Petaling Jaya area guide

Discover the best restaurants, shops, cafés, bars and things to do in Petaling Jaya

Tuesday 21 June 2016

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To say that Petaling Jaya (aka PJ) is huge is an understatement. Divided into several areas and neighbourhoods (better known as 'seksyen'), there are your oldies like Jalan Gasing and PJ Old Town to newer, flashier areas like Damansara and Aman Suria. For non-PJ folks, wrapping your head around the many sections can be a bit of a nightmare, so to help you out, we explored the area to come up with this cheat sheet to some of the best restaurants, cafés, shops, bars and things to do in PJ. Got a favourite PJ spot not listed here? Let us know in the comments.

SS2

Restaurants

Goreng pisang SS2

‘Pisang goreng’ or ‘goreng pisang’? The triviality of semantics is thrown out the window when faced with a crisp, fresh-from-the-oil...

Restaurants

SS2 food street

price 1 of 4

Established since 1991, this short food street is sparsely populated due to its relatively obscure location between the Kelana Jaya and Taman Bahagia LRT...

Shopping

Babyland

Need secure playpens? How about neck floats for water babies? Washable crayons from Crayola? Babyland has more than thirty years of experience in catering for...

Restaurants

Smoking Hog

price 3 of 4

'Smokin' hot' is the only way to describe Smoking Hog, SS2's ultimate bacon haven where the porcine delight is king. Go for the all-day 'bacones' (crispy pork...

Restaurants

PS Tokyo

It's got nothing to do with that infamous Cecilia Ahern romance novel, but PS Tokyo is a love letter to Japanese flavours and culture. Decidedly minimalist,...

Restaurants

Restaurant Lorong Seratus Tahun

price 1 of 4

Take a seat at Lorong Seratus Tahun and you’ll see why the humble restaurant with its Penang hawker stall roots now has four outlets in the Klang Valley....

Restaurants

Standing Theory

This neighbourhood PJ coffee bar hopes to challenge the onslaught of mediocre cafés by providing what few remember to – quality. Couple the...

Music

Toccata Studio

Located on the top floor of the lot above Poh Kong SS2, Toccata Studio provides a space for various activities related to the arts including – but not...

Shopping

PJ Junk Store

Schedule your secondhand furniture hunt on a Thursday to time it with the excellent SS2 pasar malam located right by PJ Junk Store. At this secondhand...

Restaurants

Mr. Wolf

Mr. Wolf has brought with it two things PJ needs: A cosy lounge bar, and a stylish restaurant serving Asian fusion cuisine. Its name beckons as you drive along...

Restaurants

Crab Factory: Original Louisiana Boil

price 4 of 4

Offering a much-needed breath of fresh air amongst KL’s many new twee cafés and fancy coffee joints is Crab Factory, a no-frills seafood...

Restaurants

Go Thai

Thai cuisine may seem like it’s culled from a hodgepodge of ingredients (just look at the classic tom yam), but the trick to perfecting every dish lies...

Seksyen 14

Shopping

Kedai Fixi

Local indie publisher Fixi finally opens its own brick and mortar store, so if you’ve missed their festival rounds, just head over to Jaya Shopping Centre....

Shopping

Digital Mall PJ

Standing four-storeys high, Digital Mall is a medium-sized commercial centre in PJ that is a one-stop retail address for IT, electronics and electrical...

Shopping

Jaya33

Calling itself a Hyperoffice, Jaya 33 is a five-storey commercial development that consists of two floors of retail space. It is home to a few franchised...

Shopping

Gerakbudaya

Against all odds, Gerakbudaya continues to thrive. Pak Chong’s bookstore isn’t just a bookstore, but a cherished community hub, a creative borough packed with...

Seksyen 17 and Seksyen 13

Attractions

Jump Street Asia

Located in a warehouse behind Jaya One, this indoor trampoline park is made for people of all ages. The park is divided into several sections: a main court...

Restaurants

Yellow Apron

price 2 of 4

The team behind Section 17's The Humble Pie Co. have made a notable expansion in the form of Yellow Apron not too far away in PJ's Section 13, breathing...

Restaurants

Hello by Kitchen Mafia

The newest kid on the Happy Mansion block is helmed by celebrity chefs Johnny Fua and Sherson Lian. Unlike other booming areas in town, Happy Mansion has been...

Shopping

Jaya One

Jaya One has an impressive collection of retail outlets including the vibrant PJ Live Arts group, a non-profit organisation that uses art as a platform to...

Restaurants

Food Foundry

Nestled in a tiny corner of Section 17 Happy Mansion apartments is one of PJ’s best kept secrets. Unpretentious and cosy, Food Foundry serves a good mix...

Restaurants

Butter + Beans at Seventeen

Section 17 is fast becoming the centre of nifty food outlets with the addition of Butter + Beans at Happy Mansion (along Food Foundry). Coffee and pastries...

