Known by most people as Arab Square,Ain Arabia was a pointless waste of money a few years back to pander to the tastes of the ever-increasing numbers of Middle-Eastern tourists by creating a place to relax,chill and maybe even picnic in the heart of the city.
Situated opposite the Fortuna Hotel (which probably has the only really good Middle-Eastern Restaurant in town) just off the junction of Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail,just behind the abandoned Finnegan's Bar,was a small green area with a few trees where local kids used to play.
At a cost of over RM 1 million all that was leveled except for one big tree and a big tea-pot and some stone benches and a commemorative arch were put in place.
The teapot was originally a water fountain but it has long since broken and no one seems bothered enough to fix it and it now serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
To my knowledge,the only people who use the "facilities" at Ain Arabia are local traffic-wardens and police having a rest in the shade.....
Hey - it's somewhat of a bold statement to claim that Fortuna Hotel has the best middle eastern restaurant in KL. Yes it is ok but it is not as good as it used to be and the competitor just down the road is absolutely positively brilliant! You should check out the one closer to Changkat - I think it's called Eastern Hut (or Middle Eastern Hut). Iranian restaurant and while I do not understand how they can stay alive since it's mostly empty - the food is awesome - and while it's not on the menu they always without exception managed to find a beer for me. That restaurant comes higly recommended from me - it is in fact in my opinion one of the best restaurants in KL.
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ReplyDeleteI also recommend you check out the Arab restaurants on Jalan Damai (parallel to and north of Jalan Ampang after Jalan Tun Razak). I'd say they're better than Fortuna in atmosphere, price and taste. There are at least three along there, my favourite is Al-Rawsha.
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I wish to update some of the events.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of the Ain Arabia garden was near rm2 million. Not rm1 million as published by medias.
The teapot (water fountain) is still out of order and most of the stone benches are broken.
All the lights are not in working order since Jan 2009.
Last week some workers were seen painting up the 2 canopies and replacing some benches.
During the day time maybe some city hall workers can be seen resting there.
Well actually most of them are the alam flora workers and some dbkl contractors.
In the afternoons and nights the garden is occupied by jaga keretas , drug addicts and scrap collectors. Right now the garden is a 'temporary" scrap yard set up by some drug addicts.
Really it is a miserable place for tourist to drop by.
Cheers.
Hehe, sorry boys. Looks like you all went to the wrong parts of Ain Arabia. That place is so awesome I've been going there every day :) Just gotta ask the really nice taxi drivers for recommendations and go. Tarbush restaurant is A+ as is Hadramawt Yemeni restaurant. Basha is probably a B-, and today I'm heading down to try Baik and Zafaran :)
ReplyDeleteCheers!