City Plaza is not really a ghost mall… this is Indonesia’s answer to Lucky Plaza. on sundays the Indonesian migrant workers go here and hang out. that’s why there are a lot of women’s fashion stores, they cater to the Indonesian domestic workers.
the extension of philippines, from citiy-plaza drain to grand-link mall drain and side lechon and thai to geylang back-lane to school and bao shop. drain walkers. besides whole sale parking goods (batam diamond mall style), steal indonesian-philippino from lucky-plaza, picnic grass areas from paya-lebar-square and walking route from haig road hawker to katong shopping center... its a million strength exchange interlock.
My aunt owns a shop there. FYI, many of the clothing shop there are wholesalers, they have customers from overseas/locals who buy their clothes there to re-sell(Monday mornings is the busiest if i remembered correctly). I must say this isn't a conventional mall; a unique mall in itself and definitely not a ghost town.
I rmb when blogshops were the thing (is it still a thing?), this was the place to go for the girls who ran the blogshops to get their stuff! But in today's economy, who's left to wholesale stuff to from sg? Or is it cos rent there is low?
I actually feel that City Plaza has a nostalgic charm to it... Being a former Katong Boy, my childhood hangout malls included Katong Shopping Center, Roxy Square and occasionally City Plaza. There's this feeling that such malls give me that other modern malls cannot. When I step into these malls, I'm immediately brought back to simpler (and less depressing) times, which is a comforting feeling. I'm not being constantly reminded that looks, money and status are the most important things in life, which is the feeling I immediately get when stepping into the Mega Orchard Malls. In these malls, there are no pretenses...you are not judged by other shoppers... I was very contended just going to City Plaza to get a haircut and having a meal after that at Arnolds.
Nice video! Reminiscent of your earlier videos, no sponsorships and partnerships, just a straightforward walking tour with food. Oh, and the ending was EPIC!
My parents used to own a wholesale shop there, in the 90s it’s one of the 2 main women’s clothing wholesale Center in Singapore… the other one is at Crawford Lane. This was way before online shopping and direct sourcing online took over the world…… there was a need for wholesalers to support smaller local fashion Retailers. There you go :) a bit of background on the mall !
On the 2nd floor, level 2, opposite the foot massage corner shop is a very good Ipoh chicken hor fun stall and pig stomach soup! Called Chi De Fu....they open late afternoon, the owner is a former chef or 5 star hotels in SG 😂
If you like old malls, you can check out Thomson Plaza (we use to call it Yaohan as it was the biggest department store in the mall), Sun Plaza, Lucky Plaza, People’s Park Complex and Holland Road Shopping Centre.
Thomson plaza got renovated so not as old looking as it used to be, a bit more modern, marginally so. I still remember yaohan when it had a small arcade with 20c mechanical rides and merry go rounds on the second floor then it moved to the ground floor next to the cash registers of yaohan with video games and 🎟 dispensed to win prizes. And every Saturday and Sunday everybody would watch WWF on the overhead TVs at the entrance of the electronics section. Burger King was where popular book store is! Not sure if popular is still there.. haven’t been in 7 years. Good times!!
This mall really brings back a lot of memories. I remember my family would go there to eat at Arnold's when it was a special occasion like someone's birthday or there was something to celebrate. Last time there were more food shops just outside the mall and everything tasted super delicious! That was 18 years ago! Thank you for another awesome video ghib buddy👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
This mall is one of my favourites - lots of memories from childhood [hahaa, am a baby boomer]. It is not as packed / busy. I buy clothing, toiletries, shoes, fix my mobile phone and yes, eat here. Love the Indonesian titbits. Laid back, memories of Di Tanjong Katong! Not a ghost town Mall, for sure!
this is the place where i applied for the blue passport. old shopping malls seems to have the same type of flooring, it reminds me of beauty world, bt timah plaza, katong shopping centre and queensway shopping centre.
OMG, you sounded EXACTLY like my husband @4:27 ! Did he possess you???!! I laugher so hard through out this epic episode! I kove this mall for its uniquely stubborn ability to stay relevant throughout the decades! I come here to shop for sarongs for Malay weddings, Indonesia food and snacks, and of course the spicy chilli that the mee hoon kuey comes with!!
I used to live directly opposite city plaza and the ban Mian is really good. However, u missed out eating the nasi padang at level 1, it’s a really delicious nasi padang.
