Peter Hoe Beyond, Kuala Lumpur

(NOTE: This article was written in 2015. As of Jul'16, Peter Hoe Beyond is no longer located at the Lee Rubber Building and has moved to The Row at Jalan Doraisamy.)

Ever been to a shop that does not advertise or market itself, and is only known through word-of-mouth by those in the know? So secret that most locals have never heard of it, and knowledge of it is passed in whispers from designers, wealthy home-owners or expatriates to their close friends or to tourists?

Hard to believe that such a shop could exist much less be profitable as a business, and yet exists it does. Called Peter Hoe Beyond after the owner, this particular shop is actually made up of three components; a retail store, a boutique and a cafe.

The retail store is a unique collection of merchandise from across the region including fabrics, homeware, souvenirs and other bric-a-brac.

But how do you get there?

Peter Hoe Beyond is located at the corner of Jalan ("road") Tun H.S. Lee and Jalan Hang Lekir in the old Lee Rubber building. The word "old" is important, there is a newer Lee Rubber building elsewhere, so make sure you don't go to the wrong one!

Jalan Tun H.S.Lee was previously known as High Street during colonial times, befitting its status of one of the main roads in old Kuala Lumpur. It was later renamed after Henry H.S.Lee, Malaysia's first Finance Minister after independance in 1957.

Whereas Jalan Hang Lekir was formerly known as Cecil Street, after Sir Cecil Clementi, the British High Commissioner for the Malay States in 1930 to 1934. Its present name comes from Hang Lekir, one of four companions of the legendary Malay warrior Hang Tuah.

From the Pasar Seni LRT station, turn right and walk along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. You will see the Central Market on the opposite side of the road. Before the first traffic light, turn into Jalan Hang Kasturi and go immediately into Jalan Hang Lekir, which is perpendicular to Jalan Hang Kasturi.

Walk down Jalan Hang Lekir until you come to the first intersection, which is the cross street with Jalan Tun H.S. Lee. The Lee Rubber building is the building on the corner on your right.

Turn right into Jalan Tun H.S.Lee and you will see the Kwong Siew Temple on the other side of the road. The rear entrance into the Lee Rubber building faces the Temple.

The old Lee Rubber Building.

Kwong Siew Temple across the road from the Lee Rubber building.

The rear entrance into Lee Rubber is the door on the left

.

Ignore the security guard and walk in.

Walk into the lift lobby.

Take the lift up to the 2nd floor.

The entrance into Peter Hoe Beyond. No signage anywhere!

The boutique section.

Peter Hoe Beyond is a 8,600 square feet warehouse full of various merchandise for the house and home. The cement floors and an industrial look of the old building space contrasts with the asian inspired craft items and fabrics on display.

 

The retail store.

Plenty of merchandise for the home.

Ceramic door knobs.

The cafe.

Once you have expended your energy looking through the store, be sure to drop into the cafe to grab a bite to eat. The quiches and cakes on display look good, and the pastas made to order are not bad too!

Sitting in the cafe.

Scrumptious food.

Pasta with scallops.

Peter Hoe Beyond is truly an open secret amongst those who know, and now so do you!

Peter Hoe Beyond

Address: Second Floor, Lee Rubber Building, 145, Jalan Tun H.S.Lee, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: (+603) 2026 9788. 

Opening Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

How to go to 1Utama, KL to Selangor

1Utama is a popular shopping mall in Bandar Utama, Selangor. With 5 million square feet of shopping, it is the largest mall in Malaysia and ranked 6th largest in the world in terms of gross leasable area.

1Utama mall.

But how do you get there from Kuala Lumpur if you wish to go by public transportation?

The first step is you must go from Kuala Lumpur to KL Sentral, which is the main Train Station for the city. Located about 5km away from the city centre, you can get to KL Sentral by using rail transport.

There are currently three forms of rail transportation in the city, the LRT, the Monorail and the KTM Komuter. All three go to KL Sentral from different parts of the city. You can read all about Kuala Lumpur's rail transport system here.

