Festival City Mall

Festival City Mall. That's not a familiar name. It is actually a new mall near my place on what used to be a real busy junction. Now with the mall built, it is going to get extra busy there.

Located at the junction of Jalan Genting Kelang and Jalan Ibukota, the new landmark certainly rebooted the area. It used to be a row of sleepy shophouses, there. There was a mamak stall I used to visit back in 2003. I stopped going soon after since the area was kinda quiet, and kinda creepy during weekends and late evenings.

With the new apartments just round the corner, the place is becoming popular with newcomers to KL, the real working class and students from nearby college. The mall itself, although looked huge from the outside, is rather cramped when one gets in, with limited parking space. At the moment, only a single floor of parking was opened although you can take the premium spots at the entrance for RM8. Basically, you pay the fee and park the car yourself. Valet parking without the valet. Whatever!

The anchor tenant at the mall was Parkson. There were also place for groceries, although I did not venture there. I might just still prefer Jusco at Alpha Angle. The eateries were pretty decent with the main outlets having restaurants there, sushi, local food, fast food etc. I did not see a McDonald's or Starbucks there. Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. They also did not haves large lobby. Just a small corner where they built a stage for promotion.

There is however an MBO Cineplex. And the top floor had a few shops selling copycat DVDs and other bootlegs. There was also a small electronics shop. Personally, I think the mall tried to do a bit of everything, but would end up struggling unless they sort out the groceries. That might be the main reason for families to come in. The same fate as AEON AU2 despite having Jusco as their main tenant. People prefer mall which are spacious, with easy access and plenty of parking. Like Alpha Angle and Wangsa Walk Mall where I live.