Shopping at Petaling Street-Chinatown-Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia
8932331754564396Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, which is based in Petaling Street, is also known as ‘Chee Cheong Kai’, which means ‘Starch Factory Street’, homage to its roots as a tapioca producing suburb. Today, it is Kuala Lumpur’s own Chinatown where you can find all things Chinese from herbs to dry goods and toys to clothes. The entire street is closed to traffic during the afternoons as traders set up stalls to peddle various merchandise, food and electronics.
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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8932331754564396
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