Restaurant Review: Buy & Fly

Today we woke up early, got dropped off at One Utama to take a direct shuttle us to the budget LCCT terminal for our Air Asia flight to Kuching, Sarawak. It was rather a mad scramble in the morning so we had not eaten and I was starving.

 

 

The bus was clean and left on time, 5 minutes early if you must be exact. It has been modelled to look like an aeroplane, with overseat compartments (no doors though - I hope there are no sharp bends to go around), seats like an aeroplane, and underbus luggage storage. The driver must have been from Sabah, Malaysia judging from his decorations, which were on the roof of the bus, stickers on his internal passenger viewing mirror and his sun shade. He was obviously very proud of his bus, as he had photos of his bus everywhere and photos of him standing in front of his bus. His dedication showed through in how well maintained the bus was and what a smooth ride it was, albeit at 120km/hr/ Seat belts would have been nice but hey!, Perth buses do not have seat belts either.

 

 

We were dropped off right out side the entry, and only had to cross the road to enter the Departure Hall. After some miscommunication where upon I was checked in without my ID being sighted, I then realized why after that I had to show my ID again about 5 times, because the airport must obviously know that the front desk is not doing their job properly and are hoping that by having numerous checks every where it will be picked up. 

 

 

By this time, I was thoroughly cross and starving and while waiting to board the plane, initially went to a food stall that promised steaming hot buns. However after waiting over 5 minutes for a missing attendant, the other waiting passengers and I went to Buy & Fly. Initially I had not wanted to buy from here as the food was pre-cooked and cold, but when you get to the counter the very efficient one Indian staff, who is doing absolutely everything, will microwave it for you. I also ordered teh tarik which was delicious but too sweet and instant.

 

 

The mamak mee goreng was really delicious! I guess I shouldn't judge an eatery by its appearance next time. Of course its more pricey than a normal food court but not by much.



 

 

The 3x3 plane was 45 minutes late to depart for an inexplicable reason, but I shan't complain as its a budget airline and you pay for what you get, i.e: a safe flight and friendly staff but no great food, not leaving on time, smaller seats and no entertainment. I am a great believer of Air Asia and budget airlines in general because it allows people who could not ordinarily afford it to fly - getting rid of the need to sit for hours in a bus, taking a boat or worse not being able to travel to see relatives at all and participating in the great Malaysian "Balik Kampung" / Return Home. Furthermore, when we used to take this route in the early 2000's it was serviced only by Malaysia Airlines and the plane at the time was even smaller 2x2, and the entire flight would be jittery and nauseating. I used to think all their international flights were great - why is the domestic flight so bad? How technology changes, even budget can afford better now a days.

 

The view from the window seat however remains unchanged and awe inspiring.

 

 
Fly & Buy
Boarding Zone
Low Cost Carrier Terminal LCCT terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport KLIA