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STARHILL GALLERY
The JW hotel is linked to the prestigious Starhill Gallery, whose seven levels boasts 70 shops (including top brand name designers like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton…). A ground floor, nicknamed Feast Village, offers a slew of restaurants where patrons can dine on Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Spanish, seafood, Thai -- you name it! One of several bars -- the Village – is special: It is made from 10,000 recycled bottles. That’s not the only architectural wonder. The design of this entire floor is so cool – it’s funky, dark, and definitely worth the trip.

FISHERMAN’S COVE
I had dinner at Fisherman’s Cove. It is designed like a rustic fisherman’s boathouse, with bamboo boat sails and fish tanks. I am not a big seafood fan, so the most impressive part of the evening was the desserts. They were too good to describe, and my pictures don’t do either the presentation or the colors justice. Fisherman’s Cove, LG10 Feast Village, Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur; tel.: 603-2782 3848.

NIGHT MARKET
A good place to visit after dinner is the Night Market on Petaling Street, in the heart of KL’s Chinatown. This is not the best night market I’ve ever been to (the ones in Bangkok and Hong Kong blow it away), but it’s still a good experience to walk through the two tight, completely packed streets where street hawkers try to get you to buy all kinds of cheap stuff, from t-shirts to knickknacks. I bought a fridge magnet for less than a dollar, and a bag of Rambutans (my favorite tropical fruit) for only 2 RM (56 cents). If I hadn’t just eaten dinner I would have tried the street food specialties: nasi ayam goring (chicken fried rice) and kari laksa (rice noodles in coconut curry).

YO TAXI!
Getting a taxi from the night market is not a problem – but getting them to charge by the meter is. When drivers use the meter, the fare is so cheap I understand why they put up a fuss. If you don’t feel like arguing with a driver, then before getting into the car you should bargain for a fixed price. My friends and I hired a taxi to take us to Petronas Towers, then to our hotel. Each was a 10 minute drive. We tacked on another 15 minutes at the towers for picture-taking. It cost us only 30 RM ($8.50) for over 30 minutes. In Europe or the U.S. the price would be at least quadruple that. The one drawback: These taxis are so small that three people in the back seat are cramped. They felt like the cheapest thing I’ve ever ridden in – it was like riding in a tin can on wheels. FYI: All fine hotels have drivers waiting outside with luxury cars for hire. Their prices are still cheaper than taxi rates in the U.S.

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