With the amount of times I’ve been to Malaysia in recent years, it’s begun to feel like a home away from home. It’s a country that ticks all the things I enjoy about travelling:
- Incredibly delicious and diverse local food
- A fun car scene
- Great people
- Budget friendly
On my last 4 trips overseas I’ve left Melbourne as a solo traveller so it was fun to have some friends along on this trip with me and I was excited to show them why I love this country so much.
Saturday November 11th 2023
After checking in to our accommodation we headed over to Sunway Pyramid so I could ease the boys into some local cuisine before we hit up the more authentic hawker centres.
On the trip over, I had already regaled them with tales about shopping mall that, for reasons unknown to me (and probably everyone else), had decided to embrace an Egyptian motif. As we cruised along the freeway in our trusty Grab (their version of Uber), the skyline of monotonous buildings was suddenly disrupted by the bizarre sight of a pyramid and an sphinx looming over the motorway.
After breakfast, it was time to head over to Pinnacle Go Kart track which was hosting the LuftWasser Porsche event that day.
But Ying, why would you go to a Porsche meet? Do you even like Porsches? Well, no. They aren’t for me (largely due to not being wealthy) however, it’s also cool to enjoy the car culture in another country.
I’m also now going to outsource the upcoming information as I know nothing about Porsches and even less the local Porsche scene here.
This 1982 930 was one of my favourites at the show. Kyle told me this car was once turbo but now has a big valve 79 3.0 engine, AEM/Rasant ECU and PMO ITBs.
Attending the meet also served a secondary purpose, as it meant I could catch up with some of my Malaysian friends who would also be there on the day.
Speaking of Kyle, he rocked up driving this on behalf of his friend.
There was a great mix of vehicles on display with Race cars…
Cup cars…
…And a Porsche tractor!
There were also some newer Porsches on display.
For dinner it was time for something more within our income bracket – The hawker centre at SS2!
The must have dish for the boys to try was something not usually served in Australia – Grilled Sting ray.
Sunday November 12th 2023
Another thing I have noticed on my more recent trips here is that Malaysia has a great coffee scene. I was excited to finally get a chance to try Night Cap run by Carmen and Aswan.
The Night Cap coffee stand also serves as a hang out joint for local car enthusiasts and another opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new ones.
Upon arrival, the Honda boys spotted the EG and made a bee line for it.
Sedans of this era are everywhere on the street but rarely did we spot EG hatches driving around.
Perry tries to convince us he’s one of the locals.
Meanwhile the actual locals have way more chill.
At lunch time our group split in two with Aytac and Pete heading off to MotoGP and myself and Perry electing to seek out a highly recommended Char Kuay Teow stall in KL instead.
Turns out Robert is a legend for his cooking skills and his warm personality.
When he wasn’t dancing next to his wok, he was checking with us to see if the food was ok. The dish was more than ok, it was sensational.
As we were already in KL, we then took a Grab into Kuala Lumper City Centre (KLCC) so Perry could see the Petronas Towers.
We regrouped that night for dinner in PJ at Selera Jaya 223 Food Court with our local friends.
I believe Nasi Lemak is considered one of the national dishes of Malaysia. It consists of coconut rice, sambal, peanuts, egg and other things.
I very much appreciated that this meal was not wrapped in two layers of single use plastic as is the customary convenience of SE Asia.
And here is a photo of it served on a plate from a different day on our trip.
The first (but not the last) satay of the trip.
Thanks to all my Malaysian friends (Aswan, Kyle, Nelson, Joel + others) who came out to show a warm welcome to the Aussies!
Noisy Ninja 