The Streets of Chinatown, Petaling Street.

Petaling Street is the center of Kuala Lumpur's original Chinatown. It's the place that never sleeps. Adventurous visitors should not miss a walk on Petaling Street. 

Even in daytime you have great bargains. Petaling Street is not open for the traffic. It is a great place for locals to get some goods at bargain prices and certainly an eye-opening experience for tourists.

Chinatown has  a bustling market serving as a bargain hunter's paradise and one of the premier shopping areas in the city with its distinctly oriental atmosphere.  

If you're looking for cheap clothes, fabrics, souvenirs, electronic items, watches, DVDs, CDs and more? Then Petaling Street is the place for you. It is easy getting to Petaling Street. Take a taxi, but also numerous bus companies service the area. 

To get the best atmosphere you must go at night!

 Everything gets fried in kind of old looking/tasting oil so whatever you get kind of tastes like a mix of everything else.

**Deep Fried Sweet Potato Balls 

About 10-12 for RM 2  

This is a traditional Malaysian snack. It’s mashed sweet potatoes, flour, sugar and water rolled into balls and then deep fried.

They give you about a dozen in a baggy with a toothpick.

They’re slightly sweet and very bread like. It was quite doughy for me and I could barely tell it was sweet potato.

They’re actually pretty good and they are local favourites. This is something I wouldn’t have tried unless I was taken around by a local – thank god I was!

Sometimes they roll them in sesame seeds before frying – I wish they did that here.

**Air Mata Kucing – 

Air Mata Kucing means “water of the cat’s eyes” RM 1.20


It’s a very traditional Malaysian drink made from dried longan fruit and rock sugar. Make sure you get with ice – so much better.
It’s sweet and aromatic, but not overly sweet and it’s very refreshing. It’s a refreshing fruit nectar tea.
It’s supposed to cool you down on a hot day and it really does!

**Malaysian Beef Jerky/Pork Jerky- 
This is a must try in Malaysia. These stands are everywhere and not only on the streets.
It’s one of their national foods and seriously every stand was good and has their own unique flavour. You can actually watch them barbecuing the meat. It’s the ‘freshest’ beef jerky. After they grill them they do get dried so it still is jerky.

Malaysian beef or pork jerky is so flavourful. It’s soft, chewy and just gets your salivation glands going.

Malaysian Baked Goods
A variety of traditional Malaysian baked goods.
Anything green is made from the signature Malaysian dessert ingredient: Pandan.
Pandan leaves come from trees that grow in tropical climates in Asia.
Pandan tastes quite floral and aromatic and carries a gentle sweetness. It’s not herb tasting but almost like thyme + lemongrass, but not as bold. The flavour is distinct, but also mild. It matches perfectly with coconut.

**Fruit Rojak -
A popular Malaysian snack or salad. It’s a cup of mixed fresh fruit or vegetables topped with Rojak sauce and peanuts.
I had a Fruit Rojak with green apples, pears, guava and pineapples.
Rojak sauce is a traditional Malaysian sauce that tastes like Chinese Hoisin sauce but much more bold and sour. It’s sweet from sugar, sour from Tamarind, and also spicy from chili.
The taste may be aquired, but if you’re expecting it then you might like it. I did, and I wasn’t! I thought it was delicious. The fruits they used were tart fruits so the sweet and sour Rojak sauce actually complements them really well.

One must remember that bargain-hunting only happens at the stalls. A successful bargain for an item you’ve likened to can reach up a fifty-percent discount or more! Proper shop owners do not entertain bargaining but maintain friendly customer service; cheerfully attending to the many change of clothes you try on.

The hotels in Chinatown are very personalized; presenting to tired visitors a home away from home concept! Most of them operate on a small-scale, and are owned and managed by family members. These charming little hotels offer clean rooms and good hospitality to add on to your memorable holiday. Retaining the charm and character of yesteryears, hotels in Chinatown offer good value for money for budget conscious traveler.

Many other shops here open their doors to the eager shopper. The range of items available here is incredible, ranging from handbags, clothes, shoes, jewelry to leather goods. Petaling Street is also noted for its dazzling display of gold fashion accessories encrusted with precious gemstones! In fact, the whole street is brimming with stalls and that’s where the fun of bargain-hunting begins.