For example, if you are in the Bukit Bintang area, take the monorail from Bukit Bintang monorail station to KL Sentral monorail station.

If you are at the Petronas Twin Towers take the LRT on the Kelana Jaya LRT Line from KLCC LRT station to KL Sentral LRT station.

Once you get to KL Sentral, you will have to find your way to the bus stop to catch the RapidKL Bus no. 800 (Update: As of 1/12/2015, SPAD has changed the bus numbering to 800. Previously this bus was numbered as U82) which goes to 1Utama mall. This means going to the Nu Sentral mall which is in-between the monorail station and the lrt station and attached to both.

The bus stop for RapidKL Bus no. 800 is located in front of the main entrance of the Nu Sentral mall on Jalan (road) Tun Sambanthan, under the pedestrian bridge connecting to the monorail station across the road. The bus now no longer goes into its previous pick-up point in Jalan Stesen Sentral which is the KL Sentral bus hub to the KLIA airport.

The front entrance of Nu Sentral mall at the LG floor facing Tun Sambanthan road.

The pedestrian bridge linking Nu Sentral mall to the KL Sentral monorail station across Tun Sambanthan road. The bus stop is located exactly below the bridge.

The RapidKL bus stop under the pedestrian bridge.

Wait here for the bus. A few different buses ply this route, so wait for the bus that goes to 1Utama, i.e. RapidKL bus no. 800.

RapidKL bus U82 arrives (now known as bus 800).

Let the passengers get off the bus, before boarding. You have a choice of paying cash or using the Touch N'Go card, if you have one.

If you are paying cash, please make sure you carry small notes or have the exact change before boarding. No change will be given, if you do not have the correct amount.

RapidKL's "Utama" bus services charge different rates depending on how many zones you travel through. The current adult rates are:

 RM1.00 (1 zone), RM1.90 (2 zones), RM2.50 (3 zones) and RM3.00 (4 zones or more)

As bus no.800 traverses a maximum of only 3 zones on its journey from KL Sentral to 1Utama, the ticket will cost you RM2.50. You hand over the money to the driver or put the money in the metal box next to the driver. The driver will then hand over a ticket to you.

Bus ticket.

You can also pay by using a Touch N'Go card. Tap your card on the card reader upon entry into the bus. The card reader is usually located beside the side of both the front and rear doors of the bus. 

The Touch N'Go card reader.

There is currently a promotion whereby use of the Touch N'Go card is given a 20% discount. Hence the ride to 1Utama would only cost RM2 if you use the card. Please remember to also tap out at the card reader when you disembark from the bus! 

Inside the bus.

The bus ride to 1Utama will take up to 45 minutes depending on traffic conditions. The bus will pass by the Damansara Town Centre, Tropicana City Mall, Damansara Uptown and the suburb of Taman Tun Dr Ismail along the way.

Eventually you will come to a traffic light intersection under a highway overpass and on the other side you will see the 1Utama mall. Upon crossing the highway, the old wing of 1Utama will be on the left hand side of the road, and the new wing of 1Utama will be on the right hand side. A link connects the two sides of the mall to each other over the road. Press the bell here, if the driver then stops by the roadside, you can get off here rather than go all the way to the end terminal.

Old Wing of 1Utama mall. You can choose to get off here instead of going to the end terminal.

Enjoy the mall and spend some time shopping and eating.

Once you are ready to go back, make your way to the back entrance (facing the park) on the ground floor of the new wing of 1Utama mall.

This is the back entrance of the new wing of the mall.

Go out the back entrance, and you will see that you are at the taxi rank area.

The taxi rank facing the park.

If you are feeling a bit lazy, you could choose to wait by the side of the road here for the bus and hope to flag it down as it passes.

Better still, turn right and walk alongside the road to the bus terminal. Its not far to walk.

Walk this way.

Follow the covered walkway.

The Bus Terminal.

Eventually you will reach the bus terminal. Catch the 800 bus back to KL Sentral from here. Make sure you board the right bus!

Bus Route.

* All information here correct as of 1 Dec 2015. Please check with the official website or RapidKL for latest information on bus 800 or subsequent changes.