In keeping with the healthy expansion of the area comes Bandar Sunway’s latest addition to the list of spanking new party spots, the Republic Bar. The little sister of the Laundry bar, Republic boasts a similar appeal to its more illustrious sibling, aiming to attract and hopefully pack in the crowd like Laundry does at The Curve.

It’s early days but many of the cool Klang Valley crowd have already checked out recently-opened Republic, and from the number of return visitors, it seems to be getting the thumbs up. Ultimately a clever, cool and contemporary interactive place with good music, Republic offers very little extra than a number of places in KL. However, it is in a class of its own at Bandar Sunway and makes a trip out there, that bit more appealing.

Particularly engaging is the ambience — a classy if occasionally confusing décor resembling the bastard offspring of a chic Parisian boudoir and an opium den like those in old Shanghai. The atmosphere is decadent yet intimate. And one of my favourite things about Republic is their excellent cocktails, prepared with weird-but-sumptuous blends of everything, like longan mixed with lychee, and serai with sake.

The show-stealer, however, is the lively music. Similar to that of Laundry’s, they feature international acts, local veterans, up-and-coming DJs and visual DJs, who, as owner Petrina Roach explained, are ‘all inspired by a fusion of things symbolising Asian cultures and acts who are willing to take risks in their music and performances’. Currently,you can enjoy regular music nights like Friday’s hip-hop (by DJ Nesh), and Saturday’s house music (by DJ Nicky C).