Restaurants

Robert's Char Kuey Teow

price 1 of 4

Named after Robert Khoo, the man behind the wok, the char kuey teow here comes loaded with prawns, Chinese waxed sausages, bean sprouts and crunchy pork lard....

Shopping

Pasar Tani Mega

The fourth farmer’s market in Selangor to earn the Ministry of Agriculture’s ‘Mega’ status takes place every Thursday morning along the...

Restaurants

The Humble Pie Co.

Finally, a café that recognises our city’s dire lack of pie. Founders Eugene and Angela are devoted to pie-making whether in iterations like...

Restaurants

Kedai Makanan Frame Thai

price 1 of 4

Formerly known as Lai Thai, Kedai Makanan Frame Thai can no longer be considered PJ’s best-kept secret – this bustling mini mart-restaurant has now...

Restaurants

Strangers at 47

price 2 of 4

With the addition of Strangers at 47, the street of 17/45 is a whole lot less quiet, though removed enough from the SS2 area to remain blessedly free of the...

Restaurants

Xiao by Crustz

The online-based patisserie takes its petit gateau and cakes offline with an elegant physical store in Happy Mansion. Try the well-crafted Le Cerf, a petit...

Seksyen 19

Restaurants

Coffee Collective

Coffee Collective roasts and supplies specialty coffee beans to some of the city’s top cafés: Their Ratawali beans from Sumatra, with distinct...

Bars and pubs

Hugo Steampunk Premium Lounge

Hugo Steampunk is a specialty themed bar, whose owners drew inspiration from ‘Hugo’ the film. The decorations were custom-made especially for the...

Restaurants

Donald's Durian

If feasting on quality durian over the blaring of police sirens by the roadside is your idea of fun, then Donald’s Durian is a must-visit. The durian...

Restaurants

Appu Curry House

Uncle Appu Curry House has slowly made a name for its curry fish head. Using the heads of kurau (threadfin), ikan merah (red snapper) or jenahah (golden...

Shopping

Super Pharmacy Megastore

This is where you should go if you’re buying toiletries and pharmaceutical products in bulk. Besides being a pharmacy warehouse, the store also regularly...

PJ Old Town and Jalan Gasing

Restaurants

Sri Ganapathi Mess

price 1 of 4

Fast becoming an open secret, this place is housed in an actual single-storey corner lot home. The porch area, unusually, has shelves of pottery on sale but...

Things to do

Merdekarya

This newbie is one of Klang Valley’s most unique thanks to its no-fuss industrial DIY setting. Opened by writer and musician Brian Gomez, it’s a...

Restaurants

Caffeinated Cabin

price 2 of 4

Like a little known secret, Caffeinated Cabin is charming and hushed; it’s hidden among a mish mash of bamboo blinds and potted plants, secluded in its...

Restaurants

Cherry Cake House

The humble, old-school cake confectionary in Petaling Jaya has no airs, no beautifully arranged bakes on antique plates and saucers; it’s just fine,...

Restaurants

May and Mike’s Corner

4 out of 5 stars
price 2 of 4

November 2011 May and Mike’s Corner is the sort of antidote that is sorely needed in a city that has become infested with sleek, chic and...

Attractions

PJ Community Library

It’s not the most good-looking library in the city but the children’s section on the ground floor features a variety of educational magazines...

Taman Paramount, SEA Park and Taman Bahagia

Restaurants

Nasi Lemak Bumbung

Tummies can’t help but rumble at the pervasive scent of sambal tumis at Bumbung Nasi Lemak. The portions are normal but the food is a celebration of...

Restaurants

Thai Camp

3 out of 5 stars
price 3 of 4

Porcine-friendly Thai restaurants are all the rage these days. With plucky mini mart-restaurant Lai Thai well established in the cheap eats bracket, Surisit...

Restaurants

Prologue

3 out of 5 stars
price 2 of 4

The sizeable number of Japanese expats in KL has contributed to a respectable variety of Japanese food, particularly in Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara. It’s...

Restaurants

Ticklish Ribs

price 2 of 4

Porcine-heavy Ticklish Ribs & ‘Wiches dishes up everything pork – sandwiches, messy fries, and of course, ribs. How it works: Place your order...

Restaurants

Shokudō

If we’re to go by the old adage of ‘we eat with our eyes’, a plate of brown like this Japanese curry rice isn’t going to score very...

Restaurants

A&Z Burger

Having set up shop since 1995 in front of a 7-Eleven at Sea Park, this food truck caters more for takeaways due to its constricted space next to a busy road....

Restaurants

myBurgerLab

price 2 of 4

myBurgerLab is the burger equivalent of fictional coffeehouse Central Perk. Friendly staff line the counters and regulars fill up the brimming space by...

