Uniqlo at Fahrenheit 88 - KL's latest mall

So recently two malls have newly come onto my radar - Empire Subang Gallery and that was only cos me sis had a wedding dinner in Subang and I thought I would kill two birds with one stone. It started to rain the afternoon I was supposed to go and I thought, aiya, forget it - but sis went and she finished walking the mall in 2 hours. When she called me to report this, I thought - oklah - good thing I didn't go. Hahhahahaha....Apparently, nothing much there. And I haven't been still.

Yesterday I visited Fahrenheit 88 at Jalan Bukit Bintang right opposite Pavilion Mall - the very same building where KL Plaza was. And when JH went in, he remarked that it looked exactly the same - the columns were the same, the floor tiles were the same, the escalators changed but other than that - there wasn't much sign of life in terms of shops still - especially on the ground floor which is weird cos you'd think people would open up already. There was also a shop right on the ground floor that was empty, not boarded up and still had a signage in its window that they had moved to Sungei Wang Plaza! OUCH!!!! Terrible I think.

On the ground floor - we enjoyed some Gelato Fruity and Su's Cakes for Kicks - both were yummy. Su's Cakes for Kicks gives away free samples - just ask for them. The lychee and cempedak cheesecakes, respectively, were good. I also bought a chocolate eclair - rather pricey for the wee thing - RM3.50 - but haven't devoured it yet - Since the last month, I've had a thing for chocolate eclairs!

There was also a GIANT SNAKING queue with queue ropes and security guards on the ground floor - guess what? To enter Uniqlo! What's that I hear you asking???? Well, the latest anchor tenant in Malaysia to come all the way from Japan. They are apparently veryvery big there. I researched them when I found out they would be the anchor tenant and found that their range was very skewed to the 4 seasons - or at least what I saw was fashion for cold climates. And yesterday was no different - there were coats and gloves and HEATTECH (read that - HEAT TECNOLOGY) leggins and underwear for sale in the shop. It wasn't very impressive at all if I had queued up 2 hours just to get in. BUT What was Impressive was that, when they saw I was pregnant - who could miss it I mean - I am gigantic! - they let me in to the front of the line! WOW! yes, DOUBLE WOW! In Malaysia! As compared to another experience I had with Air Asia who insisted I queue up when their system wasn't even working! YIKES! Tony Fernandes take note! Air Asia doesn't seem to be very pregnant friendly.

So - anyway, JH and I were left wondering when we took a quick round of the 3 levels - Men's, Women's and General Fashion, if Uniqlo would survive? Of course, they were doing rather ok sales cos people were snapping up their half priced items - like jeans Normal Price RM99.90 became RM49.90 for the opening period  - which will last til beginnning of December I think. I hope the stuff I saw in the shop was only because it's now Winter in Japan cos if they sell this kind of stuff all year round, they ain't going to be lasting long. There were gorgeous coats going for RM499.90, RM599.90 and etc but I really cannot picture myself wrapping myself up in that for an afternoon out at One Utama! :)

Needlesss to say we didn't buy anything. Oh yeah, a little more update about the queue - they were managing the queue and only letting in a certain number of people at a time! And there is a signage that says 'Last In' will be at 7pm to manage expectations and browsing/shopping time I guess. Hmmmmmm......very ummm....and the thing is if you go when the line is snaking - you're not going to be able to get in the Express Line (for pregnant women/maybe old people/voucher holding peeps) cos the extended end of the line is just general. We were clever - walking around the mall, having a small tea, before visiting Uniqlo and by that time, the queue was where the Express Line started (rather like almost 3/4 into the General Line)!

The mall isn't very impressive - I would not drive into KL to get to it - there is nothing that stands out about it - the look and feel is not cohesive - like JH said, it feels like someone just slap-dashed a bunch of shops together and called it a mall. The look of the general areas and the shops were not aligned - just visit and you'll see what I mean. It's got a very old-fashioned feel to it though the individual shops try to be very individualistic and hip and modern. The target market, after all, is the young and trendy who like to dress and accessorise the way the Japanese and Koreans do.

Bernard Chandran has a boutique there - strange.....

So, anyway, it had a very Berjaya Times Square and upper scale Sungei Wang feel as well as contents. Though those two are infinitely bigger and cheaper so if I was looking for looks like that, I would rather visit those two. No cinema too. So, 5 floors all together - the ground floor is pretty much empty so I don't know what the theme is there. First floor is Accessories I think, Second is Shoes, Third is Fashion, Fourth is Electronics (also pretty deserted). F&B is scattered all around - I really don't know what Subway is doing in the midst of all the Shoes....hahahahahah.....Lower Ground then is also a mish mash - you know Guardian, some F&B, snacks, artists from China.....

I personallly didn't enjoy it at all - parking was RM9.00 (RM3 per hour) though JH said he could come back just to take in the looks of the people - yeah, it is a different crowd who goes there.

Think I'll stick to my side of the state huh, in terms of malls - the furthest I will go is Sunway Pyramid. Hheheheheheheh