Shopping in KL

[Meggymoose]

This message is aimed at any mums who know KL well - where is the best place to go for cheong sums for me and the kids? Don't mind off-the-peg or tailor-made.

Also, the best place to buy childrens books in Mandarin (DD's 1 and 3 - so age appropriate would be good).

Thanks muchly!

I lived in KL 10 years ago so not how accurate my information would be but you could perhaps try Petaling Street which is the Chinatown area in KL. Failing which, depending on how long you will be in KL for, perhaps buy fabric in Petaling St and get cheongsams tailor-made.

There is a chain of bookstores in Malaysia called Popular bookstore and they stock pretty good Mandarin books, flashcards, vcds. If you're going to be in a hotel, ask the concierge where your closest branch of Popular bookstore is.

I now live in Singapore and there're loads of cheongsams here! So if you can work a stopover in Singapore into your itinerary, I could definitely tell you where to get them.

cheers

Thanks Rojak - will try all of the above.

Strangely we have been discussing stopping over in Singapore. We last stopped over when I was pregnant and the China Town there was great for cheong sams, but of course no good for me at the time! Our DD's are 1 and 3 now so don't know whether we are brave enough to do Singapore on our way home this time! Any advice?!

I think Singapore is fab for kids. Quite a lot to do and you don't have to drag them from mall to mall.

The Chinatown in Singapore has a couple of streets, a little like Petaling Street in KL so good for a wander (late afternoon when it's not as warm) and quite a few of them sell children's cheongsams.

There is a shop in Chinatown called Yue Hwa (think I've spelt it right) which has everything chinese over about 4 or 5 floors and they will have traditional chinesewear for men, women and kids. They tend to stock better quality stuff than you would find in the street market.

For the kids, we find a day in Sentosa pretty good fun, you can choose to do attractions or just sit on beach, grab a few drinks and let the kids play.

There's also the Zoo / night safari or a water theme park called Wet Wet Wild.

or there's the Singapore Ducktours or a boat ride along the river.

For something a bit more local, head over to the East Coast park, hire a couple of bikes with child seats and go cycling, you can choose to have breakfast there and then go cycling or go cycling before stopping for dinner.

Are you visiting family in KL or holidaying?

Hi Rojak,

We're visiting family in Sabah. We usually stop over at DH sisters place for 3 or 4 nights in KL to aclimatise. However, we have now decided that we will fly to Singapore if possible this August and aclimatise there instead!

We had thought of Sentosa and will definately look up Yue Hwa store and the other places you have suggested.

What about book stores in Singapore and can you recommend some good places to eat with the kids?

Popular bookstores are also here in Singapore.

Or if you're in the Orchard area, try Kikokuniya in Ngee Ann City (above Takashimaya) - it's huge and seems to stock everything although I've never specifically looked for mandarin stuff in there.

You'll never go hungry in Singapore - food everywhere - honestly I grew up in Malaysia and have never seen as many restaurants, cafes, coffeeshops, snack stops in my life! Most places are quite good with kids.

Once you find out the area your hotel is in, let me know and I'll post some details.

We tend to do Sentosa in the late afternoon as my kids are fairly young and a full day at Sentosa would be too much for them. We head out there about 4pm, do an attraction eg. the luge ride or one of the animal shows, then head for either Palawan or Siloso beach and the kids play on the beach while DH and I get a drink and we stay for dinner, watch the sunset and head home. There is an Italian restaurant, Trapizza on Siloso beach which is quite nice.

Water themepark is called Wild Wild Wet, not wet wet wild!

Ok thanks Rojak - I'm sooo excited!

Last time we visited, we stayed at The Stamford (Swissotel) and really liked it. I was just looking on their website and note they even do rooms equiped for kids with toys and kids beds!

Are then any other hotels you know of that would be good for us? Just want child friendly, somewhere near to the kid friednly places we want to visit.

Thanks!

We have stayed at the Swissotel (Merchant Court)which is by the river and near Robertson Quay, Clarke Quay and walking distance to Chinatown.

The Stamford is another Swissotel and is linked to Raffles City (mall) and Raffles Place (tube) I think.

Taxis are fairly cheap anyway so don't think it would matter which hotel you were in to get to the places you want to go.

There are some good restaurants within Raffles City itself (in the basement). I haven't been there too often and have only eaten at a Taiwanese dumpling place called Din Tai Fung but some of the pasta / salad / grill cafes looked good.

Ok, well will let you know where we decide on and will no doubt pick your brains if there's anyhting wlse I think of!

Thanks for your help - much appreciated!