Malaysia Road Trip

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By Nova Dudley Gough

Once upon a time, a Malaysia road trip meant only one thing: driving from Miri to Brunei to go to the Supa Save. Years have passed, and now that we live in Brunei the urgency to get to the supermarket is not quite the same. We did, however, spend three years living in Kuala Lumpur and fell in love with peninsular Malaysia. Once we were settled in Brunei, our first real holiday (no offence to Miri Marriott) was to go back to this part of the world and to see it by car.

Our plan was to fly into Kuala Lumpur International Airport, drive north to Ipoh, on to Penang for a few days, up to Langkawi taking the ferry over, and then drive all the way back with one night in KL to wind up the ten-daylong trip. And we actually stuck to our plan.

Some people might be worried about traffic and driving in KL. Yes, it’s busy and you do need Waze, but generally it’s fine and quite a laid-back experience once you ignore the sheer number of cars on the road. We hired our car directly at the airport, and this wasn’t great. Despite renting from an international company, the car was old, dirty and bashed about. But it also meant we didn’t stand out too much and weren’t too worried about any nicks that we might pick up on the way (not that we did, obviously).

Ipoh is one of those places that is signposted from the very centre of KL, so we skirted the city after leaving the airport itself, waving fondly at the tall apartment blocks that once were home, and headed north. Ipoh is a couple of hours’ drive north through gorgeous limestone hills. The road – once you leave KL – is safe and easy to navigate. Ipoh has a thriving alternative culture with plenty of street art, fabulous food, and the famous narrow Concubine Lane with food stalls and plenty of souvenirs. The old Padang is lovely to walk to, and we spent hours pottering round the shophouses and lanes.

We stayed in Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay, in central Ipoh. Rooms are large and individual, named after local flora and fauna, with stained glass windows and high ceilings. There are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore with interesting artefacts from the region, and the building itself is an art deco delight, one of several in Ipoh. One of our first stops after checking in was to go to Plan B, the Ipoh outpost of one of our favourite KL cafes. The coffee is great, the food excellent with a mix of Malaysian and Western dishes, and the atmosphere is a mixture of hipster cool and relaxed. We were happy to be back and it was a great start to our trip.

After a morning wandering the streets, looking at the street art of Ernest Zacharevich and checking out Ipoh’s famous flea market, we collected the car and started our drive north to Penang. The roads were quiet and easy to drive, and we were crossing the bridge to Penang only a couple of hours later. We’d only visited Penang once previously, and we weren’t terribly impressed. Rather than staying in Batu Ferringhi again for the beach, however, this time we’d booked into a brand new heritage hotel: the type of building that tries to look like Raffles but was built only a year ago, with the main purpose of looking good on Instagram. Reader, it succeeded. The Prestige is in the centre of Georgetown, close to Little India, and totally gorgeous. Free parking and a great free breakfast beautifully designed rooms and a fabulous location, as well as a rooftop infinity pool overlooking the sea. It was a great find and a nice taste of luxury at a bargain price as the hotel had opened only a month earlier.

We started our few days in Penang with a curry in Little India, enjoying the lights and sounds of the Deepavali celebration. There are some fabulous little boutiques near the hotel, with quirky stationery and ornaments for the home, as well as great places for coffee. We did visit the malls to get some serious shopping done, but once that was done we explored some of the history of Georgetown, with a tour of The Blue Mansion, a beautifully restored house that has been used as a film set for the classic “Indochine” as well the more recent “Crazy Rich Asians”. We also braved Penang Hill, taking the funicular railway to admire the views. Well, I braved. Most other people seemed to think that taking the world’s steepest tunnel track was an entirely normal thing to do, the fools. The views were worth the anxiety, however, and while we were up there we also visited The Habitat, a trail through rainforest with ziplines and swings, and enjoyed the scenery. We left Penang this time with a newfound appreciation (and much larger bellies thanks to all the great food).

From Penang it was a relatively short drive to Langkawi. We left our car in a secure(ish) car park for about RM10 a day (there are plenty on the road leading up to the ferry at Kuala Perlis) and took the ferry as foot passengers. The ferries run fairly frequently, and while it’s advisable to book in advance for busy periods, we had no problem getting tickets. The journey takes about an hour but there isn’t any food available on board (and I looked, believe me).