Thankfully, the place has been renovated since; transparent roofs have been built overhead and re-constructed roadworks have made the streets shopper-friendly. This is especially good for tourists as one is able to while away hours of shopping and food-tasting regardless it’s rain or shine.

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Jonker Street, Malacca.

Jonker Street is one of the most visited places in Melaka and there is no doubt that this is the busiest area especially over the weekends or school holidays. Throngs of visitors from all over visit this lively street famous for it's culture and heritage. The best possible way to enjoy visiting Jonker Street would be to walk around this historical area. Jonker Street has always held a special charm in terms of the diverse European-Asian culture and heritage at this city once known to the world as Malacca. The renown street houses some of the countries oldest heritage buildings dating back to the 17th century. Architecturally influenced by the Portugese and Dutch, you will see an beautiful eclectic mix of cultures through this entire area.

Once you stepped into the entrance of the street, you will be amazed by what you see along the street. Jonker Street is really a horoscope of local cultures, delicacies, and souvenirs. Its unique architectural style only can be found in Melaka.

The highlight of the street was the Malacca Sunday Flea market.

Not like normal flea markets, this market selling unique handcrafts, antiques and second hand stuffs. The street also clean and you can see heritage buildings along the street. It's not like normal chinatown. It's really different!!

Opening Times for Jonkers Walk : Friday to Sundays from 6.00pm to 11.00pm only. It is nearby the Geographer Cafe. If you not sure, you may ask the local for direction. 

While most of the action is on Jonker Street, if you walk one street behind, you will find Heeran Street which is also known as the Millionaires Row. It is here that you will find the world famous Baba Peranakan Museum of Melaka. A fee applies to visit this unique museum while the architecture is absolutely astounding. This would be the best place for you to explore if you want to find out more about the amazing Baba-Nyonya Culture and Heritage of Malacca.

Other then antique, paper money, stamps and coins, you can find many shop selling souvenir. You can found wood-craved statues, decorative item for your house, fashionable clothes, key chain, beautiful wind chimes made by sea shell and photo frame

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  The most famous restaurant along Jonker Street is Hoe Kee Chicken Rice

On the main street which is called Jonker Walk, quite a number of antique galleries or art houses are found well spread throughout the area. Walk-in customers would know that the prices are well inflated to the unknown buyers while bargaining or haggling is a common practice here. So do not be afraid to try your bargaining skills but do be realistic about it.

 These local clogs have been around for hundreds of years where the older generation would use them around the wet kitchens or in the markets. Nowadays, you can buy them as souvenirs or to be used as they come in many sizes, from little kids to adult sizes and in various colours.

If you explore a typical Chinese restaurant and happen to visit the kitchen area, you would see some workers still using them till this day. Clogs sold in Melaka are one of the interesting souvenirs as they even make them in fridge magnet sizes. 

 The chicken rice ball is undoubtedly ranked within the top-five-must-eat during your visit to Malacca.

We have written about the famed Chung Wah Chicken Rice before, and recently we noticed a new place for Hainanese chicken rice balls, named Malacca Jonker Street Chicken Rice Ball, located just a stone-throw away from Chung Wah.

While most chicken rice shops in Melaka are only selling roasted and steamed chicken as well as chicken rice, the Malacca Jonker Street Chicken Rice Ball is also offering plenty of other signature dishes

Chicken rice balls

Steamed chicken

fried taufu

fried sliced pork

 Jonker Street is not what it used to be where families practiced crafts for centuries along a fairly narrow sleepy street. Now a lively market scene greets most weekend visitors who come seeking something different and the opportunity to buy souvenirs of their encounter with history.

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Fashion, These Day.

It is quite evident as you walk around the streets of almost any city or town in America that the line between what was once considered the black style of dress and the white styles has become less and less evident. This is especially true with the younger kids in junior high and high school. The baggy pants and shirts with labels and bright colors that were once reserved for the inner black and Latino kids, are now being worn by whites in wealthy suburban neighbourhoods. 

Over the past five to ten years the change in style of dress for suburban kids has become more and more evident. Main stream stores such as Dillard’s and Castner Knot’s started carrying the underground hip-hop clothes that were once only found in the larger cities. Even major labels such as Tommy Hillfigger started designing larger clothes with brighter colours. There jeans were available in relaxed fit and even baggy. Hip Hop had now become a large market for young teenagers and people in their early twenties. 

