IRISHMAN Patrick Neligan and his Italian fiancé Giulia Floris are better known as "Veggies On Tour".
Since 2020, they have managed their own YouTube channel and it has more than 26,000 followers.
Wonderful Malaysians
The warm and spontaneous couple love Malaysia "madly" and have been travelling here on and off for the last four years.
Neligan and Floris recently visited Balai Berita, stylishly dressed in Baju Raya, and said they had made "lots of wonderful friends" during their visits to the country since 2020.
"If all goes well, we plan to visit some of our Malaysian friends' open houses when Hari Raya Aidilfitri comes," said Neligan, who even brought his parents for a 12-day stay in Kuala Lumpur.
Ramadan experience
Neligan said they enjoyed their "breaking fast" meals at various places in Kuala Lumpur during the month of Ramadan.
"Kuala Lumpur is like the New York City of Southeast Asia, as it is relatively tidy and less chaotic.
"Besides, the people in Kuala Lumpur are relatively fluent in English, and it is easy to strike up a good English conversation with any of them," he said.
Neligan, 31, hails from London in the United Kingdom and is the second of three siblings. He formerly worked in the advertising industry.
Meanwhile, Floris, 30, hails from Sardinia, Italy, which is the country's second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily.
Work experience
An only child, Floris was working in the art and design industry in London when she met Neligan.
The couple got engaged last year when Neligan proposed to Floris during a visit to the Petronas Twin Towers.
"We decided to get engaged in Kuala Lumpur, our favourite city!" said Neligan.
They are full-time content creators and have always enjoyed travelling, especially to Asia.
They met in London in 2017, and since 2020, they have visited all Malaysian states, as well as the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.
"We started travelling around Malaysia over two years beginning 2020," said Neligan.
"In fact we got stuck in Malaysia for seven months when the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into force in 2020," he said.
Floris said the MCO's gradual relaxation allowed them to "move around the country".
"What made us come to Kuala Lumpur was its friendly people and rich multi-racial population.
"Malaysia's cultural diversity is also translated into different types of cuisine — Malay, Chinese, Indian, East Malaysian and European," she said.
Friendly people
Floris describes Malaysia as a "rainbow nation" with a warm and sunny weather, and its people as just as warm and sunny as the weather.
"The friendliness of Malaysians is very real, They easily welcome us to their houses, stalls and dinner parties."
Culinary diversity
Floris said culinary diversity is found in every town, and it is not difficult to find a Chinese or Indian restaurant next to a Malay or Western one.
Listing their favourite Malaysian dishes as roti canai, nasi lemak, nasi campur, laksa, satay and fried noodles, the couple never gets tired of "eating the same thing every day", thanks to the diversity of Malaysian food.
Favourite destinations
When asked about their favourite destinations in the federal capital, Neligan said they enjoyed visiting KLCC and Taman Botani Perdana.
"The skyline is beautiful, and sets the stage for superb photography that is uploaded on our YouTube channel," said Neligan.
Outside Kuala Lumpur, they love visiting Ipoh, Kuantan, George Town, Johor Baru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Baru, Muar, Melaka and Kuala Terengganu.
In fact, Ipoh, the biggest city outside the Klang Valley, is one of their favourite food paradises, and they were delighted to find out that it was the hometown of Malaysia's first Oscar winner, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh.
"As for George Town, it is the country's multi-racial food capital which is rich in culture and heritage," said Neligan.
Likewise for Melaka, the country's historical city that was ruled by four foreign superpowers — Portugal, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Did they get to meet any famous Malaysian?
"Yes, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Penang government's Chinese New Year open house in George Town last February. He is a humble and down-to-earth person," he said.
