Bintang Walk is not a dance. It is a shopper’s paradise and a mecca of culinary delights in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Luckily the hotel I was staying, was just a few minutes walk to the Monorail, the cheapest and fastest way to reach the place.

Riding from Bukit Nanas station, I got off at Bukit Bintang, walked down the stairs and voila! I am at the famous Jalan Bukit Bintang intersection.

Left and right are big malls – Pavillion, Lot 10, Fahrenheit 88 (formerly known as KL Plaza), Starhill Gallery, Sungei Wang Plaza, Kenanga Wholesale City, Low Yat Plaza, and Berjaya Times Square.

In betweens there is an array of jet set boutique names that any shopaholic could wish for — DKNY, Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Dunhill, Versace, Christian Dior and Salvatore Ferragano.

But I wasn’t there to shop… more on looking around and capturing anything that my photographic eye would fancy.

My timing was perfect. On display in front of the Pavillion were the United Buddy Bears, a collection of identically sized 2 m teddy bears with raised paws, made of fiberglass, each one handpainted by an artist from their home country and lined-up alphabetically.

Their mission, so I’ve learned is to deliver the message of tolerance, peaceful co-existence while raising funds to aid children’s relief organizations in every country they visit. The bears had been exhibited in different countries since 2002 and Kuala Lumpur was its 23rd stop.

There are too many to feature here, and these are the only ones which I was really interested to take pictures of.

Jalan Alor

Jalan Alor is a mecca of street food hawkers and a food adventurer’s paradise. A must-try for anyone visiting the Bukit Bintang area. I was told by the hotel front desk that it opens at 4 pm. So after some hours of exploring the mall, I went straight down the road to find Jalan Alor.

It’s just a short distance walk from the Pavillion. If you are coming from the Bukit Bintang station, turn left on the first corner after going down the stairs and find Kentucky, the friend chicken. Behind that is Jalan Alor.

Don’t be taken aback if you see those plastic tables and chairs amidst a not so clean surroundings, complete with the bustling and going of people and cars and other vehicles all over the place. I was told some of the best meals come from this street.

The place had just opened when I arrived. Usually it starts to get packed with tourists and locals alike from 5pm till 10 pm.

Even then, I was asked by every stall I looked in, to order from their menu, which was quite confusing as I had to decide in the middle of everyone near-shouting at me their especialities while pointing at the picture on their walls of the dishes they offer.

I settled for the last stall, asked if they have some crabs and was asked to choose from a container which one I liked, then it was weighed to determine the price (MYR 80/kilo), and I watched while my 0.7 kilograms crab was being cooked with my preferred pepper and oysters sauce, right in front of me. Lovely.

I also ordered chinese fried rice to go with it. I had read somewhere not to forget to try the famous Jalan Alor barbecued chicken wings, so I didn’t and ordered some too. Perfect.

I decided I want them for “take out” or “take away” as their way of saying it. I had a sumptuous meal at Din Tai Fung at Level 6 of the Pavillion just a few hours ago. After having 6 of those succulent Xiao Long Bao (steamed dumplings) and filling Dan Dan Lamian (noodles), I carried with me the Sauteed Garlic-Spinach which I didn’t touch at all. I planned to have that for dinner.

I didn’t have to wait long. In less than 30 minutes everything was packed in those ubiquitous disposable containers and I was ready to go.

I went back to the hotel, had a relaxing bubble bath and an hour later, in the comfort of my room while enjoying the view of the Petronas Towers through the window, I ate at leisure, delighting in every bite and savoring every flavor in my mouth of the undoubtedly without question, definitely and certainly the best meal I ever had in Kuala Lumpur.

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