Old KL area guide

Come time for a kopi break, skip the tourist traps and head to a smaller site nestled on the crowded corner of Jalan Sultan: Yong Bee. Plus points for cultural...

The best way to witness the sights and sounds of buzzing Petaling Street is with a hearty bowl of frog leg porridge at Hon Kee. Having been around since 1959,...

With a large sign in English that reads ‘Lai Foong Restaurant’ facing the road, you’ll find it hard to miss this decades-old coffee shop....

For more than 80 years, KLites have sought comfort in the city’s best hokkien mee at Kim Lian Kee – how can any noodle stall rival the birthplace...

Madras Lane, the dark, dank walkway that cuts through the middle of Chinatown’s wet market, boasts two stalls selling asam laksa. I eat there regularly...

Hotel Loke Ann and its dearly missed kopitiam has been gone for about three years but Uncle Lee who ran the kopitiam is back in business. The kopitiam is now...

Usually sold out before noon, the velvety smooth chee cheong fun at Yooi Kee in Kim Lian Kee coffee shop is topped with a reddish sauce made of doubanjiang...

It's a simple and comforting dish: mee kuning in thick gravy served with taugeh, boiled egg, and garnished with both green and red chilli. It's spicier than it...

One of the best banana leaf experiences in the city hides within a dim first-floor lot along Lebuh Ampang. In 1962, the operation moved from Malacca to KL and...

Forgive the generic name of this 20-year-old Lebuh Ampang gem but we promise you the food here is anything but. The Chettinad-style food here...

The stairway leading up to what could be KL’s best banana leaf restaurant is an ominous one. There are signs of abandoned life all around; large pieces...

For the last 60 years, Jai Hind has had one aim in mind: to serve darn good Punjabi food cheaply. Every day, owner Bhoopendar Singh wakes up and tries. The...

Come lunchtime, it can be tough finding a seat at this popular Indian vegetarian joint. In the heart of bustling Masjid Jamek, there’s always a lively...

There’s a reason the area around Lebuh Ampang seems like a foreign country to me, and that’s because I have never walked through it. But a recent...

Kulwant Singh named his business after his father, Santa, and his signature chapattis have grown into the stuff of legends over the last 14 years. Tables spill...

While it’s easy to mourn the gentrification of Petaling Street and the proliferation of ‘hipster’ cafés in Old KL, we’re glad to...

The long stretch that is Petaling Street can get real touristy at times, so if you need to take cover, walk a bit further down the road and head to...

Walk into the Petaling Street Art House (first floor) on Jalan Sultan and you’ll find a café next to it with a name more appropriate for an...

By a congested corner of Jalan Sultan (opposite distinguished tailors Kwong Fook Wing) lies the newest café this side of KL – Leaf & Co....

No exploration of Petaling Street is complete without a stop at this tea house. This little tea shop along Jalan Sultan (opposite the iconic Pak Tai photo...

Way before tisanes were brewed in fancy tea houses, KLites have been downing cups of leung sui at mobile herbal tea stalls. Known to alleviate most illnesses...

You bagging a bargain at Chinatown calls for a delicious drink – and make it cheap, cold and cooling. Seek shelter in the shade of the decades-old air...

If there’s one place that witnessed the birth and growth of our city, Sin Sze Si Ya Temple is it. Its entrance is engraved with an acknowledgement that Kapitan...

St John’s Cathedral is over 130 years old and whilst the interior has undergone significant changes over time, it still exudes an old world aura with its...

Built in 1873, this building was originally constructed by Thamboosamy Pillai as a private shrine for his family. Visitors, who are required to remove their...

Formerly a wet market, Central Market has undergone extensive refurbishments. It has been designated a Heritage Building and is now a Centre for Malaysian...

Dataran Medan Pasar is lined with old heritage buildings and is located behind Central Market. It often plays host to events and performances.

One of Malaysia’s most historic landmarks, Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square) has a special place in the country’s history. Situated in front of the iconic...

