Kuala Pilah

Kuala Pilah is a town and district in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Commonly called Pilah by the mainly Malay Minangkabau inhabitants, it is also the name of a district of the same name. It is a nice old valley town with many of the pre-war Chinese shophouses still fronting the main streets surrounded by traditional style Malay kampung houses built on stilts nestled amongst extensive rice fields. This is one of the better places to savour Minangkabau food and there are a few Nasi Padang foodstalls that serve piping hot rice with a variety of savoury, spicy dishes you can choose from.

Kuala Pilah town itself is a main stopover for transport routes. It is made up of a sizeable Chinese community that have been around since the mining days during the early British rule.

On the main road is a Chinese-styled arch dedicated to Martin Lister who was the first Resident of Negeri Sembilan, commemorating his effort in his suppression and ending the erstwhile intermittent violent conflict between Chinese secret societies then rampant amongst the migrant Chinese populace. If you have a chance to stay over, you have a choice to stay at the old Kuala Pilah resthouse. Although there have been some changes to the old government built resthouse, many English folk who had lived here during the British occupation return to these resthouses to rekindle fond memories of their days in Malaya. In the early years, resthouses were the only available motels and where everyone from businessmen to travellers stayed. The Kuala Pilah Resthouse whips up some pretty good seafood dishes and is a popular place with locals and out-of-towners.