History and Old-World Glamour at The Chow Kit
Boutique hotel The Chow Kit pays homage to the richness and glamour of the neighbourhood’s history, while the conjoined lifestyle hotel MoMo’s serves as a playful counterpoint
‘We were inspired by a richer, more romanticised time — a bit of film noir and the sixties and seventies decades,’ says Jou-Yie Chou, partner at New York-based Studio Tack, about his team’s design of The Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur’s latest design-led hotel. ‘We wanted to introduce a timelessness that’s rooted in history, whether it be directly by Chow Kit the person, the neighbourhood, Kuala Lumpur or Malaysia as a whole.’
Located on a corner site in Chow Kit, the hotel embodies an old-world glamour inspired by the country’s first tycoon and the neighbourhood and hotel’s namesake, tin magnate Loke Chow Kit. The Malaysian Anglophile made his money in tin mining and began opening trade shops, then gambling and opium dens, in the area. Widely regarded as one of the country’s first tycoons, he’s a central figure in the historic neighbourhood.
Designing the first property for the Ormond Group’s Ormond Hotels brand — which also happens to be Studio Tack’s first project in Asia — involved an admirable breadth of research, like spending hours traversing the surrounding streets and nearby Chow Kit wet market (the city’s largest), talking to the local shopkeepers and craftspeople who occupy ground-floor shops from which they ply their trades.
‘Chow Kit has always been diverse, eclectic and slightly progressive. We wanted our lobby to feel inviting to all of these ideals and to be a meeting place for everyone — guest, friend or neighbour,’ Chou explains. ‘We looked to instil a richness in texture and colour, and use durable, classic materials and furniture made from stone, brick, lacquered wood and brass.’ Inspired by the area’s famously rich and colourful history, and the late-night revelry that took place in its dens and saloons, the result is an eclectic but intuitive combination of archival photography and curated artworks, lush foliage, and Malaysian antiques paired with more contemporary design pieces.
The hotel is housed in what was once a hospital and conjoined shop, and shares the building with the Ormond Group’s second new brand, MoMo’s — a lifestyle hotel conceived for Gen Z travellers, offering micro-rooms and a community-driven programme of events and pop-ups. Designed by Sydney-based Akin Atelier, MoMo’s KL is intended to be a counterpoint to The Chow Kit. The materials palette throughout the private and communal spaces is simple and honest, with raw concrete, laminated timber and combed plaster complimented by dusty pinks, washed greens and aged brass, giving the hotel a playful and approachable yet design-led character.
The contrast between the two makes for a unique stay: think bed, breakfast and early-evening drinks at the richly outfitted Chow Kit, and then late-night margaritas and Momo-oke (MoMo’s version of karaoke) just next door.
Often overlooked in favour of the glass- and steel-lined Bukit Bintang, Chow Kit is home to a diverse community of fifth- and sixth-generation Malaysians, many with Indonesian roots, making it one of the city’s most authentic neighbourhoods. The Chow Kit is a fitting addition to this neighbourhood community.
Text / Simone Schultz
Images / Courtesy of Ormond Group
