These marketplaces are such an integral part of the average Malaysian life that you can’t imagine one without the other. It is the one regular treat that the locals look forward to, the one place where they can just hang loose in their T-shirts, shorts and flip flops and taking their time to savour the exciting sights, sounds and food surrounding them.

A Tinge of Nostalgia

Most of these bazaars have been in existence for many years, steep in both history and character. A typical example would be the famous Petaling Street in KL which is affectionately known as Chee Cheong Kai (Starch Factory Street) because it housed a tapioca mill a long, long time ago. Yook Woo Hin, one of the oldest family-run restaurants in KL has been there for about 80 years. So important and valuable is Petaing Street as a national landmark that the government decided to give it a facelift a few years ago, carefully preserving its unique Chinatown characteristics amidst the spanking new roofing and flooring. Revitalised and given a new lease of life, it is still a perennial hub of activity where “designer” shoes, wallets, handbags, watches and jewellery can be had for a song, after a hard bargain, of course.

Sharpen Your Bargaining Skills

Night bazaars are the best places to hone your bargaining skills. No price is carved on stone here. Be sure to always ask the sales assistant, “How much for this?” even if the goods come with a price tag. They will either tell you their price verbally or key the figure into a calculator and display it to you. The price should be lower than the printed figure on the price tag. This is where the fun begins.

You then key in the price you are comfortable with on the calculator – it should roughly be 1/3 or ½ of the stated price. The sales assistant will take the calculator and key in another price and so on it goes until you both come to an agreement or you walk away because they cannot lower their price any further. However, if the sales person agrees to meet your price, then you honour-bound to purchase the item.

Where Treasures Abound

Noisy jostling crowds are the hallmark of the night market, certainly not a place for the faint-hearted or the claustrophobic. But for the rest of us, they are fun and thrilling places to explore. To loosely quote Forrest Gump, “Life is like a night market, you never know what you’re gonna get.” It’s so very true. There are unexpected treasures to be found at every nook and corner of a typical bazaar such as Lembangan Night Market at Sarawak.   This is one place where you can get unusual produce like flying foxes, squirrels, snakes, snails, edible jungle fruits and ferns.

If exotic flora and fauna is not your cup of tea, you can indulge in discoveries of the antique kind which can be found aplenty on Jonker Street, Melaka. It is also rich with creative souvenirs such as colourful hand-painted clog shoes that you can get for loved ones back home. 

It is no secret that all night bazaars share a common treasure – scrumptious street cuisine. It would be a sin to breeze through these places and not nibble on mouth-watering local dishes like dim sum (dumplings), curry laksa (noodles served in coconut curry gravy) and the decadent durian cendol dessert (green jelly topped with iced shavings flavoured with coconut milk and brown sugar). Feel free to chill to live music as you munch and shop, courtesy of the musicians and buskers that thrive in some of these night markets.

Other Notable Night Markets in Malaysia

So what are you waiting for? Plonk on those flip flops and traipse over to the nearest night bazaar. If you haven’t been to one, you haven’t really seen Malaysia.