Hi. I'm one of the locals that reside here.
What would you like to know?

Pros :

Really nice and green neigborhood (you can see ppl jogging / cycling at any hours of the day ,even at 11pm , so its relatively safe if you ask me)
lots of hipster/ kopitiam / fresh vibes with youngsters.
easy access to nature - kemensah, genting highland, also to KL

cons:
more and more condo's are being built, enroaching the back bukit tabur. expect traffic to be much worse after they VP .

In some parts, especially town centre (melawati mall area) , Traffic is really bad especially during peak hours . Why ?

- Small roads (melawati is old township, I've been living here since the 90's)
- Pasar malam every tuesday / thursday / saturday
- lots of school, and ppl picking up their kids

i found that everytime i go at these times, (like 5pm) , i just take moto , forget about car.

also saturday is also jam ya, morning coz of pasar tani.

If you ask me if I recommend ?

Yes , definitely if you have the budget . I believe its a bit better than wangsa maju and setiawangsa. Setiawangsa also not bad, but price will be on a higher side. Plus you don't get the greenery as good as melawati.

can't think of any other place I would reside in KV as of now .

i studied in tarc in the 2000s.
and have never moved away since.
I have a condo here which is the one I'm living in now. it was shared by with my sis who has moved away now.
I have a family with 2 kids.

my wife and i do have a landed house in kajang which we purchased before we have kids and we were thinking the commute is fine, we wanted landed and MRT was up and coming.
we thought its a sacrifice we want to make.

then our first child is born and we continue living here.
with kids, we debated and some relative indirect influence our thinking too.
there is a gap between the mentality of a city dweller and a more rural place.
we see it with people around us and we are from small towns too.
we see the difference with how a kids is raised, the kind of interaction and messaging used between towns/big cities like kl.
the kids will be expose to friend with different mentality, etc etc. generally speaking.
so we want to stay in city.

anyway will do. then it comes to my preference, i don't want to move kids school as i feel that's not a good experience. and my oldest started primary 2 years back.
granted, beyond primary school, the schools here are pretty limited and we are cracking our head on it now even when she's primary 3 coming this year start.

but mco makes me feel appreciative of this area. currently, i can walk out instead of drive to reach places for food.
aeon is just in front of me, behind there's jaya grocer, there's aeon, aeon big, tesco, giant all the big players all within 15 mins drive.
appreciate that since mco, giant is the only one which open at 8am and there is no queue even on mco, kl people are late persons. but i don't go there often now.

previously, i think this is a shit hole filled with tenants who don't care, who are either student or just working. you see things not being upkeep, rubbish everywhere.
heck we just go school and work and don't interact with anyone, that's the community of big city.
since mco as well, because of the social distancing, after mco, I smile to people more, I start up conversation with strangers more. with my kids, they interact with other kids and we in turn interact with their parents. we also talked to aunty uncle in the community more and there is a sense of friendliness. we go to the playground in condo, meet people talk to people instead of hiding at home.

yes its still full with tenants but our perception shifted.

with kids, we found there is many things around here, like english class via church, art class, etc.
i can walk to lrt, and still walk to lrt in the new place. there will be mrt nearer but needed last miles transport but its good to have option.
it's near kl city center despite you might still need to take a long time to travel due to jam. but there is a novelty with the proximity.

setapak is not a good name. but it has all we need. last year or so, read an article how PV transform the whole setapak, its bustling now but for sure cant compare to pj, mont kiara, maybe even cheras
but it has everything we need and we are familiar with the area.
my wife siblings are staying nearby too in setapak.

as above said, the traffic is getting worse but I'm working from home now so i will only encounter the legendary jam at pv128 to setapak central once a week because of timing and etc.
heck lately on Saturdays, to get to Christ Lutheran, from wangsa maju lrt, i even go to mrr2, duke (no need toll) drive 12km instead of 6km to arrive at the church in 33% less time than taking jalan gentinng klang.

everytime i see a new condo, especially those like the Jakel (even before the current issue) i shake my head. i see the aforementioned jam, i shake my head.
but.....this is where we belongs now. until the kids grown up, and we need a change of scenery, then maybe we move as old couple to small places like ipoh or something. (depends on what we think of healthcare.

so its more like progression of thoughts. from kajang vs kl in general, and then staying still in setapak.

Sorry, but isn’t your post more about Setapak than Melawati? 😅

Correct me if I’m wrong and I still do appreciate the sharing

exploring around the neighbourhood (Setiawangsa, Wangsa Maju etc).

I know there are a few Chinese restaurants in the commercial area near Melawati Mall, so are there anything else?

I’m looking for more advice from locals and not really asking for any particular condos.

In terms of doing your grocery shopping. Everything is practically available so u don't have to drive out far. Started going there in the 90's when sent.my.sister for ballet class.

Over the years when on weekends to buy 4d for my mum. Now.go there bout once a.month to get.medicines & supplements from.big pharmacy.

There are 2 Chinese coffeeshop & some Chinese restaurants. Got a few vets & pet stores. Maybank, Cimb, Bsn are there.

Public & Islam bank I am.not sure are still there as they are situated on the other side of melawati mall & I seldom go that side as its mainly offices, art school & shoplot motel.

Hardware stores u got ace hardware & the smaller ones run by ahpek. Not sure if the traditional Chinese medicine is still open.

Post Office, printing service, arts & craft store even got a cash converter outlet.

Only problem is u are better off parking at melawati mall & walking out to the shoplots as hard to find parking during daytime with the exception of Sunday's

I take it.u.meant the char.siew fan stall at the coffeeshop  near the chinese restaurants & not because I am char siew😆

Yes the stall is quite good & my.mom used to buy from there. Never buy eversince mco though so can't comment.