Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur

Welcome to Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur. Below is a typical scene when you visit Chinatown - a foreign national manning the stall serving foreign tourists.

Chinatown is a hive of activity any time of the day or night. A visit to Kuala Lumpur is not considered complete without a visit to Chinatown, Petaling Street in particular.

Chinatown has some of the best and authentic Chinese food available. You can find KL's best Hokkien fried noodle, best roast duck, best soya bean drink, and more. A common sight I delight in is of visitors (Caucasians mostly) hanging out having a beer or two soaking in the sights and sounds of Chinatown.


Baunach Ulrich and his wife (above) from Germany said they were fine with foreign workers selling the merchandise, but were not in favour of the cramped placements of stalls. Fortunately, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has shelved a plan to add 94 new stalls at Petaling Street following strong objections from traders who find it increasingly difficult to do business in the area.

Another visitor, Lindy from Australia likes "the atmosphere here - red lanterns, haggling, good food - and I can shop cheaply, it doesn’t really matter if those who man the stalls are foreign workers."

Come, let me take you to Chinatown - through a video. The place is shown in daylight. It never used to be that busy during the day as business only begins at nightfall when the street is closed to auto traffic. These days (since the last few years), business starts early, as early as ten-ish.

Welcome to Kuala Lumpur. Welcome to Chinatown!


Here's a map of Chinatown

View Larger Map

Source...The Star
Tourists have no qualms about Petaling Street’s image
DBKL: No new stalls in Chinatown