Restaurants

Penang Chee Cheong Fun stall

price 1 of 4

Used heavily in Penang food (rojak and laksa, for example), the thick, dark brown har gou is the defining characteristic of Penang-style chee cheong fun. The...

Restaurants

Cendol & Rojak Taman Bahagia

If the prospect of an icy bowl of cendol on a hot afternoon is so deeply entrenched in our culture, it’s no wonder this mobile operation in Taman Bahagia...

Things to do

Awegallery

This creative space, located in the neighbourhood of Taman Paramount, is situated just beside Awesome Canteen café. This roomy shoplot has organised many...

Restaurants

Kedai Makanan O&S Restaurant

Operating daily from the break of dawn, O&S churns out some of the best local fare. Located in the vicinity of Taman Paramount, this kopitiam is home to...

Restaurants

Awesome Canteen

price 2 of 4

Awesome Canteen – operating in the less travelled constituency of Taman Paramount – has had booming success since its opening late last year,...

Taman Jaya

Things to do

Book Xcess

Book-lovers and bargain-hunters are all familiar with Book Xcess, the bookstore that undercuts all the major chains and brings forth hordes of readers every...

Restaurants

ANZGAM Club House

price 1 of 4

PJ folks, there’s a new banana leaf joint in town. Formerly at Universiti Malaya Academic Club (UMAC), Kumaren and his crew have moved their banana leaf...

Restaurants

A&W PJ

Get your dose of rootbeer float, coney dog and waffles at this iconic PJ landmark which has been opened for at least the last 50 years.

Sport and fitness

PJ Palms Sports Centre

A five-minute walk from Taman Jaya LRT station, this sports centre houses two clean, well-kept pools: a 50m with eight lanes and a kiddie. Towel and swimwear...

Shopping

Hard Graft Records

Hard Graft Records is grey walls, no fuss: a few chairs, a water dispenser and a formidable, well-curated stock of new and old LPs, which touches on metal, hip...

Shopping

Joe's MAC

The man behind the name, Joe Rozario, is just as famous as his extensive vinyl store located in the basement of Amcorp Mall. What used to be a humble (but...

Taman Megah

Restaurants

Bakeri Joy

4 out of 5 stars
price 1 of 4

Behind its old-fashioned store front in Taman Megah, Bakeri Joy is a casual mom-and-pop bakery, which doubles up as a café serving home-cooked comfort...

Shopping

Bake With Yen

Bake With Yen opened its doors more than two decades ago in 1987. It has since been a staple in providing an extensive range of quality baking products and...

Restaurants

Key Hiong

The 20-year-old Key Hiong in PJ is where retirees drop by for a spot of afternoon dim sum and homemade char siu bao.

Restaurants

Restaurant Fatty Crab

price 3 of 4

Fatty Crab offers a variety of seafood dishes, but most people just flock here for their speciality. Fatty Crab’s signature dish is their sweet and sour...

Kelana Jaya

Restaurants

Kedai Sebelah

Kedai Sebelah is a café situated next to art gallery and workshop Kedai. Their menu changes consistently and is a good spot for woodwork lovers with a chilled...

Shopping

Paradigm Mall

This new PJ mall has a decent selection of brands such as M&S, Dorothy Perkins, and Zara. Fashionistas will be pleased to hear that H&M has its third Malaysian...

Art

Kedai

Kedai is an art gallery and studio specialising in palletwood. The space has played host to exhibitions for young upcoming artists and has also organised...

Restaurants

Restoran Sri Suria Curry House

price 1 of 4

Kelana Jaya’s new banana leaf opening is generating buzz for its spice-laden Chettinad food. It seems trivial to compare the restaurant against veterans...

Damansara

Theatre

Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC)

This new peforming arts space looks set to be a major venue for theatre and dance shows in KL. The centre features four rooms, namely Theatre, Black Box (a...

Restaurants

Aitch

Tunku Hadi, the founder and master barista at Aitch micro roaster, strongly believes that a good cup of coffee starts right at the beginning – the farms....

Art

Minut Init Art Social

Minut Init welcomes both aspiring and established artists alike regardless of the artistic discipline practised. So whether you do pop, street, or abstract...

Restaurants

Tea Press

After a wave of specialty coffee bars in KL, it's tea's turn in the limelight. For a good dose of Zen, head to Japanese tea house Tea Press at Damansara Uptown...

Restaurants

Rak Somtam

3 out of 5 stars
price 2 of 4

Food trends come and go, but Thai fare remains a mainstay in the KL dining landscape. As more independent Thai eateries open shop, we made our way to one of...

Bars and pubs

Olfactory Bulb

price 2 of 4

The all-in-one coffee mixology bar is also a café, lounge and dessert place perched on the first floor of a building overseeing the never-still streets...

