The Bungsar Estate was owned by its plantation firm Socfin, before it was developed into a residential area. Bangsar Park was the first area to be developed for housing in Kuala Lumpur in 1969. From there Socfin began selling its land to private buyers and from then on, Bangsar began experiencing rapid development.
During the 1950s several companies housed their staff and families in Bangsar due to its convenient location. The Malayan Railway (now Keretapi Tanah Melayu) utilized the Off Jalan Bangsar area because the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and depot is less than three kilometres away in Brickfields. The National Electricity Board (now Tenaga Nasional Berhad) housed their staff in Bukit Bangsar since its headquarters is in Pantai Hills. Staff quarters are still found and used in Bangsar today.
Among the earliest government building here is Bangsar Hospital (European Hospital) built in the early 1900s. Towards the end of 1965, an eight floor building for the Public Health College costing a million ringgit was built in Bukit Bangsar. In 1966, the Health Inspectors Training School and the Nurses Training School were transferred to the new premise in Bangsar. In 1967, the Institute for Public Health was officially inaugurated and eventually expanded to its present form.
During the May 13 Riots in 1969 many shops owned by local Chinese in Bangsar were burnt. Unsuspecting road users passing Bangsar on their way to Petaling Jaya were ambushed leaving Jalan Bangsar littered with burnt-out cars and motorcycles.
Eng Lian Enterprise Sdn Bhd developed the Bangsar Baru neighbourhood, comprising some 1,125 houses and a thriving business community in 1974. The 1970s saw Bangsar recover into a housing suburb catering to the baby boomers settling in Kuala Lumpur. As their children grew up and formed a large part of the city's youth, Bangsar became a sought-after place for the trendy during the 1980s. Among companies that contributed to the demographic development of Bangsar include Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad and Lever Brothers.
Bangsar lies respectively to the north and south of the neighbouring areas of Pantai Dalam and Damansara, and 4 kilometres (2 mi) south-west of Kuala Lumpur city centre.
Bangsar is bounded by Jalan Bangsar and Jalan Pantai Baharu to the south, Universiti Malaya to the west, Jalan Damansara (Sprint Expressway and Bukit Damansara) to the north and Bukit Persekutuan to the east. It has the following neighbourhoods or housing estates: Bangsar Utama, Bukit Bangsar, Bangsar Park, Bukit Bandaraya, Taman SA, Bangsar Baru, Lucky Garden, Pantai Hills, and the areas off Jalan Bangsar. Jalan Maarof is Bangsar's main thoroughfare, dividing Bangsar into two main areas: east and west. On the east side lies Taman SA, Bangsar Park, Bukit Bangsar, Bangsar Utama and one-half of Bukit Bandaraya. The remainder of the other neighbourhoods lies on the west.
Bangsar is rather flat at the southern neighbourhoods of Bangsar Utama, Bangsar Park and the Off Jalan Bangsar area. This makes Jalan Bangsar in the south prone to flooding during heavy downpours. The terrain progressively rises towards the north up Bangsar Baru, before making a steep drop in elevation after Bukit Bandaraya. Bangsar is four kilometres from the Kuala Lumpur city centre. It is also connected to the city of Petaling Jaya via the Federal Highway or the Sprint Highway. The New Pantai Expressway begins at Jalan Bangsar and passes through Jalan Pantai Baharu, Pantai Dalam, Jalan Kuchai Lama, Jalan Klang Lama, Bandar Sunway and terminates at Subang Jaya. The Sprint Expressway, at the northern end of Jalan Maarof connects to Bukit Damansara, Jalan Duta, Sri Hartamas, the New Klang Valley Expressway, the Damansara-Puchong Expressway and several suburbs in Petaling Jaya.
DEMOGRAPHICSIts earliest settlers were railway workers living next to the KL-Klang railway track and rubber estate workers. Starting with a community of mostly Indian civil servants, comprising teachers, firemen, telecommunications officers and the police, Bangsar grew to include young professionals of various races including Malays, Chinese, Indian and expatriates, bringing its population to some 40,000 people by 2005.
SHOPPING, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENTIn Bangsar, there are two main shopping malls which are the Bangsar Village located in Telawi and the Bangsar Shopping Centre along Jalan Maarof. Bangsar Village was formerly a large hypermarket named Hankyu Jaya that was renovated and transformed into the current mall after several years of stagnation. The Bangsar Village has proven to be a popular point of attraction for its shopping and dining opportunities, though it is only a small building that accommodates limited shops.
