Petaling Street

Tourists and locals love to go to shop in Chinatown.

Satay vendor enjoy good business in Petaling Streets
Waiting patiently for customers.

Enjoying local chinese hawker food.

Hot day for Hot dog seller!

Elegant growns on display.

Hello, I am in Petaling Street.

Getting ready for business.

One roasted duck sold at RM34

Bargaining for a cheaper price.

Traditional children clothes on sale.

Jeans or Shoes ?

What a kind lady!

This old beggar is not forgotten.

Pigeons waiting for left-overs near the food stall.

Souvenirs for sale.

Tourists enjoy food and drinks at the open stall.


Petaling Street or Jalan Petaling Street in Malay,or known as Chinatown among tourists is in the heart of bustling Kuala Lumpur city. For us Chinese, we call it Chi-Cheong-Kai in Cantonese. It is located at the Southeast of Central Market, bounded by Jalan Bandar, Jalan Petaling and Jalan Sultan.

Easily accessible by public buses it is strategically located in the busiest part of Kuala Lumpur. It is famous for its makeshift bazaars or stalls; selling "very reasonably" priced goods like wallets, handbags, t-shirts, watches, shoes as well as dresses, sunglasses, shoes, fabrics and souvenirs. Tourists have learned bargain like the locals to buy their goods at a low price.

Petaling Street is also known for its jewellery shops with their fascinating variety of fine jewellery items beautifully crafted in gold and set with priceless gemstones.

The street has actually been given a facelift. Petaling Street is now better sheltered and its walkway covered to protect from the heat and rain.

Tourists and locals should not miss the variety of tasty local Chinese food here. There are many restaurants with a lot of delicious choices. Some of the restaurants here have been operating for generations!.Look out forThe famous restaurant Yook Woo Hin on Petaling Street. It is one the longest surviving family-run food places in KL. Locals use to go for a morning tea and breakfirst there after their morning walk or jog.

Lion Dance

The Chinese Lion Dance goes back some one thousand years. The first record of the performance of an early form of the Lion Dance dates to the early Ch’in and Han Dynasties (Third Century B.C.)

The lions express joy and happiness. From the fourth day to the fifteenth of the New Year, lion dance groups would tour from village to village in traditional China. This traditional culture is practised in so many countries as far as America and Mexico by migrant Chinese.

The performing group is usually made through the Choy Cheng, or "Eating of the Green (Vegetable)." In this country, it has come to symbolize money, the color of dollar bills. Usually. the lay see (li shir) is in the form of a hung bao (lucky red envelope with the payment enclosed) which is tied to some vegetable matter such as loose leaf lettuce. Since the lay see is attached to some vegetable, it’s called "choy cheng," with choy literally meaning vegetable. The greens are placed in an area for the lion to "eat." The lion will carefully approach the "green" and even test it to make sure that it is safe and not a firecracker or other dangerous item.

The music played by a minimum of three pieces: drum, gong and cymbal. Variations to the basic beats help keep the music lively. The loud music, along with the firecrackers and lion movements, are used to scare away "evil spirits" so that good luck will follow. Lion dances are performed to bring luck and to ward off evil spirits, as with the beginning of the Lunar New Year and grand opening of businesses, and now – minus the firecrackers

I am surprised to know the group of young performers came from my former Sam Tat Secondary School when I visited my sister who is livimg in Ipoh. This look like the school has more activities than before where I joined the photography society as a hobby.