How to find a shop with kitchen exhaust, 3-phase power or alfresco

Shops with kitchen exhaust, 3-phase power and a grease trap are mostly units that have already housed F&B, often corners and rows on established food streets. Filter adverts for words like "F&B ready" or "ex-restaurant", then confirm the meter board, duct route and trap on site. Alfresco tables on a five-foot way need a council permit; in KL, DBKL now charges RM 30 a month per set.

This is a sourcing guide. If you want to know why each service matters for a kitchen, read our restaurant services checklist first.

The cheapest exhaust is the one already installed. Units that have hosted restaurants usually keep the duct, the gas point and the floor traps. You will find them in three places:

• Established food streets and night-time hubs. Rows where F&B has traded for years, such as Changkat Bukit Bintang, SS2 and the food streets of Sri Petaling, have many units with existing kitchens.
• Corner units. Corners often have side walls and side lanes that make a duct route easier, plus side space for seating.
• Takeover units. An F&B tenant selling the business is selling a working kitchen. Takeover adverts for F&B shops in Malaysia ask RM 68,000 to RM 80,000 in goodwill (individual adverts, market evidence only), partly for this reason. Read our goodwill guide before you pay.

The best of these units rarely reach the portals, because neighbours and chains hear first during the notice period. See how to get a shop before it is advertised.

Bring your kitchen contractor on the second viewing and check:

• Meter board. A 3-phase supply has a three-phase meter and three live cables. Photograph the meter and the rating on the main breaker.
• Exhaust shaft. Follow the duct from the kitchen to where it discharges: rear wall, roof or a shared shaft. Look at who lives or works above and next door.
• Grease trap. Find it, open it if you can, and ask who maintains it.
• Gas. Piped gas point or a safe cylinder storage area.
• Water and floor traps. Inlet size and position, drainage fall to the back lane.
• Paperwork. Ask the landlord to confirm in the tenancy agreement that F&B use, the duct and any power upgrade are allowed, and who pays.

If the unit is single phase only, the landlord or you will need an electrical contractor to apply for an upgrade. Agree who pays and whether the rent-free period covers the wait.

The five-foot way in front of a shop is a public walkway controlled by the council, so outdoor tables need a permit. Renting the shop does not give you the right to use it.

For Kuala Lumpur, DBKL introduced a permit of RM 30 a month per set of table and chairs, announced by the Federal Territories Minister on 11 August 2026 (Free Malaysia Today, 11 Aug 2026). From September 2026, applications are handled at DBKL's 11 branch offices: an officer inspects the premises and can issue the permit on the spot, the permit lasts up to one year, at least 2.5 to 3 feet of the five-foot way must stay clear for pedestrians, and parking bays cannot be used (The Star, 15 Sep 2026).

Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya are under MBPJ and MBSJ, which run their own licensing. We have not verified their current outdoor seating rules, so ask the council licensing counter before you plan seats outside. Our post on MBSJ and MBPJ licences covers the main licence steps.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm permits with DBKL, MBPJ or MBSJ.

In Petaling Jaya, alfresco works best at corners and on rows with wide, covered five-foot ways and quieter side lanes. Corners matter most, because the side gives seating space that does not block the shopfront walkway. Our corner lot vs intermediate shop post explains what you pay for that.

SS2, Damansara Utama (SS21), Damansara Uptown and Taman Paramount are the PJ hubs we work most for cafes and restaurants. Browse current shops for rent in Petaling Jaya and our F&B shop list, then ask us for corners that have not been advertised yet.

• Units with residential tenants directly above or behind, where smoke complaints are likely
• Rows where the landlord will not put duct and roof works in writing
• Units with no rear lane access for bins and deliveries
• Bare units where the power upgrade, duct and trap would eat your whole rent-free period

Written by Tok Ginstee (REN 37505), CID Realtors Sdn Bhd (E (1) 1855). Updated November 2026.