Kuala Lumpur Markets

Kuala Lumpur offers visitors a chance to shop for amazing cultural souvenirs and products. Also check out the way locals shop in 'Pasar Malams' or Night Markets.

Chinatown

The famous Petaling Street is Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown – a vibrant marketplace for Chinese-centric goods such as medicines and herbs to more contemporary items like fashion accessories and electronic products. Affectionately called 'Chee Chong Kai', which means 'Starch Factory Street', Petaling Street was once a tapioca mill for Chinese labourers. Slowly, it became the large, noisy and popular market it is today as business associations, temples and societies rose up.

From early afternoon till late at night, the entire street is cluttered with stalls peddling all manner of goods from under the sun. From Holland grapes to Taiwanese batteries and cigarette lighters to souvenir shirts, Petaling Street is a hive of commercial activity. Perhaps most famous among its goods are pirated products, ranging from the latest movies on DVD to China-made 'Rolex' watches and 'Versace' jeans to imitation Ray-bans. Don't forget to haggle! No price is set in stone. The prices are raised extremely high but you can bargain them all the way down, sometimes to more than half the price.

Besides shopping, a number of Chinese al-fresco restaurants are situated at an intersection of Petaling Street. These are popular places for tourists to eat at night. You can also pick up a snack from the many stalls that sell traditional delicacies such as pastries, savoury meats and cakes. (Read more...)

Central Market

The Central Market of 'Pasar Seni' is located in Jalan Hang Kasturi where the Putra LRT station lies. The complex's history goes all the way back to 1888 where it was once a wet market. Over time, it continued to expand until it became a permanent structure that housed all sorts of traders. Towards the end of the 70s', the centre was remade into a centre for culture, arts and handicrafts.

Today, visitors can browse a wide range of shops that retail traditional goods such as Batik, embroidery carvings, souvenirs, sculptures, clothes and other interesting items. On the ground floor, visitors can request local artists to paint caricatures of them or even make full-blown portraits. There also some restaurants and cafes inside the building. ( Read More... )

National Craft Complex

The National Craft Complex located in Jalan Conlay is home to a wide variety of traditional handicrafts made from around Malaysia. From as far as Sabah in East Malaysia, the Complex allows you to peruse wood carvings, Malay garments, sculptures and pottery. The centre also provides visitors the opportunity to attempt making some of their own Malaysian handicrafts, such as using paint to make their own Batik motives and moulding ceramics.

Visitors will also find a craft museum which houses a collection of local handicrafts that highlight the cultural heritage of Malaysia and the latest production technology. Also visit the Artists' Colony where local artists display their painted work in an amazing array of galleries.

Chow Kit Market

Chow Kit is actually a street in the middle of the city where a bazaar takes place. With a long and colourful history, the wet market is open daily throughout the day and is easily accessible by Monorail.

While the flavour is predominantly Malay, visitors can get a wide assortment of local goods and produce such as fruits, vegetables, tofu, spices, meat and fish. There are plenty of stalls that sell clothes, silk, shoes, electronics and other fabrics. The market is very popular with locals, especially Malays that live around the area.

Kampung Baru

Kampung Bahru is one of the oldest residential areas in Kuala Lumpur, since 1899 in fact. The houses found here are still traditionally made with wood, a sharp contrast to the concrete houses and high-rise apartments of Kuala Lumpur. On Saturday, a large market takes place, which has a strong Malay favour to its goods and merchandise. It goes on all the way till 1 am on Sunday. This is a good place to get traditional Malay clothes and delicacies.

Pasar Malam

Night Markets, which are called 'Pasar Malam', are a very prominent feature of Malaysian shopping. They're available in every state and popular because they allow locals to do shopping for their household needs within their own residential areas. Night markets are basically streets which are converted for one day only in a week into a market-place, usually in housing estates of residential areas.

In Kuala Lumpur, you can find many night markets happening each day in different places throughout the week. In these Pasar Malams, expect to find all sorts of merchandise under the sun. You can buy various items such as household goofs, audio/visual equipment, batteries, trinkets etc. Even more popular are pirated goods that display prominent brand names from 'Gucci' handbags to 'Nike' T-shirts and 'Rolex' watches to the latest cinematic offerings on DVD.

You can also shop for fruits and other fresh produce or try out different kinds of cakes and food. Visiting the Pasar Malam is indeed a popular pastime for locals after dinner, to just stroll around, look and shop as they walk from one end to the other.

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