Take a train to discover KL's famous food districts on a budget

Banana leaf rice is always good at any time of the day. — Filepic

Visitors looking to explore some of Kuala Lumpur’s famous food districts on a budget can consider taking the train. As part of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020), the MyCity Pass and KL Heritage Food Trails were launched recently.

The initiative – a collaboration between Tourism Malaysia, Prasarana Malaysia and MRT Corp – is one of the many VM2020 campaign initiatives to boost tourist arrivals, and spending, in the country.

The MyCity Pass which targets non-regular commuters, especially tourists, lets passengers enjoy unlimited rides on Prasarana’s integrated rail – the LRT, MRT and monorail – as well as bus rapid transit (BRT) network within a short travelling period.

The passes are currently offered at a discounted fee of RM10 for a one-day unlimited travel and RM25 for three days. First-time users will need to pay an additional RM5 for the card cost and a minimum store value of RM5.

Tourism Malaysia director general Datuk Musa Yusof said tourists will now have greater access to KL and Selangor, which is served by a network of rail and BRT.

“This will allow them to travel seamlessly as the pass covers major railways including LRT, MRT and BRT, which make up a huge network within the Greater Klang Valley area, ” he said, during a launch event at the Pasar Seni MRT station in KL.

Some popular tourist haunts along the rail network include the Petronas Twin Towers, Central Market and Bukit Bintang.

Along with the passes, Tourism Malaysia also developed the KL Heritage Food Trails package which focuses on three foodie hotspots: Kampung Baru, Petaling Street and Brickfields.

“We have worked with local agents to highlight the best of our heritage and food culture, centred within these three hubs, ” Musa said, adding that visitors will get to try a host of Malaysian cuisines like nasi lemak, banana leaf rice and yong tau foo.

Accompanied by an experienced tour guide, tourists will be taken on a sightseeing experience where they will get to dine like locals and feast their eyes on beautiful heritage buildings along the route.

Malaysia is targeting 30 million tourist arrivals and RM100bil tourist receipts for this year.