Malaysia is well-known for its big bargains and its bootlegs. Bargain hunters can be seen haggling at many of the stalls that make up Petaling Street ’s infamous shopping haven. Some of the more popular items that can be found include DVDs, CDs, hand bags, watches and clothing. Shoppers have to bear in mind that most of these items are in fact, bootleg versions even though they might look seemingly original. Word of advice, bring a local friend who is accustomed with the ways of Petaling Street to help you with your shopping as hawkers around the area tend to swindle unsuspecting tourists and foreigners.

Dozens of restaurants can be found at the shop houses that originally line the streets. Food stalls can also be found towards the centre of the street selling local Chinese delights such as Hokkien mee, BBQ sting ray, Assam Laksa and many more. Most of these shops and stalls have been in operation for decades. The delicious food at Petaling Street is a legacy that has been passed down from one generation to another.

This vibrant area can get very crowded sometimes and one must be prepared to squeeze their way through a sea of bodies to get to the next stall. Nevertheless, that’s just a minor inconvenience. Eventually, the offer of cheap clothes, watches, hand bags and DVD’s are too great an opportunity to miss out on.

Food is aplenty here with many delicious choices to choose from. Some of the restaurants have been operating at the same location for generations and are reputed for their scrumptious delicacies. Look out for Woo Hin restaurant; it is the only family-run food joint that has been around the longest here in KL. Throngs of hungry visitors also make a beeline (literally!) for the infamous Hokkien Mee (yellow noodles fried with pork, vegetables and fishcakes and smothered with thick brown gravy). The food served at the open-air stall is well-worth the wait and hungry patrons continually revisit it for a tasty meal.

Many other shops here open their doors to the eager shopper. The range of items available here is incredible, ranging from handbags, clothes, shoes, jewelry to leather goods. Petaling Street is also noted for its dazzling display of gold fashion accessories encrusted with precious gemstones! In fact, the whole street is brimming with stalls and that’s where the fun of bargain-hunting begins.

The hotels in Chinatown are very personalized; presenting to tired visitors a home away from home concept! Most of them operate on a small-scale, and are owned and managed by family members. These charming little hotels offer clean rooms and good hospitality to add on to your memorable holiday. Retaining the charm and character of yesteryears, hotels in Chinatown offer good value for money for budget conscious traveler.

One must remember that bargain-hunting only happens at the stalls. A successful bargain for an item you’ve likened to can reach up a fifty-percent discount or more! Proper shop owners do not entertain bargaining but maintain friendly customer service; cheerfully attending to the many change of clothes you try on.

Thankfully, the place has been renovated since; transparent roofs have been built overhead and re-constructed roadworks have made the streets shopper-friendly. This is especially good for tourists as one is able to while away hours of shopping and food-tasting regardless it’s rain or shine. To get there, hop onto the Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan, commonly known as STAR Light Rail Transit (LRT) and get off at the Plaza Rakyat stop. Upon exiting the station, walk straight on ahead and turn right after Nando’s restaurant. You are able to see Petaling Street (or Chinatown ) at the next right traffic junction. Or, take a cab ride to Petaling Street right away and save the hassle of traveling on the LRT with your entire family. Go with an open mind, a growling stomach and simply enjoy the night market for its energizing blend of local sights, food, and shopping!

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About Hotel Malaya”The Heart of Chinatown” Kuala Lumpur

The ideal stop-over for leisure and buiness travellers. Strategic locate in the Heart of Chinatown Kuala Lumpur with easy access to the City’s financial centre and many places of interests.

Taxis and limousine is available at the doorstep of the hotel.Most public transport ” Bus terminals, LRT and KTM train” is within walking distance.

Come and experience the Oriental charms of Chiantown right at the door step of Hotel Malaya
For your Onward BOOKING

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The street is always a hive of activity as the traders know not the meaning of being tired, as they relentless pursue customers, shouting out prices as visitors pass by the stalls. Around the area, there are also traditional Chinese shops that sell medicine, herbs and roots. Do bear in mind that the area is frequently jammed, so taking a train from any LRT station is recommended. You disembark at the Pasar Seni station and walk on foot for a few minutes to reach Petaling Street, just round the corner

Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur   
  
 
This is Kuala Lumpur’s dedicated Chinatown zone, though you get people of all races and international tourists flocking to this area from afternoon till late night. Easily accessed from the main road of Jalan Cheng Lock, the entrance is unmistakable. Visitors travelling on buses and taxis around Kuala Lumpur are bound to pass this busy road, and thereby, glimpse Petaling Street.

