Kuala Lumpur Photo Gallery - Chow Kit Market (2025)

Across town, Chow Kit is mostly a grocery market, the largest of its kind in the city. It has a long history going back to 1955 with a wide assortment of items on offer from raw ingredients to cooked foods.

The surrounding neighbourhood is named after Penang-born tin businessman Loke Chow Kit, although it has its seedy side with a red light district and drug dealers. Nevertheless, there is a growing number of international hotels in the area and it is safe to walk around its streets.

New York Times named this place among the 52 places to go in 2020, noting it is "an underappreciated neighbourhood" at 20th place. However, this place was important enough for Indonesian President Joko Widodo to visit during his 2-day stay in the country in 2023.