access to the rail network which provides efficient links to the entire city of Kuala Lumpur.
Hotel Citrus Reception
Citrus Hotel, can be considered a budget hotel on the higher end
We managed to get one of the 15 parking lots located directly in front of the hotel. By the time we checked in and went to our Club room, it was already after 1700 hrs.
Nice & spacious bedroomBedroom interior 
Cozy sofa areaHoliday travel tips:-
You can book a club floor room on some online sites at RM150 (USD44) nett. However there are only limited rooms available. Should you be able to get that rate, it is really value for money as you will be entitled to the following:-- welcome drink
- fresh fruits
- complimentary unlimited WIFI access
- complimentary shoe shine service
- late check out till 1600 hrs upon request, subject to availability
You will also have access to:-
- personalized check in and check out services
- complimentary coffee, tea and soft drinks
- complimentary snacks
- complimentary use of internet work stations
- concierge service
- business centre and secretarial services upon request
After freshening up, we proceeded to the Club Lounge on the 10th floor for a drink. The Club Lounge requires an elegant casual dress code which means no shorts, singlets, fitness attire, room slippers and flip flops. Strictly a non-smoking area, it was a lovely cozy place where you can get a clear view of the Petronas Twin Towers. The internet access though was intermittent and we just enjoyed the complimentary snacks provided.
At the Club Lounge
A cozy area where you can get internet access Coffe maker 
Snacks
2 terminals available where you can access the internet
Petronas Twin Towers - view from the Club LoungeNext we took a walk to explore the surroundgs and came across a few other hotels in the area. We came across KWC Wholesale at 19 Jalan Belia off Jalan Raja Laut and decided to check it out. We managed to do some shopping there and found that some items were being offered at ‘wholesale’ prices.
KWC Wholesale
Some of the varieties or items that were being sold
Our contact person for Citrus Hotel, Sleva, Assistant Sales Manager, gave us a call on our mobile phone and came to meet us at the KWC Wholesale shop. He and a friend of his, Fifi, then walked us back to Citrus Hotel to have dinner at Café Citrus.
Selva & FifiOur order included spaghetti carbonara, fried kway teow and beef hor fun (thick flat rice noodles). Verdict for the food in this budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur – not bad on the whole. The sago gula Malacca dessert was another local Malaysian food that we tried and thought was of quite a good standard.
Spaghetti carbonara
Fried kway teowBeef hor fun
Sago gula Malacca
Banana split
Whilst having dinner, we had a great time chit chatting and catching up with Selva who had just joined Citrus Hotel 3 days ago. It was good to be able to catch up.
After dinner, we went back to the room and offloaded our shopping parcels. We then continued exploring the area. Less than 5 minutes away by foot, we came across the Chow Kit night market. Most of the other shops were closed by now except for the night market.
Chow Kit night market
As Selva mentioned that he would pick us up tomorrow between 1030 hrs – 1100 hrs to show us the way to some other wholesale shops, we did not walk for long. When we started making our way back to our Kuala Lumpur accommodation for the night, it started pouring and we were slightly drenched as it was a sudden downpour. We were caught unaware. At the same time, since most of the shops around the area were already closed, we decided to walk back to the hotel in the rain instead of waiting for the rain to subside.
Back at the Citrus Hotel, we proceeded once again to the Club Lounge on the 10th floor to enjoy the cozy atmosphere and a drink. The internet access here though was still intermittent and so we decided to go back to the room where the internet access was slightly better. However, we did manage to take in the magnificent night view of the Petronas Twin Towers
Beautiful night view of the Petronas Twin TowersWe called for some extra amenities and it took more than 30 minutes to arrive. Even when the runner came, he only brought one out of the 3 items requested and we were disappointed to hear that there were no more pillows. He came back a few minutes later bringing the second item and finally approximately half and hour from his first visit with the 2 extra pillows.
Being in a Club room, we were supposed to receive fresh fruits upon checking with the Reception earlier, we were told that the fruits would be placed in the room either in the morning or evening. However we did not receive any fruits today.
Thus ended our first day of our Malaysia shopping trip. Our Singapore Malacca portion of the journey was great as we thoroughly enjoyed the truly local Malaysian food we discovered at the market. We also managed to purchase most of the items that we were looking for and even found a wholesale area to shop in. The area around our Kuala Lumpur accommodation, Hotel Citrus, seems quite interesting especially with the wholesale shop that we found and the night market close by. However the service in the hotel could be improved for better guest experience.
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