Hi all!
I received a PM regarding Monash Malaysia recently, and I'm going to answer the questions here so that other people can benefit. I really, really recommend popping into Monash Abroad if you're on the fence - Monash Malaysia is such a fantastic experience.
I'll probably be staying at SMR, but noticed you mentioned that there was only a microwave in the kitchen. How did cooking/eating work? Did you have to eat out every day or could you buy a slow cooker or something to make meals with?
SMR is certainly the most popular choice. As you've mentioned, there were no cooking facilities in our apartments. For food, I'd basically go:
Breakfast - cereal or similar. Obviously doesn't require cooking facilities. You have both personal and communal storage where you can keep stuff like this, plus a fridge in your room for milk or whatever else you need.
Lunch - I was usually on campus, and ate at the canteen from memory. But there are lots of options not too far off campus, and this is what a lot of people did.
Dinner - there's a restaurant practically on campus (like, directly next to the SMR accommodation - part of the same complex), which was super easy and convenient. But again, otherwise there are lots of options for eating close to campus.
The Rock was a popular choice, which had a number of different options available.
So to answer your question, I pretty much ate out every day, and this was just part of the fun. When I couldn't be bothered or was tired, getting takeaway food from the restaurant and having it in our apartment/my room was easy. Food is so cheap that I never even really considered the financial aspect.
Slow cooker? I don't think we were allowed - I'm pretty sure we couldn't "cook" in our rooms at all (probs safety concerns?). But things might have changed, and I'd recommend chatting to the good people at Monash Abroad for more info on the specifics here.
Also, what's is like living in Sunway City? It seems quite far away from Kuala Lumpur, or is it quick/easy to get to the city?
It's pretty cool! I definitely felt welcome, and there are lots of other students around; further to the Monash campus, Sunway University is also really close by (in fact, some people would go there for lunch haha). You have pretty much everything you need there. Sunway Pyramid (probs like a 15-minute walk - the best thing about this is the walkway that goes directly to Pyramid is entirely covered, so even if it's absolutely pissing down (not unlikely), you can get from your room to Pyramid and back without getting wet) is a big shopping complex where you can stock up etc. You're also close to Casa Subang, which is good for shopping options (Mydin).
You're right in that it's not Kuala Lumpur, and you're not right in the heart of the city. But I actually think I liked this, and it added to the "living on campus" sort of experience (which was new to me).
Getting to KL from Monash is wayyyyyyyyy easier than it used to be. You can now get the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) from directly outside Monash to Setia Jaya (can't exactly remember how long this takes - maybe 10-15 minutes?). Then from Setia Jaya, you can get the KTM (slowish train) to KL Sentral. With the BRT, which is extremely well air-conditioned haha, the commute is pretty direct and doesn't take that long. In saying that, it's not as easy as just crossing the road to get into KL. Over the course of the semester, I probably went into Sentral like five times? But I'd been to KL a few times before, so didn't feel I needed to do some of the touristy stuff other people were, and many weekends were spent travelling to other parts of Malaysia (or elsewhere).
Really, really happy to answer any more questions at all.