Second day in KL and we slept better than expected. The EQ Hotel bedding is genuinely exceptional in a way that is hard to quantify but immediately noticeable. After breakfast in the Club Lounge (we tried an Australian craft root beer that was sour and completely unlike the American version), we grabbed a Grab and headed out. We had a full day planned and, as it turned out, a full day delivered.
Batu Caves
We arrived around 9:00 AM. Arriving early matters here, and I cannot stress this enough. The tour buses start rolling in and the sun gets intense by midday. The combination of heat, humidity, and crowds in the middle of the day makes the whole visit harder than it needs to be. We had the staircase almost to ourselves at 9:00 AM. By the time we came back down, the first waves of tour groups were starting to arrive.
The stairs: The famous rainbow-painted staircase leading up to the main cave temple has 272 steps. The climb is steep in sections but manageable if you take your time. The key is the heat rather than the exertion. Go early, bring water, and do not wear anything you need to stay dry.
The climb: We ran a timer. With stops for photos and getting stuck behind other people on the stairs, we reached the top in under 6 minutes. It is a sweaty climb but a fast one. The view from the top of the staircase looking back over the entrance is worth the effort: the golden Lord Murugan statue at the base, the colorful steps leading upward, and the limestone cliffs framing everything. It is one of those views that looks better in person than in any photo.
The temple at the top: Inside the main cave, the scale of the limestone cathedral is hard to fully process. The ceiling is open in one section and natural light pours through onto the shrines and offerings below. Even if you are not coming for a religious reason, the architecture of the cave itself is genuinely impressive.
The monkeys: These are not the polite, indifferent monkeys we have seen in Japan. They are bold and organized about it. We watched one casually holding a baby while sitting on the staircase railing, completely unbothered by the crowd around her. Do not carry visible food and keep your bags closed. They will go for anything accessible. We saw one make a clean grab for a water bottle and disappear into the trees before anyone could react. This was not a slow, reluctant theft. This was a practiced operation.
Lunch: Bak Kut Teh
After coming back down completely drenched, we met up with Vincent's local friend for lunch and tried Bak Kut Teh, a pork rib dish cooked in broth. The name literally translates to "meat bone tea" and the dish is deeply tied to the Chinese communities of Malaysia and Singapore. Vincent had the ongoing question of which city does it best: KL, Singapore, or Penang. According to his friends who grew up here: KL.
The restaurant we went to was a no-frills local spot, the kind with laminate tables and fluorescent lighting and zero ambient design. The kind where you know the food has earned the attention.
What we ordered:
The soup version: Smells slightly herbal and medicinal, similar to certain Korean soups. The taste is deeply soothing and flavorful. The broth is cooked with garlic, white pepper, and a blend of Chinese herbs that give it a warming, slightly aromatic quality. A good introduction to the dish for someone trying it for the first time.
The braised/dry version: This was the standout. Rich with collagen from the pork skin, intensely savory, and completely different from the soup. The braised version is darker, stickier, and more aggressive in flavor. The pork has absorbed the sauce deeply enough that it tastes seasoned all the way through rather than just on the surface. Order both. The contrast between the two versions is part of understanding what the dish can do.
Salted egg fried squid: Sweet, salty, very crispy. A strong supporting dish. The squid had a proper crunch and the salted egg sauce clung to it rather than pooling at the bottom of the plate.
Kangkong (water spinach): Stir-fried and addictive. Simple but done well. The wok heat gives it a slight char that lifts it from plain vegetable to something you keep reaching for.
The restaurant itself was chaotic in a way that only works when the food is excellent. The owners were audibly arguing with each other for most of the meal. The food was completely worth it. If you are staying in the KLCC area, find a local spot for this dish, not a hotel version, not a tourist-facing interpretation. The real thing in a chaotic room is the correct experience.
EQ Hotel: Pool and Afternoon Tea
We rushed back to the hotel to cool off in the pool before the afternoon tea window closed. The EQ pool is heated, has a jacuzzi and cabanas, and looks directly at the KL Tower. A genuinely good pool for a city hotel. Most city hotel pools are narrow and uninspiring. This one is wide enough to actually swim laps in and the view of the tower makes it feel like a destination rather than an amenity.