An oriental arch of red and green in marble greets first-time visitors to Chinatown. Entering inside, you will be swept up by the massive crowd of shoppers perusing each stall in the narrow road, as well as be immersed in the din of haggling and traders throwing prices. Not an atmosphere for the claustrophobic, but you’ll certainly enjoy being dazzled by the array of items on sale, as well as feasting on the delightful local food served.
 
 
   
  
Shopping Galore
 
One of Petaling Street’s main offerings is bootleg goods; in terms of fashion, you’ll find the latest shirts from ‘Nike’, handbags from ‘Prada’, jeans from ‘Guess’, bang & pouches from ‘Reebok’, soccer jerseys from ‘Adidas’ and caps from ‘Fubu’. These fashion items may not be the real deal, but they certainly look the part and cost one tenth of the price. Nowadays, the bootleg fashion clothing are so good, they even feel and wear like the real thing!

Another bootleg item that Petaling Street is famous for; ‘branded’ watches! For less than RM50, you can get imitation watches from a variety of names such as Rolex, Swatch, Seiko, Casio, Tag Heuer, Gucci, Mont Blanc and Cartier. The ‘Rolex’ watches are in fact, affectionately called ‘Lo-Lek’ watches, which is ‘Rolex’ pronounced with a distinct Chinese slang and used to poke fun at their mimicry.

Other bootleg items to find are the ‘latest’ perfumes from ‘Christian Dior’, ‘Armani’, ‘Polo’ and others, which don’t smell quite as good but you can get them at less than a quarter the price of real scents. Then imitation sunglasses are also very popular and can be had for dirt cheap prices, including ‘Ray-Bans’, ‘Versace’ and ‘Police’.
 
 
   
  
DVDs
 
And finally, there’s the perennial favourite – the latest local and international movies on bootleg VCDs and DVDs. From time to time, the authorities conduct raids but that hasn’t stopped the traders from offering pirated movies for sale. During ‘quiet’ seasons, the traders brazenly display DVDs on make-shift stalls but during raiding period, they adopt the ‘salesman’ approach – hailing tourists by hand and offering DVDs by word of mouth.

It can be quite comical to observe a raid in progress. As the authorities sweep in from one end of Petaling Street, runners from that section will quickly inform their compatriots at the other end by walkie-talkie. With their experience and skill, they can quickly pack up their DVD stall in less than a minute then bolt! This leaves the authorities in a huff.

Pirated goods aside, the next best thing are souvenirs and handicrafts. Cultural items, mini replicas of Kuala Lumpur landmarks such as the Twin Towers, shirts with funny captions and lighters in all sorts of shapes (some made to resemble tiny pistols) are available. You’ll be dazzled by the array of colours and many of these items make good presents for those back home.
 
 
   
  
Bargaining is a Must
 
A good piece of advice to remember in Petaling Street is to BARGAIN! No price is set in stone, and traders will often inflate prices to enormous proportions when they observe Caucasian visitors. You must haggle and bargain to get the best deal. As the trader throws his price at you, state your price and he will most likely reject it… at first.

Walk slowly away and you’ll suddenly find him calling you back loudly and giving you a counteroffer, hoping you’ll take it. You smile and then agree… or give him an even lower price. This is a rough description of the bargaining process, and one which every visitor should adopt in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown when buying goods.

In generals, visitors should always purchase items at far less than the prices traders throw firsthand. This means that the item offered by a trader should be bargained to between one quarter and half the original price, sometimes even less. Always ensure that you bargain down to a price you’re comfortable with, and don’t be afraid to look around and ask different stalls for the best prices.

Also, do not be heckled by loud traders who will clamour for your attention by waving their hands in front of you or speaking in loud tones. Most often, they will give in to the prices you state, and not theirs, once they realise you are not a naïve ‘Ang Moh’ (Hokkien language for ‘White Guy’) they can con easily.
 
 
   
  
Conclusion
Now that you know what Petaling Street has to offer, and the bargaining skills you need to adopt, the final thing you need to do is to simply enjoy yourself. Bask in its atmosphere of noise and colours, enjoy the culinary delights on offer, and shop for amazing things. This is the cultural experience of Kuala Lumpur Chinatown.
 
