Explore Kuala Lumpur’s Hawker Heaven
Known throughout Southeast Asia as Kuala Lumpur’s Hawker Heaven, Jalan Alor is a mouth-watering melting pot of all Southeast Asian cuisines that attracts thousands of locals and tourists daily.
This national icon features restaurants and stalls offering street food and al fresco dining with a large variety of authentic Southeast Asian hawker food!
If this is your first time in Jalan Alor, scroll down for complete guides and detailed information to help you embark on your gastronomic adventure.
Complete Guides to Jalan Alor
Explore Jalan Alor with my detailed guides by clicking on the icons below:
Jalan Alor
Jalan Alor is a one way street that starts at Changkat Bukit Bintang and ends at Jalan Tong Shin. There are three alleys on the right connecting to Alor Backspace and two alleys on the left connecting to Jalan Bukit Bintang.
Both sides of this road are filled with restaurants and stalls till the end. Most of them are Chinese and Thai. Malay, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean food are also available here.
Some restaurants function as a single unit while some host multiple independent stalls within.
You will find convenience stores, restaurants, wellness centres and shops hidden behind the stalls. The road is closed to vehicular traffic from 6pm to 3am daily.
There is a drastic difference in the atmosphere on this road between daytime and at night.
Jalan Alor During The Day
Perhaps due to lack of canopy, Jalan Alor is comparatively quiet in the day. Almost all the stalls are closed and locked up by the side of the road. The vendors generally start setting up their stalls early in the evening.
You can find a few fruit and drink stalls scattered throughout the day and only a handful of restaurants operate for breakfast and/or lunch.
Jalan Alor At Night
At sunset, Jalan Alor transforms into the bustling food haven that earned its iconic status as Hawker Heaven. Over 100 restaurants and stalls offering street food and al fresco dining with a large variety of authentic hawker food.
The street is adorned with red neon lanterns above where foldable plastic tables and chairs are set up for dining immersively in the most typical Southeast Asian style.
The peak hours are from 8pm to midnight. At this time the aroma of this place is simply indescribable. However, the open air dining concept at times can leave us at the mercy of the unpredictable Kuala Lumpur rains.
Whether you crave Malaysian satay, Chinese noodles or sizzling Thai or Vietnamese dishes, you are guaranteed an authentic Asian street food experience.
You can spend a month eating in Jalan Alor and you would not have managed to try everything. I highly recommend you walk to both ends to get a feel of this street and perhaps savour some appetisers before picking a spot.
Jalan Rembia @ Alor Backspace
Originally just a back alley, Jalan Rembia was transformed due to Jalan Alor being overwhelmed. The Kuala Lumpur City Hall extended Alor to its adjacent street and initiated a street art project to promote tourism.
The walls of the entire alley are beautifully painted encouraging a few small restaurants, guesthouses and hotels to crop up.
A very innovative idea of using containers to build a combination of an eatery and a food market in an alley covered in art produced Alor Backspace, causing an eruption on Instagram.
Changkat Bukit Bintang portion
This portion starts at Jalan Bukit Bintang with the Michael Jackson Twins and the MRT Bukit Bintang Gate A followed by Hotel Imperial on the right.
On the left side of the road is a row of five restaurants with al fresco dining. There are stalls until the intersection with Jalan Alor. They are open all day.
Locals flock here every morning for the famous Nasi Lemak Alor Corner stall.
No visit to Bukit Bintang is complete without checking out Jalan Alor.