2 Month Budget for Kuala Lumpur

That's about RM90 per day. Sure it's enough, especially if you like Indian mamak food.

Yes enough but beer in bars is 30 RM a pint. In Vietnam in HCM in tourist areas last year i paid 3 RM a pint. So no heavy boozing!!

haha dang.

good to know, will be eating a lot of street food and laying off the booze (unless there are good happy hours).

how i miss 10,000 dong cans of Bia 333

RM5,500 for two months would only just about be enough. I'd advise bringing a little bit more. Food can be cheap, but almost everything else might not :-)

Yup, RM90 per day is easily enough.

You can buy breakfast - nasi lemak wrapped in a leaf anywhere for as little as RM2 - 3 and that includes an egg and sambal sauce. If you want to buy fried noodles in a mamak restaurant and there are loads of them all over the place, it will cost well below RM10. Roti Canai will cost around RM3 - 4. You can buy drinks from the supermarket for 2 or 3 ringgit, or bottled water for RM0.80 in a supermarket.

So very obviously you will be able to afford to eat pretty well if you choose wisely and you'll have some money left over for other stuff. Great that your company pays for your lunch.

2-3 RM what hot tub time machine did you come from lol. When Michael Jackson was black (see film) yes that cheap. Or even ten years ago but not now. Malaysian food has suffered tapasification (getting smaller amd smaller portions) until you have to order 3 portions of food to get a decent meal at some places. Or just gone up a lot. Inflation is very high at the moment.

Ten years ago mamak watermelon juice was 1.50 rm in KL. Now 6rm. 4 times in ten years is approx 14% inflation pa. Ouch!

Jasons at BSC sells Nasi Lemak for RM2. It gets delivered fresh most mornings and you can find it on the right side near the information desk where they sell salads, sandwiches and pre-prepared foods. They have trays laid out full of those nasi lemaks wrapped in leaves. You can buy it and then take it to their bakery and buy a hot drink and eat it there. It makes a nice simple breakfast.

Of course you can buy nasi lemak with all the trimmings including rendang, fried chicken, veg and a fried egg and that's gonna cost you closer to RM10 or more. There's a place that sells that just around the corner from BSC near where the trucks unload.

Truthfully, I cannot imagine eating just nasi lemak and roti canai everyday, for two months straight. Realistically, you're closer to RM10 per meal (possibly without drinks) if you eat out. Cheaper of course, if you opt to cook at home.

Btw, Bangsar is a hot-spot known for expats and well-heeled locals. Almost everything here is priced higher - even at the 'pasar malam' (night market -- near Bangsar Village area, every Sunday from 4pm onwards).

jw0n wrote:

Truthfully, I cannot imagine eating just nasi lemak and roti canai everyday, for two months straight. Realistically, you're closer to RM10 per meal (possibly without drinks) if you eat out. Cheaper of course, if you opt to cook at home.

Btw, Bangsar is a hot-spot known for expats and well-heeled locals. Almost everything here is priced higher - even at the 'pasar malam' (night market -- near Bangsar Village area, every Sunday from 4pm onwards).

Neither can I. Nasi lemak and roti canai are just examples of cheap food. You can add Maggi Goreng to the list too....

Bangsar is quite a nice place to live. I moved there away from Bukit Bintang after my first kid turned 1 year old. Just didn't feel safe in BB with young kids. Fortunately my tenant moved out of my apt in Bangsar so I moved in. You know they have all the same restaurant chains as elsewhere in KL and I think the prices are the same. But if you are looking at exclusive places to eat then yes of course they are expensive. But then expenses restaurants are not exclusive to Bangsar. As for the night market, I never go there that often.

It's weird how some people seem to really dislike Bangsar. I lived there for quite a long time and thought it was one of the nicer parts of KL. Of course before we had kids it was great fun living in Bukit Bintang, but once we had kids it's a lot nicer and safer living in Bangsar, but of course you need to have a car.

