Malaysia Town

Central Market or known as Pasar Seni (Cultural Bazaar) in Malay, is a very famous heritage site in Kuala Lumpur that you wouldn’t want to miss. The artistic design of the building is really unique and attractive.

It was originally a wet market started in 1888 selling seafood, vegetables, meat and everyday items. The final structure of Central Market was completed in 1937.

In 1985, it was revamped, renovated and reopened, and became a cultural hotspot selling and displaying unique arts and crafts of Malaysia.

This February, in conjunction with Chinese New Year, it has been decorated with lanterns and plum blossoms.

When you enter the main entrance, you will see on your right the House of Silver, where silverware are displayed. The worker just happened to pose so stylishly. Haha!

On your left is the Lorong India filled with colorful saris and Indian crafts. 
 
Beautiful and high-quality saris are abound.

The Straits Chinese displays Chinese culture like cheongsams and even lanterns!
  
The Lorong Melayu displays arts and crafts related to the Malay culture.
 
There is also artwork like masks made by natives and aborigines.

These 3 zones are created in 2008. The reason these zones are made is to let us understand better the diversity and the differences of the 3 main races in Malaysia, Malay, Indians and Chinese.

If you walk further down the Lorong Melayu, you can see a fish spa where you pay just RM 5 for 10 minutes in the spa to have a “fish therapy” experience. The tourists below seemed to enjoy the sensation very much.
 
The sensation of the toothless Doctor Fish nibbling your feet can be ticklish and/or massaging. The fish are actually eating up the dead areas of your feet so that healthy skin may grow.

Below are Shirlene and Shan from Bangsar, KL, who had so much fun having the fish tickle them.
 
Other than those 3 zones, there are 2 more “lorongs”. One of them is the Lorong Kolonial, where stuff related to the time Malaysia was ruled by the British is available.
 
The other is the Lorong Kelapa, where you can buy snacks made from coconut. MMMmmmm! Of course, there are many other different types of snacks and tidbits too, like the sweet-and-sour ‘asam’ (Tamarind) sweets.
 
My most favourite candy is the Coconut candy, which is full of sweetness and coconut aroma!
 
Other than these 5 “lorongs”, there are many more booths and stores selling unique and artful crafts.

A unique booth selling only wooden craft.

A booth selling “flowerful” handbags. Surely your wife would be happy if she receives one from you!
 
Faruzzi is a shop that sells batik.  Batik is a cloth which traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique on silk, cotton, or rayon.
 
The Malay people like to wear it during formal occasions.
 
The shop below is selling songket cloth. Songket is a luxury hand-woven cloth. The Malays wear it during special ceremonial events.

This shop offers you high quality songkets.
 
These creative batik shoes are hand-made. You can get them at Batik Nusantara.
 
Do you know what the signboard of this shop is saying?

It says, “Where to go?” “Khalid Batik, Central Market”. Truly, this signboard is really unique and attractive. Malaysians are really creative and funky!

Of course, they are selling a variety of batik clothing.
 
Loh Tim Kee is a professional boutique selling traditional Chinese clothing.
 
WK Clock House is a clock specialist that can satisfy you from any type of clock, ranging from retro to modern types.

This shop had been featured on a local press too.
 
It’s really a clock wonderland!
 
Another very interesting shop is the Native Gallery, where art and crafts are handmade by natives.

I like this art piece very much.
 
There is also a shop displaying Malay, Indian and Chinese items, all in one place!

Below is Kindy, a shop selling mostly souvenirs of the Petronas Twin Towers, in various shapes and sizes, from clocks to rotating lighted-up models. 
 
A shop with Kris dagger, a traditional Malay weapon famous for their distinctive wavy blades.
 
You can easily spot the beautiful traditional Malay kites called Wau Bulans. Did you know that the Wau is on the back of our 50 sen (cent) coin?
 
There is a booth selling just insect specimens. A little boy (in light blue) was curiously pointing at them!
 
Below is a shop called Game Corner. It has many games, toys, and even massaging tools made of wood.!
 
Here is a close-up of the massaging tools. They look simple, but when I tried them, they were really effective!
 
