Chow Kit Wet Market (Kuala Lumpur)

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If the soul of Malaysia resides in the bellies of its citizens, then the heart of Kuala Lumpur must be its wet markets. After all, it's these old-style places of culinary commerce that have, over the years, stocked the kitchens and pantries of the city's hawker's and restaurateurs, wives and mothers, grandmas and aunties, dads and grandfathers who've fed us. Despite its willy-nilly redevelopment, Kuala Lumpur still boasts a few of these traditional alternatives to the grocery store, from Petaling Street's petite Chinese market to Pudu's open-air sprawl. But one 'pasar' better than any other reflects the diversity, changing fortunes, and essence of the city: Chow Kit.

Older than Malaysia itself, Chow Kit has, like Kuala Lumpur, seen good times and bad. When it was opened in 1955 by the seventh Sultan of Selangor, the market anchored one of the city's prime shopping and entertainment districts. Forty years later the area was known more for its illicit activities than for its haberdashers and wet market. In 1997 City Hall announced its intention to raze the market and replace it with an eleven-story multi-purpose building, a plan put on hold indefinitely when the Asian financial crisis hit. Malaysia's economic misfortune saved Chow Kit, but business at the market has never returned to pre-crisis levels. Though the market is lively, one can get the sense that Chow Kit is a suit that’s been worn too many times; its fabric is starting to wear thin. The whole neighbourhood may felt a bit bedraggled, its best days gone by, vulnerable to the glossy malls and highrises marching in from every direction.