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| City Guide - Kuala Lumpur - Nightlife | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nightlife With so many different cultures mixing together the nightlife is anything but dull in Kuala Lumpur. Although Malaysia is a Muslim country, alcohol is freely available in the capital and the nightlife is one of the liveliest in Asia. A recent government 'morality' campaign has reined in late opening hours and most nightspots now close at 0100. Traditional nightlife for many locals still involves a visit to a bustling pasar malam (night market), where the focus is as much on socialising and people-watching as it is on shopping, savouring the excellent hawker food and quaffing ice cold beer. The Saturday market on Jalan Raja Muda is the highlight, although Jalan Petaling in Chinatown closes itself to traffic nightly and is still a local favourite, despite the presence of many tourists. The main area for bars is in the Golden Triangle where there are many European-style bars and nightclubs inside the luxury hotels. The dress code veers towards the relaxed side of smart-casual, except in some of the classier nightspots that are frequented by the city's yuppie brigade. Bangsar, on the city fringe, is the up-and-coming nightspot with half a dozen streets of bars and eating places, packed with a younger crowd. The weekly Day and Night Magazine gives visitors the lowdown on the city's latest hip nightspots. Bars: Good bars in the Golden Triangle include El Nino, 21 Jalan Mayang, which is themed around Latin-American music and culture, and Marley's, Jalan Pintang, a drinking den devoted to the memory of the legendary reggae star. Grappa Soho, 2 Jalan Bukit Bintang, is a trendy venue that opened in spring 2000 and is already becoming the place to head to in this part of town -dressing to impress is advisable. In the Golden Triangle, abstaining Muslims hang out in the numerous cafés on Jalan Bukit Bintang near the JW Marriott Hotel. In Bangsar, The Roof, 2 Jalan Telawi 4, and Soleil, 7 Jalan Telawi 4, are two of the bars to look out for. Finnegan's, 6 Jalan Telawi 5, has emerged as the 'in' nightspot and is the bar most locals point visitors towards, although the high propensity of single males seems to have attracted an informal bar girl scene. Casinos: As Malaysia is a Muslim country, there are no casinos in Kuala Lumpur. Clubs: Nighclubs tend to be quite far out of the city and wholly for KL teenagers at that. In the city, the best place for a dance is probably the big hotels' bars. Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Café also often have dancing after their live music (see below). The Embassy, 26 Jalan Ampang, is a bona fide club in the city centre, considered hip by an increasing number of locals and ex-pats. Live music: Unfortunately for many KL-ites, live music still means one thing - karaoke. The city is overrun with karaoke bars, but a few bastions of live music do survive. The Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood may not be considered the epitome of cool in many parts of the world, but in KL they are where the trendies head for live music, although often it is provided by dubious cover bands. Follow the music to The Hard Rock Café, Concorde Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ismail, and Planet Hollywood, Ground Floor, KL Plaza, Jalan Bukit Bintang. Often a better bet is TM2, Hilton Kuala Lumpur, which puts on a wide range of live music as well as DJs. |
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