 
Chinatown Shopping Other Areas

Central Market, Kota Raye, Pasar Seni  
  
 
Besides Petaling Street, there are two other popular shopping areas which are just a few minutes away on foot from Chinatown. Pasar Seni, also called Central Market, is a bazaar for traditional handicrafts and cultural souvenirs, housed within a concrete block. Kota Raya, on the other hand, is one of the oldest shopping complexes in Kuala Lumpur, with a history as varied as the changes it has seen through the years.
 
 
   
  
Pasar Seni (Central Market)
 
The Central Market is a cultural shopping complex that is dedicated to the preservation and sale of Malaysia’s traditional handicrafts from all sorts of races, even those from overseas. The Central Market is located a few minutes away on foot from Petaling Street, along the Tun Tan Cheng Lock main road. Visitors coming from the Pasar Seni LRT station will automatically see Central Market in front of them upon coming down the exit escalator.

It was established since 1928, and was once the biggest wet market in Kuala Lumpur (Think raw fish and meats) before it was converted and transformed into a cultural centre by the government. Today, Central Market has been transformed into a shopping arcade with dining outlets, though the emphasis is still on cultural products.

Consisting of a few floors, the complex is filled with traditional handicrafts that are unique to different states in Malaysia. Some of the things you can find are Batik fabrics; a type of Malay garment made of silk, embroidery, rattan baskets, wooden carvings, carpets, brass pottery, pewter items and even contemporary souvenirs such as Malaysian-themed T-shirts and engravings on compact discs or metal plates.

There are a few shops selling computer games and gadgets, but right at the end of the complex is where a collection of artists are gathered. For a fee, these artists will paint or sketch anything from full-blown portraits or caricatures of people, using photos or if you even wish to sit and pose. Most of their works are displayed on the walls, and you can spot their renditions of famous political figures and Hollywood celebrities as well as those in sports.
 
 
   
  
Kota Raya
 
This is an old shopping complex that, several decades ago, was one of the most popular shopping spots in Kuala Lumpur. Today, its role has long been superseded by other contemporary mega-malls located in urban areas around the city. However, it still attracts a strong crowd of locals who are in need of budget shopping and recently, underwent a face-lift, giving the mall a golden appearance with a more modern outlook at its location near the end of Tun Tan Cheng Lock Road, just opposite Petaling Street.

A small place, the shopping complex caters to a mixed crowd specialising in hand phone accessories, budget clothing, weird fashion, Audio Visual products, spectacles and shoes. The upper floors are entertainment outlets with arcade games and some illegal gambling machines. If you go further to the back, there are hair salons that sometimes ‘double up’ as prostitution centres for the cheap.

Connected directly next door is the S&M shopping centre, which does not actually stand for ‘Sadism & Masochism’ but an abbreviation of a Chinese name. Like Kota Raya, it has been given a new lease of life with a fresh coat of paint and renovation works. The shopping centre is popular for its many DVD and VCD outlets that sell the latest dramas from overseas, especially from Korea and Hong Kong as well as Japanese anime. However, you can also get other stuff like fashion merchandise and IT products
 
 
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The boundary of Chinatown or often called “Petaling Street”. Jalan Petaling, Jalan Hang Lekir, Jalan Sultan and Jalan Tun H.S Lee.

Hotel Malaya is located at Jalan Hang Lekir.( traffic junction via Jalan Tun H.S Lee). Along this street, you will see a lot of fruits seller, floral stalls, bags, watches, t-shirts, etc. Heading toward Jalan Petaling (The mid section of Chinatown) where all the downtown happenings here.

As from the traffic junction via Jalan Tun H.S Lee. (Behind along side of Hotel Malaya). Public Bank is at the right side of the street and just opposite side. One of the oldest Taoist temple dating back to 1864, named ’Sze Ya Temple” It was build by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy one of the founding father of Kuala Lumpur.

Just a few step away, you will able to see a 22 metre-high gate tower of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, you can see at our Photo gallery and Video click

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Each and everytime, when we mention about food in Malaysia, every visitors will know that Malaysia is a Food haven. We have so many type of food from different cultures. The menu is endless.

