KL - Vintage Cafes near Petaling Street + Panggung Lane

Went back to KL for some family time last week and happened to have a half-day tour in KL, particularly near Petaling Street and Jalan Alor (will be featured in my next post). We can now find beautiful murals around KL also, although those in Penang or Melaka seem more well-known!

Suggest to start your day with some traditional Malaysian breakfast at one of the coffee shops near Petaling Street. There are plenty of them here! In fact, I published a post on Merchant Lane Cafe or 美真林 last year. Something in common for all these cafes? The rustic old-school concept that is very nostalgic.

After a hearty breakfast, head to Lorong Panggung to admire some murals, before wandering around Petaling Street for souvenirs and street food or heading to other tourist attractions nearby.

Ho Kow Hainan Kopitiam 何九海南茶店

Address: Jalan Balai Polis, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening hours: 7.30am to 3.30pm daily

One of my parents' favourite coffee shops in KL, despite the long waiting time. Not only among the locals, as it is located strategically in KL centre, this place also earns a lot of liking from the foreign tourists. It's almost impossible to avoid massive crowds, no matter you come at what time. Therefore, get your queue number, be patient and wait for your turn (likely with a minimum of 1 hour of waiting time). If you really want to skip the queue, the best advice I could give is to come early (maybe around 7am) and start queuing before the shop opens at 7.30am.

Luckily, the food was served at a fast pace. We kind of over-ordered. Our top 3 recommendations were dry curry noodles, Hainam Cham (mix of coffee and tea, very "gao" or rich) and butter crunchy peanut bun (such a perfect combination in an airy bun). All in all, the dishes here were promising.

The menu was designed to read like a newspaper.

Who could resist such old-school vibe, especially for my parents' generation.

Lim Kee Cafe

Address: 66, Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening hours: 9.30am to 6pm daily

If you are looking for a more laid-back and chill ambiance, then Lim Kee Cafe might be your preferred option. However, you may wish to take note that the cafe only serves beverages, roti kahwin (RM4, traditional toasts with butter and kaya) and cakes. My bro was rather disappointed that he couldn't find any main course here, my bad for not checking properly prior to our visit.

More precisely, the cafe is part of Tian Jing Hotel. Be expected that the place will get rather busy in the morning as the hotel guests come down to enjoy their breakfast. Overall, the coffee was great but the soft-boiled eggs and roti kahwin were kinda overpriced.

Not sure why we look fake here? As if we were photoshopped into the photo?

Lorong Panggung (鬼仔巷)

Opening hours: 9am to 6pm daily

Entrance fee: None

This place screams hipster with quirky Chinese culture related murals painted on the wall. Let the pictures below speak!

The sun in the morning was not forgiving.

You can scan the QR codes displayed on the wall to listen to the descriptions for each mural. I found the concept really cool to help people to appreciate the stories behind, apart from just taking photos.