End of the Road?

Since the closing of Bukit Bintang Plaza, its sister Sungai Wang Plaza seemed to have aged considerably. It was slowly turning into a dump unfortunately. Certainly it had not aged gracefully.

When I was there yesterday, quite a number of the business had closed. Some of them had moved across to Berjaya Time Square just along the road. Some of them had packed up while most of the IT vendors had moved to Low Yat next door.

It was a Sunday and usually the place was the buzz capital of townApparently the main foyer was occupied by a K-pop dance event. It was already done.In the past years, there were still plenty of vendors selling phones at the main foyer and walkway. It uses to be multiple floors of them. Yesterday, it was down to just a single floor. And even then, you can't get the really up to date gadget any longer.

This was one of the earliest "Famous Amos" store in the country. And still serve the best cookies.But it was depressing to look around everywhere ....I was convinced that its days are numbered. Maybe once the MRT station operational the situation might improve but at the rate it was going things were. It looking too good. The whole of the third floor was practically empty. I didn't even bother going up to the loft where there used to be a big eating area.

Time had certainly moved on ....

Wondering about Wondermama

I've been hearing about Wondermama for quite some time. Anita been there on a few occasions and enjoyed the food. So, after my haircut this afternoon at Avenue K, I stepped into one for a spot of late lunch.

The setting was local, with the theme being old kopitiam. There were nice touches such as big mugs and some old paintings on the walls.

Those now-famous window panesThese games really brought out old memoriesWhat caught my eye on terms of the decorations were this old games we used to play when I was a boy. It was before the days of scratch cards. You pay a few sens to draw a lot from the game which when you open would reveal a number. You then match that number to see if you won something. Something similar to a lucky draw. The thrill of winning was always there although deep down you'd know that the house would always win and make a profit. A mini gambling scheme. Not sure if it was still legal now though.

And then came the food. They were actually rather good. I ordered maggi mee complete with seafood. Idlan had some nachos with minced meet. Anita had some salad while Irfan enjoyed some pasta. As you could see, the food were fusion.

Time to orderIrfan with his three-layered drinksMy seafood maggi mee gorengI ordered plum - asam boi - and lemonade for drinks and it was ace. The iced Milo also came in big mugs, and tasted home made.

I would definitely come again although the nearest branch to my place would be in Bangsar Village. The price were reasonable too, very clean and the staffs were very attentive. At least to us...

Bye Bye BB Plaza

To be fair, the sign had been there for some time. Over the last couple of years, the place had gone quieter, not helped with the extensive MRT construction going on around the mall.

As early as 3 years ago, the tenants started moving out. It started with the MayBank branch right at the corner of the big crossroad between BB Plaza and Lot 10 by the Monorail station. They packed up almost overnight, and the the big Starbucks at the main entrance closed shop. It took longer than possible for the whole mall was closed actually. I was expecting the place to be gone last year.

A few shops left doing stock clearanceBut I wasn't sure about the plan. Was it a facelift? Was a big MRT station going to built there, which would be a boon since it would connect with the Monorail system and it would be a hub as there would be plenty of people using it, those going to Bukit Bintang, Berjaya Times Square, Low Yat, Lot 10 and Pavilion. It would've been strategic.

After all, the renovation at The Mall was still going on, almost 4 years since it started.

Then finally came the news that the plaza would be demolished. It would be replaced by a high-rise condominium project.

I was quite sad with the news. BB Plaza was one of the older mall in KL before it all went mega. It was basically a bazaar of small shops and it its heyday catered for almost everything new and trendy in town. From IT gadgets, counterfeit videos, clothes and hairstyle, a trip to BB Plaza would fix all that. It was the gadget hub before Imbi Plaza, and then Low Yat. Combined with Sungai Wang Plaza, the place was huge, with ample underground parking space in the old standard.

Metrojaya moved last weekI think this was a shoe storeThe panels being stripped bareThe top floors were already abandonedAnd then there was the iconic Metrojaya which was the main tenant there since I could remember. I almost worked there while waiting for my SPM result until my parents found out and put a stop to it.

I was sure quite a few of my friends felt the same. There was some kind of nostalgia, having got used to the place since the 80s. Time to move on I supposed.

I brought my camera along during one of the afternoons to have a look at what was going on. Most of the shops were already closed. Metrojaya was in the process of moving. The central foyer was left empty. The food court had been evacuated. The parking lot been cordoned off. The place was scheduled for demolition by March.

Bye bye Bukit Bintang Plaza. We had had a long relationship. And it's time to let go ... I'm getting sentimental in my old age!

That was Early

Ramadan was due to start on Sunday, a good couple of days from today. As usual, being Friday evening, we went out for dinner. A quick check on Waze showed that the city centre was packed tonight. Therefore, we decided to go to The Curve.

Took us a good 45 minutes to get there with multiple crawl along NKVE and getting into the car park.

After dinner, we walked towards the lobby and we were surprised that all the stalls were already up. Everything was geared up for Eid. A month early.

I remembered in the years past, the decor usually went up during the first week of Ramadan. We were not expecting the stalls to go up. The shops mainly sold wears for Eid. Clothing and accessories.

Rather more expensive than I thought.

The boys had already got their clothes sorted out. Anita already got hers. I was the only one left out, so we went for a quick look for mine. Nothing caught my fancy though. The colours we wanted were out of stock. One of the shop owner promised to call Anita when the new stock arrives.

It was a pleasant walk in the end. Now, we just reached home and Irfan was in a rather bad mood. He was tired maybe. They had just finished their exams for the Quran class today. ‎

Butterflies at Gardens

Anita had to buy some food for my boys to eat after school and coming from the apartment, we decided to stop by Mid Valley. The Gardens had some cute decorations up - not for Raya mind.

Not sure about the theme, but there were plenty of butterflies around. Not real ones, but all decorations. Colourful. Not sure what they would change for their Raya theme. So far, didn't see any signs of that yet.