KL - A Haven for Vegetarians and so much more

Our time in Kuala Lumpur is coming to an end. Tomorrow we are off to Singapore for a quite visit.

I have to say that we have both thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Despite the rain, which has started to appear daily as this area of the world gets closer to its yearly monsoon season, we have taken in a good part of the sights on offer. Yesterday, we started the morning off with a few laps around the rubber track located in the city centre. A popular spot for those who work in the offices around to walk or jog in order to get their minds of the stress of work, as well as for children to play, we were pleasantly surprised to find such a lovely place right in the shadow of the Petrona Towers.

We enjoyed a tasty Chinese meal of chicken with spicy noodles and shrimp wanton for lunch, then headed to the historic quarter of the city to visit the museums. The Malaysia Police Museum, the Planetarium, the National Museum are all located quite close, which worked well for us seeing as the rain began to pore as we were walking over. All were dead quite, not only because all the kids were in school, but also possibly due to the fact that we later found out that there was a national election taking place (no TV in our room, so we loose track of what is going on in the world).
Thoroughly good afternoon, although the all of the walking caused both of our feet to swell as we enjoyed a couple of pints at Finnegan's Irish Pub (our first since the detox began) and watch the Seven's Rugby taking place in Hong Kong.

Now, since we were suppose to introduce certain foods such as grains and meat back into our diet slowly after not eating for so long, we had to try and search for vegetarian options. KL's amazing array of different cuisines and restaurants has made this very easy. Our first day in the city we discovered Wood's Macrobiotic Organic Restaurant (http://www.macrobiotics-malaysia.com/) just down the street from our hotel. We have been back every day for either lunch or dinner for their absolutely fabulous vegan food prepared fresh when ordered. Every dish we have had has tasted wonderful, so much so that it is hard to believe it's also some of the best food for our body. We'll be picking up the cookbook on sale before we leave.

In addition, there are a large number of Indian restaurants serving all vegetarian menus, including, Lakshmi Vilas, the one that I spoke about in my last post. Today at lunch we tried another, Sangeetha. Still full two hours later, I have to say my plate of mixed curried rices, pickles, spicy chick pea curry and mango lassi was a bit too much, but well worth stuffing myself to enjoy.

Another place to mention is Peter Hoe's (http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/travel/02foraging.html) somewhat hidden boutique and cafe. For batik prints, clothing, home design and much more, including divine looking deserts, which we avoided (Tom did enjoy a coffee and the great ambiance, while a shopped though) this is a great place to spend some time relaxing or perusing.

With all of this delicious food around, Tom has yet to miss eating meat, but he assures me, a steak for dinner is in his near future.