Hanging Out

Cafes, bars, cool locations to wander about in

KL has fairly distinct ethnic personas, and the take on it from ChI’s perspective is inevitably a reflection of her own – so no carping about ethnic exclusivity, please!

   
 
  Image Courtesy of http://www.frangipani.com.my

•  Alexis Bar and its Bistro below it, in Bangsar. Valet parking is everywhere as
  Bangsar is full of tiny streets and the gang of helpful youths (not those!) will
  park your ‘mobile safely. The clienteles is upscale and affluent, with lots of
  Chinese in the evenings, and the expat Tai Tai (ladies who lunch) set,
  especially….as you would expect…for lunch! The desserts are AMAZING – the
  Pavlova is out of this world!
•  Shangrila Hotel Rooftop Bar
•  789 Bar
•  Top Hat – live music and restaurant
•  La Bodega – for tapas. Frequented a lot by local professional Chinese and
  Malays in large groups….also some expats. The atmosphere is very relaxed
  and the food is good, as well as good value for money. Its Bangsar Baru and
  the Bangsar Shopping Centre outlets are much more chilled out than the one
  in Bukit Bingtang, which caters to a slightly older expat crowd. Best time to
  go is for a weekend lunch or late evening for diner and drinks. The tapas are
  good – but don’t get the paella though!
•  The Long Bar at the Frangipani Restaurant
•  The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for pick-me-ups of the caffeine variety and
  good snacks to accompany them. http://www.coffeebean.com.my/ 
  This is a pleasant, but slightly run-of-the-mill coffee joint – like a somewhat
  shabbier local version of Starbucks (even though it is part of an international
  chain.)
•  Grappa Soho for casual hanging out, Italian-style – a fave of the moneyed
  expat set, but some find it pretentious, very expensive, and the service can
  be very poor, and the food average.
•  Asian Heritage Row which is off Jalan Sultan Ismail is a street market with
  very exciting and interesting food choices – Indo-Chinese cuisine, Turkish
  food, fusion Indian, etc. Really recommended for a taste of the East!

   
 
  Image Courtesy of http://www.asianheritagerow.com