On arrival at Langkawi we were greeted by a statue of the famous Langkawi eagle and also many shops and places to buy yet more food. We booked a cab using Grab, the Malaysian taxi app, and it took us to our hotel, The Westin. I think this is the part of the article where I am supposed to describe the sights of Langkawi, but honestly we were so happy to relax at the hotel, with its pools and lovely beach, that we actually didn’t see any of them. Oops. Still, it’s nice to have a reason to return…

We took the early ferry back to Kuala Perlis because we had a long drive ahead, all the way back to Kuala Lumpur. The ferry had other plans, however, because about ten minutes after leaving we realised that the engines had stopped and we were drifting around. Some tug boats and an hour or so later, we’d been rescued from our aimless bobbing and were back on a different ferry, eventually getting to our car a couple of hours later than planned. The direct drive to KL took about ten hours, not helped by terrible weather. We stopped at rest stops for dumplings and donuts and lots of Starbucks, and eventually managed to get to our hotel in the centre of KL. Rather than having a couple of hours to explore Little India, we settled for more shopping at a mall and grabbed a quick drink at another rooftop pool. Our flight left KL for Bandar at lunchtime the next day, just enough time for a long lie-in and a short argument with the car hire people. The trip was a great adventure for us. While not the most relaxing of holidays (Langkawi excepted), it reignited our love of Malaysia and was a welcome return to this kind of travel after four years out of Asia. It’s a great way to people watch, see places outside of KL’s Golden Triangle and really feel the different aspects to Malaysia’s history and culture. We can’t wait to do it again.

(All photos by Nova Dudley-Gough)

Operation Coconut

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Operation Coconut

by Petra Moelker-Pronk

At the picturesque fruit and vegetable market (also known as the tamu) in front of the fish market in KB, a place of honor is reserved for the coconut man. Coconuts are split here at a rapid pace. He pops a straw in it, and you have a delicious cooling drink. This market vendor uses a cleaver as a chopping knife, but you can do it yourself in your own kitchen.

 

Drain the coconut water.

For Operation Coconut, place the fruit in the freezer or a preheated oven (100 C) for 15 minutes. Cooling or heating the shell ensures that the flesh comes off more easily. Place the coconut on a hard surface, such as a cutting board. Pierce one of the three soft black dots with a sharp object, such as a screwdriver, a nail or a small sharp knife. Make the hole as large as possible, and tilt the coconut to pour the coconut water into a glass. This is the first of the coconut’s treasures.

 

Open the coconut.

The second treasure is the white coconut flesh within. When it comes to breaking open a coconut, you probably have visions of an ax, chopping knife or saw. The real adventurer can try this, but the simple kitchen prince or princess can do it with ordinary tools—either with a knife or with a hammer.

 

To open the coconut with a knife, hold the coconut tightly in your hand. Hit the blunt side (not the sharp side!) of the blade of a large kitchen knife right in the middle of the coconut. Turn the fruit a little bit and keep hitting along an imaginary centre line. As a result, the shell bursts in two.

 

If the knife option seems too scary, you can wrap the coconut in a towel and smash it with a hammer. Because this method requires more power, do it on the floor rather than on the kitchen counter.

 

The flesh is now easy to pop out with a spoon. The thin brown skin around the flesh is edible, but you can also cut it off. Put the pieces of coconut in the food processor, and you will get grated coconut.

 

Recipe: Fresh Coconut Milk

(from Annemiek Sherestha-van der Krogt’s blog)

 

Despite what people often think, the coconut does not contain coconut milk but coconut water. Coconut milk is easy to make yourself. It is a healthy and lactose-free alternative to cow’s milk or soy milk.

 

Ingredients:

4 cups water

2 cups coconut, grated

 

Preparation method:

1 Heat the water in a pan, but do not let it boil.

2 Put the grated coconut in the blender and add the water.

3 Mix the ingredients on high for a few minutes until the mixture becomes creamy.

4 Pour the mixture through a colander to filter out the grated coconut.

5 Place a tea towel over the bowl and pour the coconut milk through it. Squeeze well to remove all milk.

 

Optional: Coconut Flour

6 Spread the squeezed coconut mass onto a baking sheet and bake at 100° until it is dry. Put it in the food processor and grind it into coconut flour. Zero waste!

 

The coconut milk keeps well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. If the milk is stored in the refrigerator, a cream layer forms on top after a while. Take the milk out of the fridge, let it come to room temperature and stir it a little; the cream layer will disappear automatically.

 

Click here to read this article and more from the November 2019 Issue.