 Also more and more guys started wearing the large hiking boots that were to bulky for their khaki pants, so they had to cut them at the bottom to fit around the boots. At first it was the large “Starter” jackets with The Raiders or Miami Dolphins logos on them, and then it went to overalls and Adidas shoes and jackets. These were the things that white kids saw their favorite musicians or athletes wearing in videos and in movies. Rap music became the music choice of the suburban teenager as they looked for ways to rebel from their parents. And rappers tried to portray themselves as wealthy and powerful people with name brand clothing and expensive cars. But as always they added their own touch to fashion by adding the style of oversized clothing and bright colours. 

As the years have gone by I have noticed that this style of dress is usually limited to high school and middle school kids. But even still I see many people in college including myself who still can’t help but to pull out the baggy pants every once in a while. I think that it is something that is part of our generation, just as tight jeans and slicked back hair were part of the fifties, and bell bottoms and tie-died shirts were the thing to wear in the sixties. 

 Just as those things have come and gone so will the styles which we wear today. All it will take is another hit song with a musician or a basketball player wearing some wild new assortment of clothing to change the whole way a generation dresses.

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Love, and true Beauty.

 Love is the greatest gift we can ever hope to give or receive.  Love is the one thing that can overcome so many of the difficult times that we are faced with in life.  Love is so powerful - it can turn frowns into smiles.  It can help mend the most broken heart.  It can even turn all of the ugliness in the world into the most beautiful portrait we could ever have the pleasure to behold.
     Such a monumental task - of course... it could be.  But only if we try to do it alone.  Instead, if each of us, in our own small way contributed just a little - together, the task can become the reality we're reaching for.
     As potent as what love can be, it can only work it's magic if we choose to allow it to.  For that to come to pass we must let go of the other emotions that can get in love's way.  How is that - you may wonder?

     Consider the thought that... 

Anger - It's normal, but holding on to it indefinitely isn't really necessary.  Let it go...  Forgiveness is so much better for the soul than holding on to a grudge.  Not only will the person you're angry at be happier but so will you.
Harshness - Harsh words take just as much effort and energy as kind ones do.  Why not consider your choice of words before you speak them and choose gentler ones to get your point across.
Impatience - Aren't we all guilty of this at one time or another?  Keep reminding yourself of the old saying - "Patience is a virtue" - who wouldn't want to be a little more virtuous?  (Webster describes "virtuous" as being of moral quality or excellence)

Envy - We all know the saying here - "The grass is not always greener on the other side".  Take that to heart and concentrate on "fertilizing" and "watering" your own to get it just as "green" as your neighbors' "lawn".  You may wind up being the one envied instead.

Mistakes - We all make them!  So when someone else does, forgive them as you hope others would do for you.  Allow them to be "only human" and consider the fact that they didn't mean any harm by it.  Did you, when you made one?

Revenge - Someone always gets hurt by this one - and not always the one you expect to...  Why take that risk?
Expectations - Set them low enough that they are achievable - not so high that you fail to reach them.  No one wants to feel like a failure - neither you or the other person.  If you don't expect too much you will not be disappointed.
Perfection - We weren't born perfect, it's not something that can be learned, so why not accept the fact that it doesn't exist.  So many of us would breathe easier if this concept would just fade away.  I would, wouldn't you?
     Instead of any of the above, consider these options...
     Take the time to know each other's heart - when you do you will be more understanding and less apt to misunderstand another's intentions, which probably were never meant to hurt or upset you to begin with.
     Smile more often - it may cause a few wrinkles, at the very least, but then so does frowning.  You choose what kind you'd rather have.  And as you ponder that choice, keep in mind that they can both be contagious.  Wouldn't yourather be greeted by smiles than frowns?
     Love causes less stress, less heartache, less misunderstandings, less of just about everything negative.  Love doesreap rewards - happiness, health, joy, peace, and so much more that's positive.  Isn't that what we want most for this world of ours?  Isn't this a much prettier picture?  Remember the portrait?  It's not impossible and we can all help to paint it.  We can at least try, right? 

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