Restaurants

Hail's Soft Serve

price 1 of 4

The once-minimalist menu (two soft serve flavours and a variety of toppings) at Hail's Soft Serve is now replaced with a dessert spread featuring waffles,...

Restaurants

Battery Acid Club

Here’s another ‘hidden’ café to look out for the next time you’re in the Damansara Utama area. Battery Acid Club’s...

Kids

KidZania

An indoor theme park originating from Mexico, KidZania is like a scaled-down town for kids to live out their ambitions or fantasies, whether they’re...

Theatre

Markas

The Offday is the brainchild of the power duo that is Irman Hilmi and Deanna Ibrahim. If you’re a fan of the label’s razor-sharp edge to streetwear...

Shopping

IKEA

The Swedish home furnishing giant offers everything under one roof, everything you need to complete your home with. Buy reasonably priced furniture like sofas,...

Shopping

Atria Shopping Gallery

Damansara Jaya residents will definitely remember the good old days of Atria (apparently parties at The Piccadilly inside Atria were all the rage –...

See more things to do in Damansara

Aman Suria

Restaurants

Cream

Café and coffee roastery Cream is exactly what its name implies: a serene space, airy and light-filled, swathed in palettes of pale wood and off-whites....

Restaurants

Patty & Pie

price 2 of 4

Located in Aman Suria Damansara, Patty & Pie is a café whose menu centres on burgers and pizzas. Brit owner Nadal Murray used to flip burgers and...

Shopping

Koncent Malaysia

Attention, admirers of Japanese aesthetics: All that is form-meets-function, modern minimalist and with a wash of the whimsical can be found at Koncent, the...

Restaurants

Kesom

4 out of 5 stars
price 2 of 4

The rustic virtues of Kelantanese food are greatly underrepresented in KL – there are some solid options in Kampung Baru, a new-ish nasi Kak Wok stall in...

Bars and pubs

Gastro Bar, By Burgeon

price 3 of 4

Both Seth Chong and his partner Ray Lim had a vision to start a brand that speaks through food, with the ultimate goal of attaining Michelin stars. You might...

Sport and fitness

Surya Yoga

This professional yoga and pilates centre has a dedicated team of professional instructors and a big range of classes for the whole family. Prenatal and kids'...

Bandar Utama

Shopping

1 Utama Shopping Centre

Zoned into sections catering to almost all of your needs, 1 Utama’s many accolades are well-justified with its ability to thrill even the most jaded shopper....

Sport and fitness

It's a Hit! Batting Cages

It might be new but baseball is catching on in Malaysia. If you want to work on that Babe Ruth homerun It’s A Hit! Batting Cages is the place to go. It’ll take...

Nightlife

The Roof

The Roof is one of the most exciting openings this year. This nightlife hub in PJ houses five outlets all under ‘the roof’. It’s also the...

Shopping

Costume World

Costume World is all about variety. From period attire to animal costumes to superhero outfits, every category is decked out in several versions or styles to...

Restaurants

Roast Factor Glee

Roast Factor Glee wins on account of being a micro-roastery – a feature that enables owner Tan Shyue Chin to control the darkness of her roast. Always go for...

Restaurants

Whisk Espresso Bar & Cake Shop 1 Utama

price 2 of 4

June 2011 Whisk is a tiny hole in the wall in Empire Subang, comfortingly informal when you step inside. The menu is limited, but this is not a bad thing...

Restaurants

Mak’s Chee

Mak Woon Chee, master wonton-noodle maker in Guangzhou in the 1920s, came up with his recipe of specialty prawn dumplings instead of pork dumplings like...

Restaurants

Champs

3 out of 5 stars
price 2 of 4

June 2009 Regulars at Champs will be fuming when they see this review. It can be hard enough to secure a table outside this quaint little bar/restaurant in...

Shopping

Centrepoint Bandar Utama

Not as busy as the popular 1Utama, Centrepoint is a favourite amongst residents within the vicinity. A new wing has recently been added to Centrepoint with...

Restaurants

Baan Kun Ya

A dinner at Baan Kun Ya will almost certainly end with you meeting your threshold for coconut milk. I leave the restaurant with coconut milk running through my...

See more area guides

Things to do

Bangsar

Bangsar has gone through many phases – unobtrusive residential area, clubbing haven, arts and culture quarter, and now, café district. From the...

Things to do

Hartamas

Populated by expatriates and upper middle class families, Hartamas is fancy – even its name says so (‘harta’, treasure; ‘mas’,...

Things to do

Damansara

The wide land that is Damansara has the privilege of being both KL and Selangor. It can be confusing – Bukit Damansara for example, is not exactly near...

Things to do

KL City

Your cheat sheet to all the best restaurants, shops and things to do in the main areas of the city centre including Bukit Bintang, Petaling Street and Pudu.