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Although it can trace its origins to a rubber plantation in 1906, Bangsar — sometimes spelled Bungsar — began its modern life in the 1960s as a planned suburban district of Kuala Lumpur. Its commercial heart — Bangsar Village (or Bangsar Baru in Malay) — was developed in 1974.

Bangsar Village offers much that would make a Western architecture critic happy including a tight street grid with wide, tree-lined sidewalks flanked by small-scale retail shops, restaurants, and bars. A short walk away, this commercial core is surrounded by modest townhouses and small apartment blocks.

Although it is not directly connected to a train station and it is much more car-choked than we would like — sometimes amusingly so because it often is significantly faster to navigate the neighbourhood on foot than circling the block looking for a parking space — Bangsar Village is a pleasant stroll and travelgasm.com humbly proposes that it is well worth a visit accordingly.

When it first was built, Bangsar Village was a modest area. However, largely because it is fairly well designed and is walkable — and people tend to be willing to pay a premium to live in a walkable neighbourhood — it started to become more expensive in the 1980s. It now is considered one of the most desirable areas to live in Kuala Lumpur for well-to-do Malays and expats alike. Despite its popularity with expats, it had little presence on the big tourist advisory sites when we first wrote this piece and it doesn't really hit the radar for the majority of tourists. Accordingly, we view it as a deserving addition to our 7 Things Tourists Don't Do in Kuala Lumpur, but You Should.

Locally Famous Restaurants in Bangsar Village

Although there also are plenty of shopping opportunities in Bangsar Village targeting middle class and upper middle class residents, one of the best reasons to visit the neighbourhood is for a meal.

Because Bangsar is a fairly expensive area, restaurants are not the cheapest in the city, but in general, meals are about the same price as they are in malls elsewhere in Kuala Lumpur. Because there are so many expats living in the district, Bangsar Village is a particularly good area for Western food, also.

Seven locally well-regarded restaurants include the following, organised in a convenient walk on our map below:

1. Rocky Restaurant - Established in 1974, this classic Malaysian-style kopitiam (coffee shop) widely is considered the oldest eatery in Bangsar Baru. It serves strong coffee and an assortment of classic Chinese-Malay dishes like char kuey teow (noodles) and prawn mee (soup). Open for breakfast and lunch. Closed Sunday and Monday.
2. Antipodean Cafe - A popular location of a Kiwi-managed, New Zealand-style cafe chain that serves all-day breakfast, pizza, pasta, and high quality coffee.
3. Devi's Corner - No doubt the most famous Indian restaurant in Bangsar, this Halal friendly, 24-hour joint serves a wide variety of meat and vegetarian Indian dishes.
4. Alexis Bistro - Founded in 1995, this classy gastropub is one of the oldest Western restaurants in the area. It has a pan-Western menu and often live jazz in the evenings.
5. Nutmeg - Located inside the Bangsar Village II mall, Nutmeg is perhaps our favourite restaurant in Kuala Lumpur for Western food. In addition to other options, Nutmeg has a variety of delicious all-day Western breakfasts.
6. The Social - Now a successful local restaurant-bar chain, this is the original location kicked off in 2001. It has a food menu that crosses the Malaysian-Western divide, an extensive drinks list from detox smoothies to retox cocktails — and often generous happy hour times — in addition to live music at night.
7. The Daily Grind - Tucked in the Bangsar Village I mall, this lunch and dinner spot serves gourmet hamburgers and good nachos, too.

Below, along with the restaurants, we've mapped out the quick bus route from Bangsar LRT station to the heart of Bangsar Village.

How to Get Here: Take LRT Kelana Jaya Line (Line 5, Pink) to Bangsar Station (KJ16). Use the Menara UOA Bangsar - Dataran Maybank Exit, go downstairs, and turn left to walk to the visible bus stop. Take the T850 bus to the Bangsar Baru (Timur) stop (KL1158). Take the first left and carefully cross the unpleasant Jalan Maarof street to begin our suggested walk. To return to the LRT station, the same T850 bus is the best option.

travelgasm.com's Bangsar Village Map (Full Screen)

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