Petaling Street

By mrnorman

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As the Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Street offers some of the best Chinese hawker food, imitation Rolex and Louis Vuitton bags, and pirated DVDs.

During the heat of the day, only half the stalls will be set up on both sides of the street. By evening, the middle of the street will begin to fill up with stalls that seem to appear like ants out of an anthill.

The stalls sell a lot of imitations of branded clothings, football jerseys, designer bags, shoes, sunglasses, watches etc. The quality is usually not as good as what you might find in neighbouring Thailand or Vietnam. And obviously you have to haggle if you're a foreigner.

Few locals shop here, so it's mostly a tourist thing. But the locals still come here for the ambience, and the food.

Some of the best hawker food in Kuala Lumpur is had here. Many of these hawkers have been plying their trade here for decades and the taste just can't be duplicated elsewhere. There is a humourous truism here, "The dirtier the place, the tastier the food." And many locals agree that it's true.

A stall here sells spicy grilled fish, where patrons normally have to wait 30-45min for the food. An elderly couple cooks their famous pork stripe porridge in a back alley near the hidden wet-market. A man still fries a delicious thick noodles using charcoal fire in another cul-de-sac. All of these culinary gems are worth a try for those who are gastronomically adventurous.


The nearest Putra Light Rail Transit station is Pasar Seni (Central Market) Station.

Otherwise, just about any bus that heads towards the town centre will end their journey around this area. This, unfortunately, is the state of public transportation in KL. Bus companies use Petaling Street as the hub.

Buses going to different areas of Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya will park and pick up passengers from a number of locations within walking distance of Petaling Street. A bus 'terminal' is just any stretch of road wide enough for a bus to park and wait.

So getting to Petaling Street is relatively easy by bus. Getting back out is another matter...




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