Published: July 10, 2026

If you've spent any time in Bukit Bintang, you've probably walked past GMBB without realising what's inside. From the outside, it looks like just another building tucked behind the Pavilion-Fahrenheit strip. Step in, and you'll find nine floors of local art galleries, DIY workshops, vintage camera shops, indie cafés, and independent boutiques — a creative community mall unlike anything else in KL. This is your complete guide to GMBB Kuala Lumpur, one of the city's best-kept secrets.

What is GMBB?

GMBB is a nine-storey creative community mall in the heart of Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Unlike the luxury retail towers that define the neighbourhood, GMBB is entirely built around local independent businesses — artists, makers, photographers, educators, and food entrepreneurs who needed a space that matched their vision.

The concept is simple: every unit in the building is occupied by a local creative brand. No chain stores, no franchise outlets. The result is a place that feels genuinely alive — different every time you visit, with new exhibitions, pop-ups, and workshops rotating throughout the year. All art galleries are free entry. Most of the workshops require advance booking and fill up quickly.

If you're looking for things to do in Kuala Lumpur that go beyond the standard mall circuit, GMBB belongs near the top of your list.

Food & Drinks

Too Yumm Sashimi — Lot 1-36

Jiak Kopi

Jiak Kopi is a local kopitiam-style café inside GMBB — a grounding, unpretentious stop for traditional Malaysian coffee, teh tarik, and local light bites. A good anchor point if you're spending a full afternoon working your way through the floors and need a coffee break that feels like KL, not Instagram.

Source from IG @jiak_kopi

Workshops & DIY Studios

Lipstick Diary DIY

Make your own custom lipstick from scratch. Choose your shade, texture, and finish — the workshop guides you through the full formulation process. Popular with groups, hen dos, and anyone who wants to take home something they actually made.

Yu Wagashi

A Japanese confectionery studio where you learn to craft wagashi — traditional Japanese sweets made from mochi, bean paste, and natural food colouring. The results are almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.

Lasprecious Design

A creative jewellery and accessory design studio offering hands-on workshops in terrazzo, resin, and mixed-media craft. Good for beginners. Results vary from surprisingly professional to charmingly imperfect, and that's part of the appeal.

Smiling Monsters Studio

A character design and illustration studio that runs drawing workshops and sells original character merchandise. If you've ever wanted to learn how illustrators develop a visual universe around a single character, this is an unusually transparent look at that process.

Photography & Film

Kanta Studio

Kanta Studio is a film photography studio and darkroom space — a proper analogue photography hub in the middle of Bukit Bintang. They offer darkroom workshops, film development services, and a curated selection of film cameras and accessories. Whether you're a seasoned film shooter or just film-curious, this is one of the most interesting stops in the building.

Source from IG @_kanta.studio

Film Gazing

A vintage camera shop and film community space. Film Gazing stocks a rotating selection of vintage cameras, film stocks, and photography accessories — alongside a quiet, browsable space that functions as much as a gallery as a shop. The kind of place you can spend 45 minutes in without buying anything and leave feeling like you got something out of it.

Books & Stationery

Mentor Publishing

Mentor Publishing is an independent Malaysian Chinese publisher with a bookstore inside GMBB. Their catalogue spans self-development, education, local history, and children's books — primarily in Chinese, with titles you won't easily find in mainstream chain bookstores. A good stop if you're looking for Chinese-language reads with a Malaysian perspective.

BooKu

BooKu is a book exchange and secondhand bookshop — bring books, trade books, buy books at a fraction of retail price. The selection changes constantly depending on what regulars bring in. Genuinely unpredictable in the best possible way.

Art Galleries

The Grey Box

The Grey Box is a smaller, more intimate gallery space — typically featuring emerging Malaysian artists working in illustration, photography, and conceptual art. The kind of gallery that rewards a slow look rather than a quick scan. Free entry.

Practical Info

Address: No. 2 Jalan Robertson, Bukit Bintang, 50150 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: Daily 11am–8pm
Entry: Free (building and galleries). Workshops are separately priced and require advance booking.
Instagram: Check @gmbb.kl before your visit for upcoming workshops, exhibitions, and pop-ups.

Tip: GMBB rewards multiple visits. The building is dense enough that you won't see everything in one go — and the tenant mix rotates regularly enough that returning every few months always turns up something new.

Where to Stay: NaiBnB Agile Bukit Bintang

Planning a full KL weekend? Check out our 2-Day KL Weekend Itinerary — GMBB features as the centrepiece of Day 2.

Getting There

From NaiBnB @ Agile Bukit Bintang :

1. Walk 5 minutes from ABB to MRT TRX Station
2. Take Platform 2 (direction: Kwasa Damansara) to MRT Merdeka Station — 1 stop
3. Transfer via the 180-metre air-conditioned paid-to-paid walkway to LRT Plaza Rakyat Station (no new ticket needed)
4. Exit and walk approximately 10 minutes to GMBB on Jalan Robertson

Alternatively, a Grab from Bukit Bintang to GMBB takes around 5–8 minutes depending on traffic.

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