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Famous Jalan Alor

The well-known food street Jalan Alor is currently the talk of the town. Every local and tourist will eventually end up here having feast of good food in one of the many many restaurants and stalls. But since this week you might have a hard time finding this short but remarkable street in Bukit Bintang because the city council decided to change the name to Jalan Kejora - much to the dislike of about everybody.

Keroja means Venus in Malay and should go along with the name of the area Bukit Bintang which means star hill. The official reasoning behind the move the rename the street was "to signify the cosmic change in the area" - whatever that means.



The new sign shows already some damage


The old Jalan Alor - sign


Bustling Jalan Alor at night

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Here is an entertaining article about the issue published in "The Star" Newspaper from October 22, 2008:


The allure of Jalan Alor
By LAM SENG FATT

Jalan Alor is one of the most famous roads in Kuala Lumpur for its food and �??saucy desserts�?? and most people agree that changing its name is a grave error.

WHILE travelling in a taxi to Bukit Bintang yesterday, I asked the cabby: �??Do you know Jalan Alor now has a new name?�?�

"Yes ah? What is it?" he asked.

"Jalan Kejora (Malay for Venus)," I said.

"What?"

That just about sums up almost everybody�??s reaction to the name change - "What?"

Street names, especially popular ones, are something that remain in people�??s minds. Just because some member of some committee had a supernova-like burst of inspiration to name roads around the Bukit Bintang (Malay for Star Hill) area after planets, perhaps to create a galactic theme for the area, does not mean that his brilliant idea will be accepted by the masses.

Today, it is not just a simple matter of replacing the road sign with the new name (which in Jalan Kejora's case has already been vandalised).

It also means getting the name changed in some 900,000 web pages in the Internet, countless blogs, numerous maps, GPS software and lots of tourist guidebooks and brochures.

This is because Jalan Alor has become a tourist attraction in a city that does not exactly have a surplus of such spots.

The allure of Jalan Alor is the food and other ... er ... delights not of the culinary kind.

Along the short road, there are more than a dozen restaurants and scores more hawker stalls selling food ranging from Penang char koay teow to frog porridge.

Some folks say the char siew (barbecued pork) there is the best in town while others say it is the grilled chicken wings.

Some restaurants open during the daytime, but it is at night that the road really comes alive as strings of fluorescent lights and bulbs light up the area and hundreds of locals and bus loads of tourists dine alfresco.

Thousands of satisfied tourists have uploaded their experiences in their blogs, including one who posted his comments on celeb chef Anthony Bourdain's website.

Jalan Alor is so famous for its food that there is even one Pan-Asian restaurant in New York on Hudson Street that offers Jalan Alor Chicken Wings in its menu.

Jalan Alor used to be a seedy place - back then, there used to be more hookers than hawkers.

There were lots of signboards advertising massage parlours and health centres (that did not have treadmills or exercise bicycles).

Over the years, like red-light areas such as Bugis Street in Singapore and Times Square in New York, the authorities have cleaned it up.

The hookers simply strolled over to the next street - Tengkat Tong Shin - to do their tricks.

Today, there are no signboards of massage parlours and health centres. The vice trade is more discreet but you may encounter runners who either hand you a call card or ask whether you want to have a good time.

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