Today, we just want to talk about Eating Out at Chinatown’s Food Stall   
  
Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown is a fantastic place for Chinese food, especially hawker stalls and open-air restaurants. In addition, you can get a magnificent variety of cakes, pastries, fruits and sweet drinks from the stalls lining Petaling Street. Almost all the eating areas, in the form of stalls, are concentrated in the middle of Chinatown, which is where Petaling Street intersects with Hang Jebat Road, near a corner book store called ‘Popular’. Unless stated otherwise, all the stalls are open only from the evenings till late night.
 
  
Roasted Duck
The whole roasted duck available from Petaling Street is claim to be legendary. Coated in a deep rich brown marinade and crispy to the bite, the roasted duck are sold by a few peddlers on motorbikes and bicycles, stored in thermal glass cabinets. Of particular fame is the ‘’Sai Ngap Chai’, which means ‘Spectacles’ in Cantonese and refers to a one of the traders who wears spectacles. Visitors can order them in whole or part, chopped up into meat pieces and eaten with a tantalising black sauce.(Stall Name” Say Gunn Chai)
  
Claypot Chicken
This is a quick and simply meal, namely ‘Nga Poh Kai Fun’ in Cantonese, this is a dish that’s served in a small earthen clay pot, consisting of a bottom spread of rice and chicken pieces with ginger and sliced preserved pork sausages. The clay pot is covered and left to cook over a stove, and the final result is an aromatic piece that will warm your taste buds! 
  
Portuguese Grilled Fish
Specially in grill fish over a hot bed of coals with a distinct assam and chilli flavour typical of the Portuguese culinary style. You can select a variety of seafoods to get the grilled treatment, but most would opt for sting ray; grilled to a crispy brown and served with spicy sweet sauce.This is quite spicy and hot
  
  
Seafood
The restaurants cum stalls in Petaling Street towards Sultan Road are popular spots for tourists. Here, cooks can be seen blazing away their woks in large flames while tourists sit and chat on tables erected on the road, sipping beer. Patrons can order a variety of cooked local Chinese food, especially seafood. The ‘La-la’ or clams are really popular here, often cooked in a sweet and sour sauce. Other dishes that you should try “Butter prawns, Sweet and sour Crabs, Steam Prawns, steam fish and many more”

  
Lok Kon / Local B-B-Q meat
‘Lok Kon’ in Cantonese, or ‘Bak Kwah’ in Hokkien, is a popular dried meat delicacy, eaten most during the Chinese New Year festival. However, you can find it available all-year-round in Petaling Street from stalls that ‘dry’ and stock this delicious meat. Lok Kon is made by mashing up pork (including the entrails!) and shredding it with a machine into a gooey paste. The paste is then cut into square-shaped pieces and smoked over a bed of coals. The final result is a delicious combination of sweetness and meaty goodness! My favourite is Chicken meat.
   
  
Beef Noodles
The beef noodles are found not in Petaling Street, but just opposite along Tun Tan Cheng Lock Road. From the Petaling Street entrance fronting that road, you can see a corner open-air restaurant cum coffee shop just opposite. It is here that you can get delicious beef noodles cooked in a variety of styles. You can get noodles served with beef meat either in the form of meatballs that sliced into thin pieces, or mashed into crumbs. You can eat it either in soup or ‘dry’, mixed with black sauce. The shop is open only during the day. My recommedation “Lai Fong Beef Noodel stall”
  
  
Bah Kut Teh / Pork stew

‘Bah Kut Teh’ is a popular Hokkien dish that’s available under a shady alley along the Petaling Street Road. This dish is made from boiling pig parts, including intestines, heat, liver and tongue in a herbal soup for hours. The end result is a rich aroma and delicious meaty soup, eaten with rice and a ‘Yau Char Kwai’, a type of fried bread-like dough. Those of you who are put off by what goes in it may be pleasantly surprised when you actually try this dish yourself!
 
  
Asam Laksa
This is a Nyonya favourite made from blending rice vermicelli with onions, cucumber, chilli, pineapple, lettuce, mint and ginger buds. The whole lot is placed into a thick soup made by blending curry with fish paste into a mushy, gooey like liquid that is both sweet and sour to taste. The taste is extremely sharp and its high tones of sweetness and sourness are truly something that may appeal to you. My recommendation ” Twin Sister stall” at the entrance of Wet Market.
 
