After exploring Petaling Street and Madras Lane in Chinatown, J and I walked over to the Central Market (中央艺术坊) which was just a stone’s throw away. Central Market is also known as Pasar Seni which literally means ‘art market’.
To get here, take the LRT to Pasar Seni station (Kelana Jaya line). Once out, walk towards Jalan Sultan on the left. Turn right into Jalan Sultan and turn left to Jalan Hang Kasturi. Walk all the way down this road and you should see the market.
If you’re taking the free GOKL bus (purple line), you can alight at Bangkok Bank on Jalan Petaling which is very near to the market.
This market is very clean and nice to walk about. Cooling too as it’s air-conditioned. The moment we stepped into the market, it was like an instant relief from the outside heat.
If you’re into handicrafts, batik, custom-made souvenirs, antiques, collectibles, home decor and the like, this is the place to go.
They have streets dedicated to different ethnic groups like Malay Street and Little India.
Despite being a Saturday afternoon, there were very few people there. It was definitely a less hectic environment to shop in which was ideal because it gave us all that leisure time to appreciate the multicultural arts and crafts at the same time.
We also spotted a pretty decent food court on the mezzanine floor as well as several other individual eateries for those of you who just want to come in here to rest your feet and grab a bite.
For more information, visit Central Market’s website @ http://www.centralmarket.com.my for full store directory and floor plans. This market is open from 10am to 10pm daily.
Just outside Central Market is Kasturi Walk, an open-air market along a pedestrianised and sheltered walkway.
Very similar to what Petaling Street has to offer but there are more trendy-looking stalls here with most of the proprietors being youngsters.
“Buy, buy, buy! Only 3 dollars!” Lol, that was my first reaction to J when I saw this bamboo cake stall. Was already feeling very full from a whole morning of non-stop eating at Chinatown earlier and yet I still couldn’t resist buying this.
RM3 for a pack of 5 bamboo cakes which was about SGD1. Really cheap. These bamboo cakes were similar to the Indonesian Bamboo Cakes I tried at Singapore’s Chinatown except they were green in colour (with pandan) instead of white. Taste wise, they were decent, not exceptional. I normally don’t like overly sweet stuffs and this was probably my first time eating something sweet and wishing there were more gula melaka (coconut palm sugar).
Kasturi Walk is open from 10am to 10pm daily.
If you’re coming to KL, do set aside one day to visit Chinatown (Petaling Street, Madras Lane, Pasar Karat, etc) and since Central Market and Kasturi Walk are so near, it’s worth checking them out too. Get ready for non-stop shopping & eating! 😉