Sunda Shelves - Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Fikri F.

This bookstore feels very calm and is packed with many wonderful books, primarily focusing on biodiversity, local culture, and related topics. Some of the books are secondhand and are sold quite cheaply. Many browsing copies are available and I truly enjoy having a snack here while flipping through the beautiful pages of the encyclopedias. Sometimes, this place also hosts various events and talks, making it a great community space.

cho Y.

super cozy! (a few mins from the ttdi mrt station so a bit of a walk) tons of interesting nature related books and merch, felt like i could stay for hours. the cafe had really nice karipaps and all the staff are welcoming. haven't had the chance to join their weekend workshops/talks/activities though (heard they're super fun). can't wait to come again <3

David ?. E. H. J.

One of the rare bookshops & cafe that focuses on flora & fauna and is run by passionate owners. The place is on the first floor above Online, with quite a good collection of nature books, for both adults & kids. There's some rare books on sale in a closed bookcase.

They also sell 2nd hand books on flora, fauna & culture, which is a very good move. Constant mini events on weekends like craft making, book talks, book launches, and book signing take place here, too. The cafe is cute, with some interesting choices of local delicacies. Parking is the downer on weekdays, so you may need to park further and walk here.

Ruben ?. Y.

Love this tiny bookshop which has its roots in nature conservation. The books offered are really good.

Curry puff was excellent as well!

Will be back to properly browse the shelves. Was there for a talk on cempedaks. Another good idea - having events there to draw in different groups of people👍🏽

Joseph L.

A quiet pocket just off the TTDI MRT, Sunda Shelves announces itself with the scent of paper: old, new, and everything in between. The name isn’t just branding. The Sunda Shelf is a submerged bridge linking Southeast Asia’s islands to the mainland. Its founders, conservationists Dylan Jeffri Ong and Surin Suksuwan, didn’t just want to sell books. They wanted a refuge, a community space, a place where NGOs and nature lovers could gather, trade stories, and remind each other why the fight to preserve biodiversity is worth it.

The place is bright, open, lined with chairs and softened by a café that serves drinks and the kind of curry puffs you can’t stop thinking about long after you leave. The store calls them “maleepaps”, and they disappear fast. Forget the dry pastries of chain cafés; these are flaky, unapologetic, and deeply Malaysian. Books and bites. It works.

Families with kids who ask for books about snakes. College students flipping through encyclopaedias with curry oil on their fingers. Conservationists meeting over roselle tea. But the real heartbeat of the place is nailed to the bulletin board with talks on seahorses or cempedaks, and workshops with local artisans.

The shelves themselves are something else: stacks of old magazines, rare out-of-print guides, children’s stories about seahorses and snakes, heavyweight conservation texts, and novels by local writers. Everything leans towards one theme: nature, and our uneasy relationship with it. Birds, forests, oceans, orangutans. You’ll find biodiversity explained in clinical detail right next to folk tales from indigenous weavers. And in between, second-hand gems you didn’t know you were looking for.

It’s not only books. Tables are laid out with scrunchies, tote bags, and trinkets made by coastal women for turtle conservation, delicate illustrations of Malaysian birds by Choo Beng Teong, and handmade crafts that carry the fingerprints of local artists. These aren’t souvenirs; they’re stories you can take home, each one tethered to a community, a cause, or a species on the edge.

It’s not a business designed for mass appeal. The selection is too specific. Prices aren’t always kind. Space is limited. Parking can test your patience. But once inside, none of that matters. Sunda Shelf is an antidote to algorithm-driven online shopping, where discovery is not about recommendations on a screen but about picking up a book you never expected, in a space that feels personal and alive.

celestine -.

Calm, quiet getaway for bookworms who prefer bookshops over cafes. There is space here to have conversations with friends over currypuffs and coffee. The titles I spotted here were fascinating - my only regret was that I couldn't leave with the whole shop

Yi T. C.

very cute place to drop by, founder Is a conservationists, so most of the books are about floral and fauna.

Super comfy environment!

Susan M. S.

An interesting collection of nature books are sold here. The cafe serves delicious curry puffs and chicken curry. Cosy cafe.