   
Chee Chong Fun / rice roll

‘Chee Chong Fun’ is another popular culinary entrée; the term actually refers to a collection of meat pastries that is cooked by placing it in boiling soup, drained and eaten with silky strips of white, flat noodles drenched in chilli and black sauce. Most of the Chee Chong Fun items are made with beancurd and meat stuffed into it. This is popular for breakfast and is available only during the day. Served with sweet sauce or hot spicy chilies. Situated at the cross of petaling street
 
    
Mata Kuching / Local Lychee

Petaling Street is legendary for this popular local drink; ‘Mata Kuching’ which means Cat’s eye. In actuality, this drink is made from blending three different fruits together which are; ‘Longan’ a grape-like type of fruit grown in Thailand, ‘Tung Kwa’, or winter melon and ‘Loh Horn Guo’ a type of plum-like fruit without a proper name outside the Chinese language. This traditional drink is sold from stalls and has a cooling effect when drunk with crushed ice. You can also drink it hot. The stall is situated next to Hong Leong Bank.
    
  
Herbal Soup & Hong Kong Black Jelly
 
At both ends of Petaling Street there are two traditional herbal shops, which are unmistakable in design having large brass urns and gold-clothed tables inside. These shops sell traditional herbal soup and tea as well as a type of black jelly from Hong Kong. Usually served as dessert. it was claim taht will help to cool down your body and ingestion.

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The Chinese have been in Kuala Lumpur ever since its founding back in 1857. Yap Ah Loy was an integral character in the development of K.L and it is him that contributed to the success of Petaling Street . This Chinese dominated area would be known to tourists as Chinatown but to the locals, it is affectionately referred to by its eponymous road name. It is more affectionately know to the Chinese Malaysians as Chi-Cheong-Kai in Cantonese but till this day there has been no reasoning or meaning behind it.

If you are in for a real bargain-hunting adventure! You would probably want to take a stroll along the original Chinatown; also commonly known as Petaling Street. Petaling Street maintains much of its traditional atmosphere, particularly at night when vendors peddle their wares on the streets.

Food is aplenty here with many delicious choices to choose from. Some of the restaurants have been operating at the same location for generations and are reputed for their scrumptious delicacies. Look out for Woo Hin restaurant; it is the only family-run food joint that has been around the longest here in KL. Throngs of hungry visitors also make a beeline (literally!) for the infamous Hokkien Mee (yellow noodles fried with pork, vegetables and fishcakes and smothered with thick brown gravy). The food served at the open-air stall is well-worth the wait and hungry patrons continually revisit it for a tasty meal.

Many other shops here open their doors to the eager shopper. The range of items available here is incredible, ranging from handbags, clothes, shoes, jewelry to leather goods. Petaling Street is also noted for its dazzling display of gold fashion accessories encrusted with precious gemstones! In fact, the whole street is brimming with stalls and that’s where the fun of bargain-hunting begins.  Bargain hunters can be seen haggling at many of the stalls that make up Petaling Street ’s infamous shopping haven. Some of the more popular items that can be found include DVDs, CDs, hand bags, watches and clothing. Shoppers have to bear in mind that most of these items are in fact, bootleg versions even though they might look seemingly original.

Hotel Malaya  and other  hotels in Chinatown are very personalized; presenting to tired visitors a home away from home concept! plus a dozens of restaurants can be found at the shop houses that originally line the streets. Food stalls can also be found towards the centre of the street selling local Chinese delights such as Hokkien mee, BBQ sting ray, Assam Laksa and many more. Most of these shops and stalls have been in operation for decades. The delicious food at Petaling Street is a legacy that has been passed down from one generation to another.

Petaling Street ’s reputation is one of the top 10th. place that you must visit. You see tourists and locals still insist on frequenting the place because of its great bargains and its popularity.

This vibrant area can get very crowded sometimes and one must be prepared to squeeze their way through a sea of bodies to get to the next stall. Nevertheless, that’s just a minor inconvenience. Eventually, the offer of cheap clothes, watches, hand bags and DVD’s are too great an opportunity to miss out on.

Hotel Malaya is situated at the right side of Chinatown. You can experiences the color, culture and retaining the charm and character of yesteryears right at the door step of the hotel.

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