After a quick dip we went up to the Club Lounge on the 50th floor for afternoon tea. This was my first proper afternoon tea experience, a stacked tier with scones, sandwiches, and desserts. There is a specific ritual to it that I had read about but never done: starting with the savory items, progressing to the scones with clotted cream and jam, and finishing with the sweets. The Club Lounge staff explained the order without making it feel like a lesson.
It was a quiet weekday afternoon and we had the lounge almost entirely to ourselves, which made the whole thing feel much more relaxed and private than a busy restaurant would. Afternoon tea in an empty Club Lounge with a view over KL at 4:00 PM is a very specific kind of vacation luxury that costs nothing extra if the lounge is already included in your room.
If your room includes lounge access, do not skip this service. See the EQ Hotel KL Dining Guide for the full breakdown of every service period.
Afternoon: Japanese Salon and Lot 10 Shopping
I had a long-overdue pampering session at a local Japanese-owned salon in KL. The nail tech spent over two hours on my nails. This is something KL does exceptionally well: nail salons and beauty services at a significantly lower price point than the US, done by technicians who take the work seriously. The salon was immaculate, the products were high quality, and the result was better than anything I have had at home.
Vincent met up with friends while I explored Lot 10, a smaller mall that focuses specifically on Japanese goods and restaurants. The format is completely different from the big malls around KLCC, which feel like international airports with retail stores. Lot 10 feels more specific and more interesting. The Japanese food court in the basement is consistently mentioned as one of the better options in the KLCC area for Japanese food at a reasonable price.
We regrouped, grabbed sushi (the unagi was enormous, substantially larger than any unagi portion we have encountered in the US), and walked through the underground walkway toward Pavilion mall. The underground walkway system in KL is one of the city's underrated features: climate-controlled, well-lit, and connecting large sections of the KLCC area without requiring you to step outside into the heat.
Boba Taste Test: Local vs. Chagee
We could not leave the mall area without trying boba.
Local spot: A warm bubble milk tea recommended by locals. Soft, fresh, and slightly sweet. The tea base was genuine, not a powder, and the tapioca pearls had the right chew. Very good. This is the kind of local boba spot that regulars know and tourists walk past.
Chagee: A well-known Chinese tea brand with locations across Asia. We ordered their bestseller, the White Peach Oolong Milk Tea. The quality is high and the packaging is genuinely elegant. The drink itself is lighter and less sweet than a typical boba order, which suits the oolong base. We do not have Chagee in the US, so this felt like a worthwhile first try. The local spot was slightly better on pure taste, but Chagee is worth experiencing for the quality and the presentation alone. It is the kind of brand where the experience feels considered from the menu design to the cup.
Evening: Sky51
We finished at Sky51, the rooftop bar at the EQ Hotel on the 51st floor. The views of the Petronas Twin Towers at night are the best in the city from a hotel rooftop. The towers glow from the inside, and from this height the perspective flattens the entire city into a luminous grid below them. It is the view you came to KL for.
We ordered cocktails to close out the day. One of mine was significantly stronger than I expected. Worth knowing that the drinks here are not light. The bar has a well-developed cocktail program and the menu prices reflect the quality of both the drinks and the real estate. Budget accordingly if you are planning to spend an evening here.
The Sky51 crowd is a mix of hotel guests and locals, which is always a good sign. A rooftop bar that only fills up with tourists is rarely one that locals have decided is worth their time. This one earns both.
Practical Tips for a KL Day Two
- Batu Caves: go before 9:30 AM. The 9:00 AM window is ideal. You get the stairs mostly to yourself, the light is good for photos, and you finish before the heat peaks.
- Bak Kut Teh is a lunch dish. Most of the best spots serve it in the morning or at lunch and close by mid-afternoon. Do not wait until dinner.
- Bring dry clothes for Batu Caves. You will sweat on the way up and you will want to change before sitting down to eat.
- Lot 10 basement food court is worth a dedicated visit if you enjoy Japanese food at reasonable prices.
- EQ Club Lounge afternoon tea is included if you have lounge access. Do not skip it on your first afternoon.
Next up: checking out of EQ and into the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur.
