What to do in Bandar Baru Bangi/ Interesting places in Bangi

Uptown Bangi

Bandar Baru Bangi is an academic town south of Kuala Lumpur. If there is no traffic jam you can reach Bangi in 22 minutes from Kuala Lumpur. The town is very strategically located and it is not far from Putrajaya (10 minutes) , KLIA (30 minutes) Seremban ( 30 minutes) and Shah Alam (50 minutes). It is said that BBB is the second largest Malay town in the world after Shah Alam. I don't really know whether this is true. It could be Cape town, South Africa where you have large descendants of Malay in that colorful town. Or it could be Jaffna in Sri Lanka because there are also large Malay communities in the northern part of Sri Lanka. It could very well be Nakhon Sri Thammarat in Southern Thailand a place inhabited by large number of Malays who speak like the Kelantanese. I also heard that there is a town in northern Sumatera where there is a large Malay community who speak like the Kedahan. I hope experts in UKM can help me  provide the answer to the problem. Since there is a possibility that BBB is the second largest Malay town in the world, what can you do in that place or what are some of the interesting places to visit in the academic  town.

Taman Tasik Cempaka

One very nice thing to do in Bangi is to visit its lake garden known as Taman Tasik Cempaka. It is a man made lake that is situated in the middle of Bangi town. I suggest that  you bring you children there for an evening walk or   take beautiful family pictures at the lake . There is also a reasonably big playground area for your children to safely play. If you don't have small children with you like yours truly (my children are now young adults), I would suggest that you use Tasik Cempaka as a jogging track. The track that encircles the lake is quite large;  I think a complete circle of the jogging track would cover at least 3.5 kilometers which is a good length for a bucketful of sweat. Tasik Cempaka is also known as a place for couples to get intimate with their partner but I warn you that there is  a camera that is linked directly to the Police Station in Bandar Baru Bangi . The Majlis Agama Islam Selangor  (MAIS)  is also known to catch unscrupulous couples  committing close proximity in the area. So young couples please be aware of the danger and do your things somewhere else.

Another nice thing to do in Bangi especially at night is to go to the  Uptown night market which is not far from Econsave hypermarket. I would recommend that you go there after 9 pm. If you go earlier than that  the stalls would still be closed. It is very much like a Pasar Malam but the food sold at the place is much better. I had the best Chicken chop (Rm 10) at the night market. The gravy , brown sauce is mixed with Sarawak black pepper sauce  goes really well with the reasonably big piece of grilled chicken. The salad consists of pieces of  potatoes and carrots sauteed served together with a piece of crispy Italian garlic bread. You can also have a very nice Nasi lemak at one of the stalls, the first stall, but it is slightly on the expensive side. However , the place is quite clean and the 'sambal' is quite nice. A plate of nasi lemak with 'sotong kering' will cost at least RM (5) and hot and cold drinks are also served at the stall. If you go at the non-food section of the Uptown night market you can actually have a 30 minute (RM 30) massage by trained masseuse at the make shift stalls. Some men would have the massage in the open where as most of the women would opt for a closed area.

Dim sum at Equatorial Bangi

If you have nothing to do on Saturday in Bangi, I  suggest that yo have a Dim Sum brunch at the Equatorial Bangi.  Most of the people in Bangi used to go to a Hotel in Putrajaya for their Dim Sum but the new management at  Equatorial Bangi has improved their Dim Sum offerings. The Dim Sum on Saturdays costs RM 40++  but during the weekdays its RM 35++. I would suggest that you go on Saturday because the Dim Sum spread is more varied during the weekends. If you don't know how to eat the little Chines snacks don't be too worried because the people at the restaurant would help you.

Another activity that you can do in Bangi is to go to Warta shopping center. Warta shopping center is the largest mall in Bangi. You can find KFC, McDonald's, Rasa restaurant, Giant grocery store, Pizza Hut Restaurant, Popular bookstore, Wan's goldsmith, and a good Chinese and 'Mamak' restaurants at the shopping center. Big apple, the donut store, has also opened a kiosk at the place .The  latest addition is the Belgian waffle kiosk situated at the entrance of the Mall. If you are a big sized person there is a clothing section in the Giant hypermarket that sells big sized shirts. However, I find the offerings a little expensive for my taste. 

Masjid Hasannah Bangi

If you happen to come to Bangi on Friday the Masjid Hasanah does have food and clothing stalls at its premises. The stalls are opened around 11 am and at one of the stalls there is one that sells Nasi Arab. The Nasi Arab there is quite nice (RM 10-13) . But please be warned that the Nasi will be sold out by 12.30  pm. If you like having Nasi Arab there, I would suggest that you go there around 11.30 am. Please don't forget to perform your Friday Prayers after having Nasi Arab at the stall.

So these are some of the things that you can do in Bangi. There is actually nothing much that you can do here in BBB. It is just a small academic town that are inhabited by generally rich Malays. One thing about the Malay community there is that even though they are rich, the Malays are very humble. I hope the town stays as it is with some nice new projects.