There are also reflexology shoes to massage your feet. When you walk on it, it will massage different points on your feet, which correspond to different parts of your body. So these shoes are really beneficial.

If you think you can’t wear it all day, you can wear it 1 or 2 hours a day, especially during your evening stroll.
 
You will also have more knowledge of foot reflexology because each point is labeled with the part of the body it corresponds to.
 
The artwork on these fans are very beautiful! Don’t you feel cool when you fan yourself using these fans?
 
The Log Art gallery is my most favourite gallery in the Central Market

It is because the art pieces are very creative, beautiful,  detailed and they are made out of waste wood! “From waste to art” – What innovative motive!

Various newspapers have interviewed the artist behind these art pieces, Howard Choo. He really deserves it!

Which art piece do you wish to bring home?

Of course, Central Market remembers your stomach and has a food court selling multi-ethnic foods like laksa, curry mee, nasi lemak and “yong tau fu” (Stuffed bean curd).
 
The Central Market Annexe part of the building was launched in 2006, and has art galleries, theatre and music performance spaces, and of course, contemporary arts and craft shops.
 
The brightly coloured art pieces below belong to C.Woks Design.

Below is Nik from Ultimate Designer at the Annexe section, drawing a scene in Shah Alam.
 
Being an artist takes a lot of effort and patience because it will produce realistic and stunning results. He is still in the process of finishing the drawing. Below, he is dotting the road patiently to make it look real and detailed. He is really a great artist.
 
A collection of abstract art. How many Petronas Twin Towers can you spot below?
 
If you go up the first level of the annexe section, you will arrive at the Art House Gallery, which collects art pieces from many artists. This is the colourful design at the entrance to welcome you.

Inside is full of art and imagination!
 
This is my favourite painting that showcases an old style Chinese home.

The third floor houses the Museum of Ethnic Arts, which has 3 halls filled with about 300 rare ethnographic arts and crafts.  Some tourists love to collect these rare items very much as they really appreciate the beautifully hand crafted items and the culture of the natives.

  
 

A shirt from the Miao tribe of China worn during dance.
 
This is a very precious piece of cloth. It is an embroidered design for Chinese bridal sedan chairs. It is RM 30,000.

You can find many other native’s handicrafts too. Below are rare crafts that were crafted by the natives of Borneo.
 
Even the chairs and tables are crafted heartily!
  
This huge collection of tribal art is the heart and soul of Mr. Leonard Yiu, who has been collecting tribal art for over 20 years. He had been interviewed by the press in January 2009.

 
In conclusion, the art pieces of these natives are done with great dedication, hard work and creativity. The meanings of the designs on the art pieces are as varied as the cultures that make them. Usually their purpose for crafting them  is to fence off evil, recount notable events and clan lineages or for decoration.

On the top floor of the Central Market Annexe is the Annexe Gallery. This multi-purpose hall holds events like art exhibitions, movie screenings, workshops, music concerts, product launches, press conferences and more!

From 4 February 2010 to 21 February 2010, there was an art exhibition called “Kuala Lumpur Dreaming”. which shows how we imagine our little space in the city, find boldness in our expression and appreciate each other’s dreams.

The art piece below is made by Terry Law and the children of Agape Home. The process of making this amazing art piece has allowed children of this home connect with expressions of tangibility, freedom, choice, confidence and identity. This art work represents ethnic pluralism, shared identities and coexistence.

This art piece, “Tumpahnya”, is done by Julya Oui and Sheiko Reto. It is a depiction of the ironic, controversial, moronic and superficial happenings, events and situations in Kuala Lumpur.
 
After touring the Central Market, you can go outside to rest under the palm trees, enjoy the cooling breeze and admire the traditional Chinese-structured shop lots.
 
On Friday and Saturday, there are cultural performances on stage outside the entrance at 8:00pm – 8:30pm.

On Sunday 3pm – 4pm, there is a buskers performance.

On 27 February 2010, there will be a Chinese New Year celebration at the stage from 6pm – 11pm.
 
Central Market is truly the art and cultural centre of Kuala Lumpur. It is really one of the very precious heritage sites that all Malaysians should visit and understand our multi-ethnic history and culture.

Then and there the Spirit of 1Malaysia would be deeply rooted into out hearts and souls.