hanl

Hello

After various postings and lots of reading of all the information here, we have finally come up with an itinerary for our trip to Malaysia and Singapore in August-September this year.

Day 1-3 - arrive Singapore and stay with friend
Day 3-4 - Bus from Singapore to Melaka and one night in Melaka (Renaissance hotel?)
Day 4-6 - Bus from Melaka to KL and 2 nights at Shangri-La (booked) - activities TBA
Day 6-8 - Bus from KL to Cameron Highlands and 2 nights at Fathers Guest House if available (no pre-booking)
Day 8-11 - Bus to Penang and 3 nights at E&O Hotel (booked)
Day 11-14 - Fly Penang to Johor Bahru with Air Asia (booked) and transfer to Sibu island, Sea Gypsy resort (booked)
Day 14-17 - transfer to Singapore (organised by Sea Gypsy) and stay with friend until fly home.

Would love to hear your comments, tips or recommendations as regards alternative accommodation for Melaka or Cameron Highlands (have booked accomm. everywhere else). Also re. transportation by bus - is it recommendable to get tickets in advance if possible?

Lastly, any favourite restaurants in Penang, Melaka, KL? We are major foodies and are happy to splurge a little for a great meal.

Thanks in advance

Kathie

I do have a recommendation for a great restaurant in KL. Frangipani - it's excellent fusion cuisine and a real dining experience. I think you'll like it (we'd go back anytime!).

By the way we had a very expensive meal in the best restaurant at the Shangri-La, and while everything was cooked absolutly correctly there was nothing very interesting about the food ecxcept that it was ghastly expensive.

hanl

Thanks for the rec and the heads-up.
We'll try and make it to Frangipani and skip the Shangri-la restaurant

DavidKhoo

Depending on your budget, you may want to stay in Hotel Equatorial in Melaka and as well in Cameron Highlands. As for busses, i doubt that u need to book in advance as there r plenty of them plying to the destination major cities that u mentioned. But im not sure on the transportation from JB to Sibu Island. There r plenty of good food in Msia esp Penang. Penang is reknown for its Hawker food which comes in cheap n delicious and unique to Westerners. Well if u really interested in what to eat in Penang, Ill give you the details later on, there is a website which links to the best hawker food in Penang

twofortheroad

Restaurants in Melaka that we tried:

There are 2 Pernakin Restaurants in most of the guide books, Ole Sayang & Nyonya Makko. We tried both. Nyonya Makko was superior in every way. An added plus is you can order small portions & try a great variety of dishes. We especially liked the Otak-Otak, Curry Ayam (chicken) Makko, Okra in chile sauce, & the Chendol. We voted this place our best Malaka meal.

We had a good lunch at Restoran Pernakan, 107 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok, and an extremely bad lunch at the much touted Junker Ristoran, avoid.

We stayed at the Renaissance & had dinner nearby at Restoran Lee, 155 Jalan Bendhara, across from the Bayview Hotel. I found this on a Singapore food blog, saying that the Sri Lankan Chile Crab bested those in Singapore. We walked over in the afternoon, and it looked like no place you would choose to eat, but we reserved anyway. That evening all the tables were full with large groups of local diners. There didn't seem to be menus. We ordered the Chile Crabs & they suggested Morning Glory (Kang Kung) to go with--absolutely delicious. The other tables were eating many different dishes--soups, noodles, fish, clams---if you don't like crabs, you could just point to other diner's dishes. Not at all elegant but an excellent restaurant.

The Renaissance has a shuttle bus that takes you to Mahkota Parade, a shopping mall. There is an excellent food court there in air conditioned splendor.

Penang:

Hot Wok is an excellent Nonya Restaurant, upscale, great food & atmosphere.

May Garden, Chinese food. This was good, but we're not excited with any Cantonese food.

Dragon King--this is touted by all of the guide books--avoid--dreary food & atmosphere, and all western diners, guide book in hand.

Gurney Drive for hawker food--Many food courts & open air at the roundabout.

Hawker food is the best food in Malaysia, but it is difficult for the casual visitor to figure out the excellent from the poor. Google Virtual Tourist restaurants for the areas you will visit & you will find much information, many by locals. You will see the many different dishes explained. Also try Penang Talk, there is a good forum.

Simpletravelling

Shangrila's Lafite is my favourite restaurant but I have not been there since they changed the decor.

For bus, get your hotel to book from reliable companies. If you buy yourself from the bas station, ignore the touts(they give wrong timing and poorer buses) and buy from the counter personally.

You are staying in some of the best hotels. Why not stay in the Smokehouse or Strawberry Park in Cameron ? Not heard of Fathers Guest House, a new place or a new name for a old hotel ?

hanl

Thanks for your replies.

DavidKhoo, thanks for the recommendation for Hotel Equatorial. Will investigate rates for the dates we'll be in Melaka. In Cameron Highlands, I think we want to be in Tanah Rata rather than Brinchang, but nothing's set in stone yet. I'd love to see the website that you mentioned re. hawker food in Penang.

Twofortheroad, thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I'm really looking forward to tasting Malaysian food!

Simpletravelling, we looked at Strawberry Park and the Smokehouse but somehow neither really appealed to us. Not really sure why. Father's guesthouse is a low-budget guesthouse but it sounds like it has a great atmosphere and decent facilities, and is recommended in every guidebook I've consulted. We're not necessarily "luxury" travellers so we thought it would be nice to mix things up a bit and stay somewhere a bit less posh, but perhaps more laid-back and friendly. But nothing's absolutely decided yet...

Thanks again to all.

xvsmithx

I was at The Lakehouse last year after their refurbishment and the place itself was soooo sweet! It was bursting with flowers and the cool fresh air was really refreshing. Being the fun-loving kind i was wondering if it'd be a bore but it turned out to be exactly what i needed.

I highly reccomend the complimentary Jungle trekking just behind the hotel and the tea with scones they serve with whipped cream and homemade jam... i still drool just thinking of it!

You can check out their site at - The Lakehouse, Cameron Highlands Reservations can be made online so that may make it much more convenient for you.

TravelTwiddle

Brinchang is only a couple of minutes drive from Tanah Rata. Do make an effort to visit Brinchang's night bazaar if your visit falls on weekend.

twofortheroad

I just received an e-mail from YTL, the company that owns Pangkor Laut & Tanjong Jara. They are opening a beautiful hotel, Cameron Highlands Resort on April 28. The pictures on the web site are gorgeous.