Gosh, if you want to splash out you could buy a Sausage McMuffin with Egg with Hash Brown and Orange Juice or Coffee and it's only going to cost you what RM15 or thereabouts? And McDonalds is not all that cheap. You can easily afford something inexpensive to eat for breakfast. And many places will serve you a big meal any time of the day for less than RM20 such as at Chawans.

Come on guys, you all know you can buy cheap food everywhere, with a budget of around Rm90 per days to survive on (with free lunch) I'm sure the OP will have no problems at all so no need to try to scare him.

Hi Andy,

RM5500 is not a lot but you can get by depending on what you plan to do. If you have lunch and travel costs to work covered we are taking about dinner, weekend and sightseeing probably during the weekends. I have breakdown for you to consider:

Food - If you are gastronomically adventurous you will love Malaysia. Food selections are diverse, Chinese, Indian, Malay,  Western etc . For a reasonable dinner/lunch you will be fine with RM10-12 for a decent meal. Tandoori Sets, Plate of Noodles with a drink, Rice and chicken curry, vegetable and drink. Breakfast probably RM6 for a roti canai, a banana and coffee or the local favourite 'nasi lemak' / coconut rice (google it)

Transport - This is where you will be missing the tube. Public transport in Malaysia is not traveller friendly. Malaysian families usually have two cars. However Uber is great now in Malaysia so please use Uber. Local taxis are more often than not tourist traps.

You should be fine with RM2000 a month for travels during weekends, meals, a movie or two and the ' I LOVE KL' T shirt and fridge magnets .

If you are into night life -It is expensive. A pint of beer RM15-20 Happy Hours Pub food RM10-30.Do the math. There are good places with live music and no hidden traps but you don't need it as the drink prices are bad enough and Bangsar is full of it.

Sightseeing / tourist stuff -There are many places to visit and it is inexpensive. Walk around the old colonial buildings, Bukit Bintang shopping belt, free Museums (most are free) or cost very little, Little India (Brickfields),  Central Market, China Town (Petaling Street). You can cover a lot by walking armed with a bottle or two mineral water. Some of these places are close by so a little planning and you are good to go. Tip- If you are in China Town and plan to buy something go with a local , foreigners and locals get different prices. And if you bargain you have to buy, China town can get a bit rough.

Hope the tip helps, need more info ..just ask.

Ray

Depends on what you want to do. But on a daily basis, you could do away with 100RM or even lesser. Food shouldn't be of a bigger concern for your budget.

That's RM 2750 a month. Good news: This ain't vegas, you won't starve. Bad news: this ain't Thailand, either.

Food in Malaysia is relatively cheap. However, transportation and rental can be a sore. From what I understand, you got both of that covered. So, RM5500 would be just comfortable for you.  Try mingling around with locals, they know where the best places are. Use Uber/GrabCar for cheaper transportation. Alternatively, there are a lot of free bus services that you could utilise. Hope it helps. Cheers mate!

I could do it on much less than RM90 a day, no problem. But I know stuff. So, yes a new stranger CAN and here is why--at first things seem cheap so one easily goes wild. Then when he sees he spent RM200 or more per day, he will very quickly reverse that down to where the budget needs to be and all will be well. You'll eat at cheaper places, walk more instead of automatically grabbing a taxi, etc. It will be fine

Hi are you paying for rent also. Or the co pay that i can live like a king in ipoh. On $1200 and travel

I never been to mlys. But planning to visit this summer, Jst wondering if this cheap mamak food, is clean and hygine?
Coz most street food stalls in indonesia are nt clean , u will end up in hospital .

Yes it is very clean. I mean it is not street like street food on the side of the road like they have in Indonesia. These are real restaurants where everything is cooked fresh, fried chicken, fried fish, indian dishes, and just choose yourself, as well as tosai, roti canai, curries and all the favourites, This is indian muslim food and the restaurants are busy and very active way into the night. Very popular with locals and foreigners and tasty food. Same kind of thing in Singapore too.