Ara Club
Ara Damansara field notes
10 entries
The bakeries of Ara Damansara
Four bakeries in Ara Damansara — a matcha mochi croissant, NYC-style cookies, a pastry programme that photographs before it's eaten, and a celebration cake operation that takes the brief seriously. A guide to the neighbourhood's baked goods.
The best cafes in Ara Damansara
From the specialty espresso bars on Jalan PJU 1A/42 to the quiet neighbourhood spots in Ara Permata and Oasis Square — a curated guide to Ara Damansara's café scene, by an editor who visits unannounced.
The kopitiams of Ara Damansara
Five kopitiams in Ara Damansara — each one older than the specialty cafés that surround it, each one still drawing its own crowd. A guide to the neighbourhood's morning institutions.
Where to eat in Ara Damansara
From a nasi lemak stall with an hour-long queue to a fine-dining restaurant that surprises first-time visitors — a practical guide to eating well in Ara Damansara, by an editor who visits unannounced.
What a neighbourhood directory is for
On the difference between a list and a guide. Why we do editor visits, what it means to be "Ara Club approved," and what we refuse to index.
The wellness cluster
More than ten pilates studios, multiple gyms, a tier of aesthetic clinics, and a private hospital at the centre of all of it. What the wellness density in Ara Damansara says about who lives here.
The Saturday morning route
The mamak opens at five, the kopitiam at six, the specialty café at nine. A guide to moving through Saturday morning in Ara Damansara in the right order.
A morning in Citta Mall
The mall opens at ten; the good cafés open at eight. A guide to arriving early, knowing where to sit, and leaving before the crowd arrives.
The people who didn't leave
Ara Damansara has two LRT stations and more than ten preschools. A portrait of the neighbourhood's overlapping populations, and what makes them stay.
What 759 businesses say about a neighbourhood
Read the businesses and you read the neighbourhood. Seven hundred and fifty-nine places in Ara Damansara add up to a surprisingly specific portrait of who lives here.