Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

We flew Air Asia from Avalon to Kuala Lumpur. We've flown Air Asia numerous times, and always had good experiences, but I must admit that I wasn't super keen to use them now that they fly from Avalon Airport in Geelong. I just assumed it would be way too much of a hassle! However, after much research, we realised that it would be legit cheaper (and only twenty minutes longer) to take a cab from the eastern suburbs to Avalon and fly Air Asia than it would have been to fly a full service carrier from Tullamarine airport. Go figure! There's also a SkyBus to Avalon, which would be even cheaper, and some of my colleagues who live on that side of town have actually said that travelling through Avalon would be far more convenient than Tullamarine.

Avalon is a lot smaller than Tullamarine, so another bonus is that the immigration procedures (leaving from and returning to Australia) are much quicker. There are only a couple of food options - a small cafe before check in, and a larger cafe and bar in the departure lounge. They're all fine, but obviously expensive as you're paying airport prices and there's not a lot of competition. If you're flying Air Asia and want a proper meal, I'd actually suggest buying food on the plane.

The Air Asia meals are really good, and are far cheaper than Australian airport prices. Sandra got an extremely spicy mapo tofu with rice, and I got a really flavourful and delicious nasi lemak with tender curry chicken (the meals were RM15/$5AUD each). I also got a hot milo for RM6/$2AUD because I decided that the holiday had officially started! Super sedap!

Air Asia Nasi Lemak and Milo

This reminds me of a funny story that I'm only now ready to share with you - a couple of years ago I received an invite from the Air Asia marketing team to the launch event for their new inflight menu at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2. It was quite short notice, so I assumed that they had mistakenly included me on a list of Malaysian food bloggers and didn't respond straight away... and only after the RSVP date had closed did I learn that they did indeed mean to invite little old Sarah Cooks from Melbourne, and that they wanted to fly me over for the event and put me up in a hotel. GAAAAAH what an idiot! Oh well, I've learned from that mistake to be a little more self confident, and these days I always double check! And I guess now I can say that I've tried the food as a regular paying customer and can vouch for it!

So, onto Kuala Lumpur! As it was such a quick visit, and we were there to catch up with friends, rather than to explore the food scene, we let them pick what we did. Jenbo are quite the fancy couple, which I guess you'll see from the places they chose!

Dinner was at Chocha Food Store (No 156, Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur 50000), an upmarket restaurant serving modern fusion food based on local flavours. (There's also a speciality bar upstairs, Botak Liquor, which focuses on botanical drinks).

Chocha

Chocha

Jenbo had been here numerous times, so they were able to guide us through the menu. Here are some standouts!

Herb-stuffed chicken with black glutinous rice and local spinach - RM36

Curryflower - Crumbed cauliflower, salted egg, shallot, curry leaves, kesom - RM18

Next photo is slightly out of focus but I just had to share it with you because it was the highlight of the night! The mushroom frittata was incredibly light and fluffy and full of delicious shiitake and oyster mushrooms, potatoes and leek. Must order!

Mushroom Frittata Shiitake & oyster mushroom, potatoes, leek - RM22

After dinner we went for drinks at PS150 (150, Jalan Petaling, 50000 Kuala Lumpur), a "secret" bar a few doors down. Apparently secret and hidden bars are all the rage in Malaysia right now. We'd actually walked past it on the way to dinner, and I thought it was an actual toy store, d'oh! (I remember thinking to myself, "What kind of toy shop is filled with rambunctious yahoos and hot jazz music at one am?")

PS150 Bar - The best damn toy shop in town

Behind the toy shop is a very cool, chilled out bar, with an extensive cocktail list.

PS150 Bar

After all the travel, we could only manage one round (plus Jenni had work the next morning), but the cocktails were delicious and I really enjoyed this bar! Would recommend.

Cocktails!

The next morning, we had breakfast at Lisette's Cafe and Bakery (No. 8, 8A and 8B, Jalan Kemuja, Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur), a cute and totally Instagrammable cafe in trendy Bangsar. I liked the leafy courtyard...

Lisette's Cafe and Bakery

Pastries at Lisette's

Pastries at Lisette's

Sandra and I normally avoid Western-style cafes in Malaysia, preferring to save our limited time and stomach space for local food that we can't get back home, but when I saw that pastry display, I just couldn't resist. (The coffee was also a strong drawcard!) Jenni got her morning coffee here before she had to say bye and go to work (sob!) but the rest of us stayed for a sit-down breakfast. I had an excellent pandan coconut danish, and Sandra and Jimbo had a great blueberry crumble danish and a Chelsea bun.

Blueberry crumble danish, Chelsea Bun, Coconut and Pandan Danish

Instagram wall! Lisette's is Instagram-friendly without being made for Instagram, and the food is top notch.

Pandan and Coconut Danish, Lisette's

We then killed some time by getting massages at Thai Odyssey in nearby Bangsar Village shopping centre (3rd Floor, Bangsar Village II, Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur). I've been here previously on a past trip and can recommend it. So relaxing!

Thai Odyssey

Ok, so I said this visit was more about catching up with friends than food, but we just had to, had to grab lunch at Devi's Corner (14, Jalan Telawi 4, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur). Our local friend Su introduced us to Devi's on our last visit and we love it! (I couldn't visit KL without coming to Devi's at least once).

Devi's Corner

Roti Canai, Devi's Corner

Maggi Mee Goreng, Devi's Corner

... a thosai...

Thosai, Devi's Corner

...and a single piece of ayam goreng (fried chicken), why not! Ugggh all so good, I bloody love Devi's!

Fried Chicken, Devi's Corner