PS150 at Petaling Street, Chinatown: Review

It was nearly an hour past midnight on a working Tuesday when we reached the row of faded Chinatown shop-lots that house PS150. There were scant signs of life – save for a few stray dogs & cats – as we stumbled through the darkness of an ominously grim back-alley, searching for the discreet doorway to this new watering hole. It was worth the anxious hunt – this intensely atmospheric bar is poised to be one of 2016’s most popular caverns of cocktails, lit with crimson lanterns & neon calligraphy that translates into Petaling Street’s Cantonese name, evoking some ethereal scene from a Wong Kar-wai movie.

A Labyrinthine Hideout

PS150 is a labyrinthine hideout with corridors seemingly filled with secrets – if these peeling brick walls could speak, they might whisper of this building’s bygone years as a brothel. The bar is still a work in progress, with a formal launch slated for mid-January. By then, customers will be able to access PS150 from the building’s front, through an entrance set up to look like a vintage toy shop. A subsequent passageway adorned with decades-old photographs of anonymous faces will contain booths cloaked with curtains for privacy. A smoking hall with repurposed furnishing is next, followed finally by the main bar, permeated with an aura of authenticity that’s unattainable by speakeasies in shopping malls, commercial complexes & modern shop-lots.

PS150’s cocktails prove as soulful as the place, crafted by chief bartender Angel Ng, well-known in KL’s mixology scene, with a dedication to fairly priced quality. Temptations include the Pandan Flip (RM38; pandan-infused dark rum, coconut, bitters, egg yolk), Lychee No. 3 (RM38; London dry gin, lychee, ginger flower, lime), Red Poison Princess (RM90 for a serving for two; tequila, mezcal, absinthe, raspberry, lime, soda) & The Last Rite (RM50; gin, Chartreuse, maraschino liquor, absinthe, lime).

How to Locate the Place

Here’s how to locate PS150 for the next couple of weeks before its front entrance is ready. It’s in the same building as Merchant’s Lane cafe, & it’s every bit as welcoming (look for Will or Angel to ensure you’re taken care of); there’s parking around the building. The bar aims to eventually become a lively hive of uniquely engaging activities like drunken spelling bees & bring-your-own-music Sunday afternoons (Manic Street Preachers, anybody?). We’ll be hearing a lot about PS150 in 2016.