THERE are two reasons as to why Tanjung Malim in Selangor is worth a day trip.
First, you will find some interesting eateries located around the town centre and if you love laksa kampung this would be a good place to start.
Next, there’s the high-speed electric train from Kuala Lumpur and if you have a foldable bicycle, the ride from Tanjung Malim to Kalumpang is definitely a route that might interest you.
The laksa kampung stalls in this town are located near the abandoned Rex cinema along Jalan Loke Yew.
Noodles galore: There’s a row of stalls selling curry laksa and soupy noodles along Jalan Loke Yew in Tanjung Malim.
Here, you will find a row of stalls selling noodles with stuffed vegetables, foo chuk and taufoo.
And for RM4 a bowl, they serve a generous portion and decent tasting laksa.
Speaking of riding a foldable bicycle around town, you can actually complete it within 20-minutes.
I took the opportunity to discover this town over a weekend on my bicycle when ride organiser Pauline Lee offered a slot for me and my wife Michelle.
This was also a chance to ride along with veteran folding bicycle rider Uncle Bil Choy who co-founded the folding bike club in Kuala Lumpur.
Choy rode his Brompton bike while Lee had a first try with her state-of-the art Moulton touring bike which is also a foldable bicycle.
There were 13 riders in the group who rode their Dahon, GT, Brompton and Moulton bicycles.
At Tanjung Malim, there are two sections of the town which is seperated by a railway line.
Rough terrain: Loose gravel and a high gradient proved to be too much for the folding bicycle riders.
The older part of Tanjung Malim is the most active trading areas with rows of pre-war shophouses and a wet market.
Even at the market itself, you will find some good eating places on the first floor.
But if you are over 1.8 metres in height, you might want to watch your head as the ceilings are built really low here.
From Tanjung Malim, the old trunk road leads to Kalumpang, a small town located about 15km away.
The ride from town-to-town would take about 50-minutes if you cycle non-stop in an average speed of 16km/hour.
Kalumpang is also split into two areas and the older part of town is located near the police station.
Here, there is a coffee shop called Cheong Fong that has been in existence for decades.
It specialises in char siew pau and local coffee and if you love the roasted brew, this is the place to be.
Not too far away from here, there are two jungle retreats called Kalumpang Resort and Pasir Putih Resort.
It is roughly about two kilometres from town and is a popular haunt for the picnic crowd.
Place for pau: The Cheong Fong coffee shop in Kalumpang.
I found the resorts to be quite polluted as water from a poultry farm nearby was chanelled into the stream.
During our visit, we saw two men gutting fish upstream with some children playing in the water where they were carrying out their act.
The ride back to Tanjung Malim would take another 15km which translates to about 45 minutes on the road.
And we completed the ride in four hours by taking a group photo in front of the Tanjung Malim train station.
If you plan to ride this route, be wary of oncoming vehicles as traffic is heavy along the KL-Ipoh trunk road.
Public can see and learn about KL via Malaysia Heritage Walk
Literally walk down memory lane through the heart of Kuala Lumpur starting at the Central Market at 10.30am every day.
Malaysia Heritage Walk, a free service, which began in October last year, is carried out by a group of volunteers called Be Tourist.
Tour guide and Kuala Lumpur expert Erina Loo begins the journey explaining how Central Market was a wet market in 1888.
She said the main aim was to promote and highlight the historical aspect of Kuala Lumpur by walking along the busy road.
Scenic sight: The convergence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang played a significant role in the history of Kuala Lumpur.
Loo describes the architecture of the building as art deco, which faced redevelopment but was saved by a group of non-governmental organisations to preserve its structure.
She then proceeded to Jalan Pasar, where the original market was located with the clock tower built in the 1930s standing out.
She said the British constructed the administrative building in Jalan Mahkamah Persekutuan, which is now known as Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad.
“Loke Chow Kit, a leading Chinese trader used to have his own department store in the same administrative area, which goes to show the kind of influence he had at the time,” she said.
While walking along the convergence of the Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang, Loo said a port used to be located along the bank.
The port, which was strategic for the market, allowed the trading and exchange of goods.
Colonial look: Old buildings along Jalan Pasar.
Moving along to another iconic structure of the city is the Masjid Jamek mosque that was built for the Malay settlement near the present HSBC Bank.
The tour then proceeded to one of the busiest streets in the city, predominantly known to Indians as Lebuh Ampang. It was made famous by the Chettiar community from south India after they established money-lending establishments along this road.
“The Indians made their initial fortune selling salt but most of them had left during the emergency period in 1960s,” Loo said while showing an old Chettiar shop that is still operating as a traditional money-lending outlet.
Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, previously known as High Street, has some of the oldest shophouses that are still in their original form.
Walking along this road, one can see modern businesses and traditional traders still operating side by side.
Further down Jalan Tun H.S. Lee is where the jewellery and pawn shops were located about 50 years ago.
Near the area, one will find Kuala Lumpur’s oldest Taoist temple built by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy, the man behind the development of Kuala Lumpur.
