Mulling Over Malls

I had lunch today with colleagues at the Bistro in Plaza Senayan. Plaza Senayan seems to be the most popular mall for the middleclass here. Strolling pass its many designer label stores, one cannot really tell whether one is in Jakarta or Singapore or KL for that matter. One upmarket middleclass mall looks like another.

Which got me thinking about some of the malls that I like to go to in Jakarta. I usually avoid Plaza Senayan mainly because it is too trendy - the place to see and be seen. I enjoy anonymity. Moreover, the cineplex there is expensive and crowded during the weekends.

My favourite malls in Jakarta are the lower-end ones: Pasaraya Blok M, Block M Plaza, Atrium Senen and even Roxy Mas. The people who go there are teenagers and the lower middle-class folks. One can see more of the real Jakarta here.

In Singapore, I spent a lot of time at the Junction 8 in Bishan because I lived in the area. I've also watched many movies at the cineplex there. Whenever I'm downtown, I kind of like to hang around at Raffles City Shopping Center at City Hall. Maybe it's because I used to stay at the adjacent Westin Stamford Hotel (now Swissotel, The Stamford) everytime I make a business trip to Singapore and has grown accustomed to the place. And the Times bookstore there is pretty good.

In the KL and PJ area, I still have a soft spot for some of the forgotten malls of yore, like Atria at Damansara Jaya. I used to live and work in that area and the place brings back many good memories of those days. I remember a time when the teh tarik stalls would be packed after 5.00pm and we would be having our nasi lemak or maggi mee before adjourning to the Orient Express Pub around the corner. Those were the good old days when the whole Section 22 would be jam-packed whenever there was a sale at the Parkson store there. And there was a Picadilly discotheque in the same complex that used to be the hottest place in PJ.

Nowadays, the place is a bit deserted. People like to go to newer and trendier malls like MidValley Megamall, Sunway Pyramid or Suria KLCC. Going to the mall has become a favourite pastime of the young and a typical weekend outing for families.

I pass by the oldest "mall" in Jakarta everyday - Sarinah. It is the nearest one to my hotel. The term "mall" wasn't even popularly used when Sarinah was first opened in the 60s by President Sukarno. It was the first international class departmental store (as it was called then) in Jakarta. Nowadays it is considered very old-fashioned to shop there - a place for the ibu-ibu and mbak-mbak. I like Sarinah because it has two or three floors selling traditional handicrafts and dresses and the foodcourt in the basement has quite a good variety of local food. And I'm happy that it is not "polluted" by the trendy crowd, even though Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta is situated in the same building complex.

Years from now, I know I will remember Sarinah with as much affection as I have for Atria in Damansara Jaya.