Both our outlets are small, quiet, walk-in-friendly cocktail bars. Through June and across the year, we welcome everyone who walks in respectfully and drinks attentively. This page is the short note on how we think about that.
The Pride Month context in Malaysia
Pride Month (June, internationally) is observed in Petaling Jaya quietly. The public-celebration format that defines Pride in Sydney, San Francisco, New York and Bangkok does not exist here. There are no parades, no public floats, no city-square gatherings. What exists is a private network of small gatherings, hospitality settings that are welcoming year-round without making it a campaign, and quiet dinners and bar evenings that happen to land in June.
This is not a statement; it is the practical situation. Small craft cocktail bars in PJ tend to be among the most genuinely welcoming spaces in the country, not because they market themselves as LGBT venues (most don't), but because the format is. Small rooms, mixed crowds, music at conversation volume, no door policy beyond civility, no question about who you arrived with. The welcome is structural rather than declared. For some guests, that is exactly the right kind of welcome.
This page is for guests who want the quiet kind: drinks that are good, a room that is comfortable, no need to perform anything. And, if you want them, a list of the most colourful cocktails we pour.
Our approach
Three things we believe about small-bar service:
1. The room is for whoever walks in respectfully. Friends, couples, work-mates, families. We do not police who you are sitting with. We pour you a good drink and ask if you want another.
2. Comfort matters more than visibility. Some guests want to be celebrated in the room; some want to be unnoticed. Both are valid. The small-bar advantage is the bartender can read which you want and treat you accordingly.
3. Small-room dynamics are different from nightclub dynamics. The behaviour calibrated for a packed dance floor is wrong for a 30-seat cocktail bar. The behaviour calibrated for a quiet conversation works in our rooms.
The Malaysian context
Malaysia is a complicated place to write about inclusion publicly. We will not pretend otherwise. What we can say is what we actually do at our two outlets:
- Anyone who arrives respectfully gets a properly-poured drink.
- Walk-in groups of two, three, four are equally welcome regardless of who is in the group.
- We do not host themed parties on calendar dates with political loading. We run our regular menu, the way we always do.
- The bartender remembers your name. Visit twice and we know your usual.
- If you want a quiet booth or counter seat and we have it, we will give it to you. If you want bartender attention and engagement, the counter is set up for that.
This is not a statement page. It is a practical description of how we treat the people who walk through our door.
Why our two bars suit a quiet Pride evening
Dissolved Solids · Damansara Kim: 43-1 Jalan SS20/11, Tuesday to Sunday 15:00-01:00. About 30 seats, six at the counter. Music at conversation volume. The 4-6pm slot is the quietest hour of the day. WhatsApp +60 11-4008 7607.
Soluble Solids · SS2: 50-1 Jalan SS2/24, Wednesday to Sunday 18:00-01:00. Smaller room, no printed menu, bespoke builds. Often a single small group at a time. The quieter of the two outlets. Listed as one of Tatler Asia Top 20 Bars 2025/26. WhatsApp +60 11-1682 8651.
Colourful cocktails we pour through the year
Most of our cocktails happen to be photogenic regardless of when you order them. A short list of the ones with notable colour:
Aviation: pale lavender from crème de violette. Recipe.
Roselle Spritz: deep red from hibiscus. Recipe.
Bunga Telang Spritz: deep blue that turns purple when lime hits. Visual chemistry, no food colouring.
Bandung cocktail: bright pink from rose syrup and evaporated milk. Notes.
Mary Pickford: pink from real grenadine and pineapple. Recipe.
Matcha Sakura: pale green, floral. Recipe.
Pyrus Gimlet: pale yellow-gold, with elderflower. Recipe.
Hibiscus French 75: bright magenta from hibiscus syrup, sparkling from the champagne.
If you want to build a rainbow round, the bartender can run a flight: violet (Aviation), blue (Bunga Telang), green (Matcha Sakura), yellow (Pyrus Gimlet), orange (Aperol Spritz), pink (Bandung), red (Roselle). One drink each at a small group sitting. Brief us 24 hours ahead if you want the round pre-set.
The evening plan, hour by hour
Option A: dinner first, then bar. Eat 7-8:30pm at a quiet PJ restaurant. Arrive at Dissolved Solids around 9pm. Bar-counter seating if you want bartender engagement, table if you want privacy. Two drinks across the evening. Close out by 11:30pm or stay through to 01:00 if the night is going.
Option B: quiet afternoon. 4-6pm at Dissolved Solids. The bar opens at 15:00, the first two hours are typically light, the bartender has time. One or two proper drinks, no evening crowd to compete with. Best for the most private possible visit.
Option C: late and quiet. 10pm-1am at Soluble Solids. The smaller of the two outlets, often a single small group at a time. Bespoke builds, no printed menu. The bartender asks what you usually drink and pours to match.
For non-drinking friends in your group
The non-alcoholic side at our outlets is real, not a courtesy. Coffee mocktails, NA spritzes, NA Bandung, kombucha, proper tea, proper coffee. The round comes out balanced regardless of who is drinking what.
For Muslim guests, the NA programme is treated with the same care as the alcoholic side. The glassware matches; the bartender attention is the same. Brief us when you book if your group has non-drinking friends.
The small-bar bottom line
Both our outlets seat about 30 people. The room is conversational. Music is at conversation volume. The bartender is talking to you, not shouting over a sound system. This is the quiet alternative to nightclub-format Pride spaces in KL.
If you want a celebratory night with loud music and a crowd, the bigger venues in KL central have that covered. If you want a small-room, low-pressure, properly-poured cocktail evening with friends, this is what we are for.
Reservations
Walk-ins welcome any night for parties of two or three. Groups of 5+ should WhatsApp ahead. The last weekend of June (the international Pride peak) runs slightly busier; book a day or two ahead for that weekend if you want a particular table or the counter seats.
- Dissolved Solids · Damansara Kim: +60 11-4008 7607
- Soluble Solids · SS2: +60 11-1682 8651
What a structural welcome looks like, in practice
A "rainbow-painted-for-June" approach to Pride is one model of welcome. A "this room runs the same way every other month, and that includes June" approach is the other. The two are not in conflict; they serve different guests at different scales. Loud, public, brand-coded Pride campaigns work best in cities where the public Pride infrastructure (parades, rallies, public events) already exists; the bar campaign sits on top of that infrastructure. In Malaysia, where the public Pride infrastructure does not exist, a quiet bar campaign without the public scaffolding tends to ring hollow. We would rather not run the campaign than run it badly.
What we do instead, year-round, is keep the room comfortable for whoever walks in. The bartender on shift treats the LGBT couple at the counter the same as the straight couple at the counter the same as the four work-friends at the table the same as the solo drinker by the back wall. The drink is built to template, the conversation is on the guests' terms, the bill is honest. The welcome is the absence of friction, not the presence of a flag.
For guests who want a louder Pride evening, the central-KL nightlife circuit has venues that do that better than we do. For guests who want a quieter Pride evening, our two PJ outlets are set up for it. Both are valid; we are honest about which one we are.
The cost picture
Two cocktails each at either outlet runs RM 160-220 before tip. Add a bar snack and it lands RM 200-260. No cover charge, no Pride-week surcharge, no minimum spend. The bill is the regular bill regardless of when in June you visit. Solo visits are welcome at the counter; a single proper cocktail and a snack is RM 50-70.