Kapitan Yap Ah Loy built the temple behind his house to show his gratitude to his master who was killed in a civil war.
Tourist lure: This is the oldest Taoist temple in Kuala Lumpur built by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy.
Moving along to Jalan Hang Kasturi, one will find a row of shophouses known for selling dried seafood and Chinese herbs, but now only one or two are in the trade.
It has now been transformed into Kasturi Walk with a huge Wau structure welcoming people from all over the world to Central Market. The tour ends at Central Market.
Those interested in taking the tour can call 017-989 1031 or 03-2032 1031 or log on to www.malasyiaheritage.net.
THE Big BookShop in Atria Shopping Complex is having a clearance sale with 50% storewide discount from its already marked-down low prices.
Its manager-in-charge K.C. Chow said the bookshop was moving out soon because of redevelopment plans. “Since we are moving out, we wanted to have a good clearance instead of bringing back stocks to the warehouse.
“And a 50% storewide discount is our way of rewarding loyal customers and avid book readers,” said Chow.
He said Big BookShop in Atria has always operated as a warehouse concept for the past couple of years where good-value books are sold for really low prices.
“For a novel that usually retails between RM35 and RM40 in the market, we will sell it at RM15.
“And now with the 50% discount, it means we are selling the novel at RM7.50,” said Chow.
He said bookworms can expect a good range of books which also boasts of overseas publishers like Harper Collins and Random House, among others.
For children, there are the Ladybird books to buy while people who love to cook can look forward to the Family Circle Mini Cookbooks that are going for RM1 only. There are various topics under this mini cookbook series to select from such as sizzling wok and roast to tapas as well as fats and carbohydrates.
The 50%, said Chow, was applicable to everything which included general titles, novels, hobbies, business, health and cookery except for local school books that were given a 20% discount.
Stationeries are also going at a special 20% off.
“We have received positive feedback from the public since we started on May 20.
“The prices are amazingly low, the books are brand new and titles are current.
“In fact, for Times Edition books as well as Hannah Montana and High School Musical, we are selling them at 70% discount, which translates to RM3 per book only,” said Chow.
The clearance sale ends on Sunday, with over 150,000 books to be cleared. It is held from 11am to 9pm.
Big Bookshop is located on the first floor of Atria in Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya.
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur (KL) will be launching its latest themed precinct, Tokyo Street, inspired by the modern yet traditional Asakusa district in July this year.
As with the popular district located in Japan’s capital city Tokyo, one of the key focal attractions at this area will be a giant red lantern that will greet visitors entering the 6th Floor precinct.
“Our lantern will be a bit smaller compared to the one in the real Asakusa but it is fabricated by the same company that created the original,” shopping centre head of design and fit-out Tan Peng Han said, adding that it took three months for the lantern to be completed.
Raising the red lantern: (From left) Yap along with leasing director Lovell Ho and design and fit-out head Tan Peng Han unveiling the logo for Tokyo Street, the new themed precinct to be opened in July.
Pavilion KL retail chief executive officer Joyce Yap said they wanted to offer customers an authentic Japanese experience and even brought in real Japanese brands to this end.
“Of the 29 confirmed brands we have opening in Tokyo Street, 12 are authentically Japanese while the rest feature Japanese concepts.
“Currently, 95% of the area is occupied with over 60% of the brands debuting for the first time in Malaysia,” Yap said at the press conference to announce the precinct.
The confirmed brands are mainly food and beverage types followed by retail and services such as a hair salon and a travel agent.
“We decided to do Tokyo Street after extensive research as there is a rising interest among consumers in Japanese-themed trends,” Yap said.
The total gross floor area of the precinct will be 3,716sq m whereas the total net lettable area is 2,517.59sq m with 41 lots including kiosks.
Yap also said that the target market was 70% local and 50% tourists.
“We will primarily target the urban crowd, modern individuals who relish the energy of Tokyo and the dynamism of cosmopolitan living with a love of fashion, gadgets, dining and entertainment,” she said.
The secondary market will be the Japanese expatriate community. “We hope they will come to regard Tokyo Street as a home outside of Japan,” she added.
Special concierge staff who will be able to speak Japanese will also be on hand to assist customers at the precinct that will emulate the Japanese way of living in many ways.
Japanese culture will also come alive at the precinct through various celebrations that will be organised from time to time such as Tanabata, Tango No Sekku (Boys’ Day) and Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival).
Yap said lots of effort and investment had gone into creating Tokyo Street.
“Creating a precinct or a concept like this is not just about acquiring hardware. It takes lots of planning, marketing, pricing and research. If this precinct is successful, it is possible we will look into creating others to emulate other cultures,” she said.
Yap said that they would continue working closely with the Tourism Ministry to get Tokyo Street recognised as a prime tourism destination in the Bukit Bintang area and within Pavilion KL.
The Rotary Club of Shah Alam is hosting the Dama Orchestra Performance “The Moon Speaks For My Heart” on Friday at 8.30pm at Pentas 1, KLPac, to raise funds for charity projects. For tickets, call James Wong 03-2148 8968/ Soon Ee Hooi 012-3399 466.