Interactive phone stations provide a glimpse into conversations from the past. Apart from the mandatory cafe, the museum caters to school groups, with an...

If you've been avoiding Central Market for its touristy air, you might be tempted to give the blue hub another chance by becoming barber to Tunku Abdul Rahman,...

A place that plays underground music from literally, underground. Taking place in a basement, Under9 is an events venue championing the alternative, not just...

Medan Pasar's heritage OCBC Bank art deco building has played host to Urbanscapes and is slated to host more events.

Raksasa Studio is an independent print and art studio that focuses on silk screening. On weekends they have workshops, fabric printing classes, as well as...

White washed walls and bare cement floors dominate the simplistic interior of this self-managed alternative gallery that champions innovative artists who...

You know what they say: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Just look at STYLO – it survived two fires in the last 40 years and a car (and...

To be a hidden bar (note: not a speakeasy), you need to be a well-kept secret with no ostentatious indication of your whereabouts. Roll in The Berlin KL, the...

We like Omakase + Appreciate for many reasons. First, it’s a speakeasy bar. Although liquors and drinking are absolutely legal here, its secretive...

Located in Chinatown, what was previously a brothel, house and warehouse (in no particular order), is now PS150, a cocktail bar headed by famed bartender Angel...

While The Attic Bar doesn’t claim to be a speakeasy, it certainly has the attributes of one. It’s located discreetly on the rooftop of the Travel Hub...

Chinese classics, warm and waltzing, still pour out from the shop today – much as they did in the ’50s, when Yan Kee first opened. Alongside its...

The Basket Shop is as good as its name – aptly, it peddles baskets, boxes, hampers, trays and other basket-related products, especially those of the...

Of course, there are the classics – Barbie dolls, Lego and Ultraman figurines – but this emporium and toy exporter and importer truly has it all....

The 101-year-old shop on Jalan Sultan exudes an air of sagacity – a sense of tradition that cannot be easily dismissed as owner Datuk Khong Kim Lyew cuts...

You can do up an entire Zen-looking home with just rattan furniture from this 85-year-old shop. Chop Sang Kee has existed since KL’s pre-war days where...

If your mum is not a fan of Topshop, there’s always Lin Ho. This iconic KL department store has three floors of womenswear and shoes. There are some...

There’s no shortage of olde Chinese charm in this crockery shop stocked with flower-crested porcelain, oriental ceramics and Yuan dynasty-inspired...

One of the oldest names in the business, Lee Wah has been plying the flower trade on Jalan Tun HS Lee for decades. The store itself is not glamorous – buckets...

This small bookstore on Jalan Sultan is one of the last booksellers in the area. Patrons have been flocking here for over 60 years for Mandarin books,...

It’s one of KL’s longest-running secondhand book stores, and packed to the brim with literary gems, comics and LPs. You’ll have to scrabble a...

Walking into this 1942 institution is like getting sucked into a time warp. There’s a sense of drowsiness that envelops this non-descript shop, and oftentimes,...

Imbi Market's Bunn Choon now has a second outlet on Petaling Street, which means you can get the fresh-out-of-the-oven egg tarts with the flaky pastry and...

Petaling Street institution Tuck Heng moved into its current comfortable air-conditioned premises a couple years ago. Stock up on goji berries and cordyceps as...

The many yok choi pou (Chinese medicine hall) on Petaling Street have been refurbished to keep up with the onslaught of modernised pharmacies like Eu Yan Sang....

Bangsar has gone through many phases – unobtrusive residential area, clubbing haven, arts and culture quarter, and now, café district. From the...

Populated by expatriates and upper middle class families, Hartamas is fancy – even its name says so (‘harta’, treasure; ‘mas’,...

The wide land that is Damansara has the privilege of being both KL and Selangor. It can be confusing – Bukit Damansara for example, is not exactly near...

Your cheat sheet to all the best restaurants, shops and things to do in the main areas of the city centre including Bukit Bintang, Petaling Street and Pudu.