To ride on its success and increase its size, a second block named 'Bangsar Village II' was built just across the road which packs much more fashion outlets, restaurants and other shopping attractions. Some of the fashion brands available here include Guess, Aldo, Noir, Raoul, Liz Claiborne, Padini and Lara. Spas and fitness centres such as well as many beauty salons are nestled inside the building among the multitude of shops.
Bangsar Shopping Centre is located further down from the main Bangsar area, very near the intersection which branches off into the city on the right and into neighbouring area Hartamas on the left. This mall has been in the area for a long time and houses a decent range of fashion outlets, specialty shops, pharmacies and a supermarket. A flea market takes place in the mall every Saturday morning.
The best shopping opportunity is not actually within Bangsar itself, but very near it; the Mid Valley Shopping mall is one of the largest in Southeast Asia and is arguably the Klang Valley's most popular shopping attraction. From Bangsar, it is a mere few minutes away using a large flyover that cuts across the smaller Bangsar roads that lead to other areas.
The Bangsar night market, or 'Pasar Malam', is an open-air bazaar that takes place among the streets of Telawi, right next to the main shop lot areas and across the Bangsar Village II mall. Like most pasar malams around Kuala Lumpur, Bangsar's night market has its fair share of wet and dry goods. On one corner, you can find fishmongers hawking huge snappers and red prawns, filling the air with the smell of the sea. On the other, hawkers sell the latest bootleg fashion, T-shirts and jeans hung from hangars below make-shift roofs.
The night market takes place from early evening till late night, attracting a massive crown of local residents and expatriates. Because of the affluent nature of the crowd and area, goods here are more expensive than other night markets in Kuala Lumpur. However, the culture of bargaining can still be practised very much here, though the final figures probably won't net you as much savings in other places.
A walk through the night market is a fascinating experience for first-timers. This is a huge shopping activity for locals, as almost everything under the sun can be found here, from clothing to shoes and food stuff to electronic gadgets. The sheer number of stalls, people and din of traders bargaining with customers is a colourful sight and a must-visit for those in Bangsar on Sundays.
Bangsar is one of Kuala Lumpur's most popular nightspots for locals and expatriates. Almost all the pubs, clubs and bars are concentrated in the streets of Telawi, attracting heaps of patrons on weekends and Friday nights.
Listed here are some of the more exciting joints in the blocks of Bangsar to explore.
- Absolutely Chemistry in Telawi Street is an extremely popular and outgoing club, with a mostly young crowd. There's a neat dance area and plenty of drinks to go around.
- Alexis is a cool, fancy hangout bar in a two-storey shop lot in Telawi. The ground floor is where the bistro, which serves a good range of food and drinks is, while upstairs is the hangout area.
- Another great joint on Telawi Street, Bar Flam serves a large array of cocktails and fine food. This is also a great place to dance as most of the expatriate crowd here love to do.
- A new kid on the block, Club 11:15 has an outrageous style of promotion and service, where its staff are dressed according to changing fantasy themes from time to time.
- The Social is a hive of noise and activity as this club attracts sport enthusiasts, especially for English Premier League Football. The food is also pretty good.
Typically Malaysian, Bangsar has a wide array of cuisine. Indian Muslim Mamak stalls, south Indian banana leaf restaurants and Malay warungs are easily found. They are usually cheap, although prices in Bangsar are higher than average. Roadside hawkers usually open in the evenings and close late at night. There are many 24-hour Mamak and banana leaf restaurants. It is usually acceptable for one to patronize these joints and order only drinks, except during busy hours. Chinese kopitiam and seafood restaurants meanwhile are a little harder to find outside Lucky Garden.
There is also a hawker center in Bangsar Baru, sometimes referred to as Bangsar Mamak, at the former Jolly Green Giant. Roadside stalls serving drinks, local cakes, burgers, hot dogs and cut fruit are found on many street corners. Ice cream, pastry, satay, rojak and milk are also sold on motorcycles and vans.
The Telawi area in Bangsar Baru is sometimes known as "the strip". It has often been compared to Singapore's Holland Village. "The strip" can be skirted on foot in about 15 minutes. A large pasar malam, or night market, each Sunday lends the Bangsar Baru a colourful flavour. There is also a daily wet market in Lucky Garden. Another lesser known pasar malam is held in Bukit Bangsar on Wednesdays.
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