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| Crowd Puller |
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Published:
The Sun / Property Plus |
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Date:
January 20, 2006 |
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 When driving by the Sheraton imperial hotel on Jalan Sultan Ismail at night, you may just discern the neon sign, almost hidden by the leaves of the trees in the car park, on the side of a 2-storey pre-war corner house on Jalan Doraisamy.
The words spell Asian Heritage Row, which has become the city's premier drinking hangout spot, especially with the yuppie crowd. It offers, in the words of a frequent visitor to the establishments there, a "lifestyle" encompassing wining and dining, clubbing, entertainment and even foot reflexology.
Over the last few years, the pre-war houses, which are located off busy Jalan Sultan Ismail, have been transformed into trendy bars, nightclubs, restaurants and the Old Cottage Foot Reflexology centre, from a residential row.
There are actually two blocks of houses separated by a side lane. Asian Heritage Row first opened for business about two years ago. It starts from Bar SaVanh and CoChine Lounge and Restaurant, a Cambodian/Vietnamese theme nightclub cum bar serving Cambodian and Vietnamese cuisine and ends at Restoran Buharry, a "nasi kandar bistro" originally from Klang.
But just less than three years ago, a visit to the row would still have given a glimpse of the original purpose of the houses because the entire row comprising 21 units of 2-storey terraced houses, were not turned into casual dining and party venues at the same time.
The two blocks of pre-war houses were used as residences and were rented out to various families who stayed there for more than half a century, Henry Butcher Malaysia Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng tells Propertyplus.
"The titles were issued around 1927 and the last of the original tenants moved out some time around the early 2000s," he says. Renovations to the row began about three years ago with the first block from what is now Bar SaVanh to the side lane," Tang says.
The transformation of the row was completed around late 2004, he adds. A Turkish restaurant was the first outlet to open on the row but it has since closed down. The other early birds there were Vanilla Box and Bar SaVanh and CoChine Lounge and Restaurant.
Due to the row's popularity with the party crowd and those looking for gastronomic adventures, renovation works are now ongoing on the last row of pre-war houses comprising eight units on Jalan Doraisamy across from Restoran Buharry.
Tang says the last eight units of pre-war houses on the street across from Restoran Buharry would most likely be turned into food and beverage outlets.
He says even on nearby Jalan Yap Ah Shak where his office is located, there are plants afoot for F&B outlets. "The average built up of the units on Jalan Doraisamy is around 2000 sq ft and we reckon that each unit would be able to fetch around RM1 million without renovations. With renovations it could add another RM300,000 to RM500,000," Tang says, adding that the monthly rentals are around RM4000 to RM6000.
He says compared with Asian Heritage Row, the 2 storey pre-war shop lots on nearby Jalan Dang Wangi (the former Jalan Campbell) in their non-renovated state can fetch between RM1.2million to RM1.5million each. They have average built ups of between 2000 and 3000 sq ft.
Tang says the UEM group used to own a row of the shoplots but it was put up for sale one or two years ago but he is unsure if it was sold.
Makeover
Not too long ago, during a visit to try one of the row's varied gastronomic offerings, this writer's father recalled having participated in mah-jong sessions in one of the houses there more than three decades ago.
While certain conservation purist may frown on the way the face of the pre-war houses have been transformed by the business that are now occupying the row, it is still a colourful sight.
In the recent past, the neighbourhood had been made up of drab and sometimes dilapidated buildings that had seen better days. But now, it's a vibrant meeting place in the shadow of skyscrapers not far from the Petronas Twin Towers and other office buildings.
Among the establishments that have moved into the row are Palacio Restaurant (French/Spanish), The Ivy (English pub grub and bar), Vanilla Box Bakery and Café (Western/Italian), Kristao Restaurant (Malaysian Portuguese), Mojo Restaurant and Bar (Western), Senja Bistro (Malay) and thatindianthing (Indian Fusion).
The row also includes a group of casual wining and dining and party venues under the Loft KL Sdn Bhd that includes Cynna (Oriental theme bar), Ye Chine Restaurant (Shanghai/Szechwan), Tokyo Tei (sushi bar) and Mezza Notte (Italian).
 Those who want to party it up can go to the minimalist Bar Blonde, or if they want a quieter weekend, there is W Wine Room, which serves boutique wines, cigars and champagne.
On weekend nights and even nights in the latter part of the working week, Asian Heritage Row comes alive with people out to wine, dine and party while in the daytime, the row draws a different crowd of mostly office workers out for lunch.
This area has become so popular that the tree-studded car park behind the row and on its side towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, which belongs to UDA Holdings Bhd, gets very crowded on weekend nights.
Even Jalan Doraisamy itself becomes a challenge to drive through on weekends, especially after 11pm and during closing time because of the cars parked on the sides of the road and the crowds of revellers moving in and out of the various spots.
Loke family connection
According to a source familiar with the properties, the entire row plus the one across the streets belongs to the Loke Wan Yat estate and was most probably built back in the early 20th century. There are features of its original Neo classical style architecture still visible despite the extensive makeover.
Wan Yat was a son of millionaire and philanthropist Loke Yew. Among Loke senior's many business ventures are several blocks of fine old Neo classical building in the city, century such as Nos 11 to 19 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
The source says the entire Asian Heritage Row plus the one across from Restoran Buharry have been leased out to a corporate figure. The only unit on Asian Heritage Row not leased out to the principal tenant is the one on which Restoran Buharry is located, he says. "The principal tenant wishes to remain anonymous as this is his private endeavour," the source adds.
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