Chow Kit at night
Chow Kit is most famous for the wet market and its red-light district. However, there is more to Chow Kit than first meets the eye.
A leisurely walk around the streets reveals bustling night markets and some great local style restaurants.
Chow Kit is certainly worth a visit when you’re in Kuala Lumpur.
What can you buy at Chow Kit night market?
You can buy a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh meat at the Chow Kit night market.
The selection isn’t as large as what you’ll find at the wet market during the day, but you can still find some really good fresh fruit and vegetables at the street stalls during the night.
Chow Kit night market location
The Chow Kit night market is located 1.4km’s (about 0.9 miles) northwest of the Petronas Twin Towers.
How to get to Chow Kit night market
Similar to the daytime wet market, you could take either the monorail to Chow Kit station and then walk south a few hundred meters to the start of the night market, or you could take the LRT to Kampung Baru station and then walk about 8 minutes to get to the Chow Kit night market.
If you go or return to the night market by taking the LRT from Kampung Baru, I recommend you stop off at either Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak or Wanjo Nasi Lemak, which are about 100 meters away from each other and are both really good.
If you like a good nasi lemak and want to experience a local style restaurant, you won’t be disappointed by either of these places.
Is Chow Kit night market dangerous?
In my opinion, the Chow Kit night market is no more dangerous than other places in KL at night.
Some people say that it’s “a little dangerous”, but I don’t know whether that means that it’s more dangerous than the rest of KL, or just the same as everywhere else.
If you want to learn more about how to stay safe in Kuala Lumpur, check out my other article where I cover everything you need to know to stay out of trouble on your visit.
Best nasi lemak in Kampung Baru
If you do a Google search for the best nasi lemak in Kampung Baru, you’ll probably find my article about “Wanjo Nasi Lemak”.
There are two nasi lemak restaurants in Kampung Baru that are equally well-regarded in terms of being awesome places to get a local style feed of nasi lemak.
The two restaurants that you should try are Wanjo Nasi Lemak and Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak, which are about 100m away from each other on Jalan Raja Muda Musa.
Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak location
The best way to get to Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak by public transport is to take the LRT to Kampung Baru and then walk a few minutes.
When you exit the LRT station, walk down the hill and around the corner to the right until you reach the first street intersection.
Turn left at that intersection onto Jalan Raja Muda Musa and you’ll find Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak a couple of hundred meters down the street on the right-hand side.
Antarabangsa price
A chicken rendang nasi lemak with an egg will cost you 6.50rm at Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak.
That’s great value, especially considering the quality and taste of the food. Seriously, you won’t be disappointed of you like chicken and rice with some delicious sauce and sides.
Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak is slightly cheaper than the nearby Wanjo Nasi Lemak, where I paid 8rm for the same dish when I visited.
Antarabangsa nasi lemak review
I rate Antarabangsa Nasi Lemak very highly. At the time that I tried it, I think it was at least as good as the best nasi lemak that I’d ever had, especially considering the price.
However, the next day I visited the neighboring Wanjo Nasi Lemak to compare the two famous Kampung Baru nasi lemak hot spots, and I had to reconsider my score.
Antarabangsa nasi lemak vs Wanjo nasi lemak
Antarabangsa and Wanjo are both very good. I can’t speak highly enough about both of them.
However, in my opinion, if you can only visit one of them (you should try both if you have time) you should probably choose Wanjo if you don’t mind paying an extra couple of ringgit.
Wanjo is a little bigger, a little more professional and a little cleaner looking overall.
But, it depends on what you want. If you want the more local-feeling experience, you might want to choose Antarabangsa because it feels a little less like a proper restaurant and a bit more like eating at your grandma’s place…. if you grandma served food beside the street.
Final word
The Chow Kit night market is not the same thing as the Chow Kit wet market, but both of them are worth a look.
Similarly, if you want to try some local food before or after checking out the night market, you can eat some great Nasi Lemak at either of the above-mentioned restaurants in Kampung Baru.
Safe travels!