About Petaling Street (Chinatown)
Many of the miners who built Kuala Lumpur were Cantonese or Hakka, led by the Chinese kapitan Yap Ah Loy, who even set up a tapioca factory on this very street. Today Jalan Petaling is closed to cars and, since 2003, covered by a green roof nicknamed the Green Dragon, which is worth its weight in gold when the afternoon downpour hits.
The house rule is to haggle with good humor. Between one stall and the next, look for food: wanton mee, Hainanese chicken, curry laksa. In the Kwai Chai Hong alley, six interactive murals tell the story of the neighborhood's past, and the Central Market, an old market turned crafts bazaar, is a short walk away.