Hi Ghib,, i dont know if i ever went there one time long long time ago becoz my family said we went there one time anyway thks for showing it again,, its so funny you found that brief, i think its yours you put it there 🤣hahahha,, nice vlog Ghib Huat ahh 👍😎😇 oh i like that chair massage, if only all the mall provide that chair massage,, 😅
Thanks for this video on City Plaza, keeping an open mind and with positive things to say in the end. Those ignorant comments at the start of the video just shows that they never lived thru the golden 80s era. This video and City Plaza brings back many memories of the 1980s when my Dad will bring me to shop and buy me toys almost every weekend.
my childhood mall everything still looks the same haven't been to city plaza for so many years. Can't believe the mouth of truth still exist and the CD shop and it is still selling at $10 now wow
This Arnold fried chicken was there since the beginning, a good part of my teenage memories was here.....not forgetting the Yakoso mall diagonally across and the People Emporium/ Lion City Hotal that was replaced by a new mall now❤😊
if you like chicken, i think tender fresh is another really good contender that is increasingly becoming very very popular. i ate it like 15 years ago, not too sure how long have they been around
Hahaha. I live nearby and this is not ghost town. They have good food like Arnold’s, good rates for clothing, good watch repair shop wedding stuff and a boardgame toy shop. They also have Kwan’s pastry which serves homely food and good cookies and Chinese dumplings.
Wow there's still a Bocca Della Veritae there! I used to always play with the one at Tanjong Katong Complex, Joo Chiat area. That's another classic mall lol
Food-wise, you missed a couple of interesting places. 1. Chiderful Restaurant on the 2nd Floor - run by a former chef from Resorts World. Great Ipoh style and Chinese (restaurant standard) food. 2. The Indonesian Bakso stall at the food court that only opens on Sat and Sun. Both worth trying.
I always go there to eat Arnold's Fried chicken. Very shiok if you get the combo with bun, coleslaw and mashed potatoes. It's a must order for me everytime I go Arnold's. The chicken, bun, coleslaw, mashed potato and bandung. Satisfying combination. 😋
This is by far the funniest video..... You WERE influenced by others..... Just to find brief🤣🤣🤣🤣. But ya.... This is definitely like a good place to hide from bustling malls... (except weekends)
Hellow Ghib Ojisan, I had watch a few of you videoes, and I would said that you had done things differently. Most tourist here don't visit places like you do and they don't eat things like you do. Welcome to Singapore. And there are still a lot more places waiting for you to explore. Places like Katong Shopping Centre, Chinatown and many more. By the way, did you see any ladies eatting on the ground floor? These are maids gathering during their off day and they are from Indonesia, some from Philippines.
The security was stalking you but you got away the first time! That encountered turned out to be gold~ but curious, do they really chase people out for filming reviewing a mall? PS: I'm surprised by how you do know about ban mian but not know about mee hun kueh?
City plaza was a very busy mall back like 10 to 15 yrs ago. I used to visit there every Monday to buy wholesale clothings to sell. But they were all affected by ecommerce and big brands boutiques after that. And yes, my fav mee hook kuay noodles shop is still at 5th floor! Yeah! U should have visit this mall on Sunday and it will be crowded with many indonesians here for gathering outing w their friends
The first time I tried Arnold's Chicken, I found the food presentation very plain, and the set didn't include drinks. I felt it was expensive feel not worth . But after tasting it, oh my god, it was really amazing!
You are an excellent you tuber. This is a real fun vlog. Charming, natural, very funny, intelligent, entertaining commentary, interesting use of local and proper British, Japanese english. Forget cooking udon as a career. I like you but even i will not go eat your udon. In Spore, udon is typically food for kids. Easy to cook, chew, boring, little or no flavour!
** EDIT - After watching the video, i am personally convinced that BEAUTY WORLD CENTER is a MUST GO for Ghib Ojisan - that places has much nicer and more positive vibes compared to the place in this video. I am saying with respect based on a "calm and happy" feelings standpoint. Both are "old school" shopping malls but Beauty World Center is honestly the complete winner when it comes to atmosphere and environment.) I am COMPLETELY surprised that myself has NEVER EVEN KNOWN ABOUT THIS PLACE. And i personally don't even EVER recall even coming here at all !!
Ghost town? No way, it is still popular. Not just indo domestic worker, indo working here like that mall too. But anyone call it little Indonesia? Nice video. Is the ending real? Quite funny
Try going on Sunday afternoon City plaza is popular hang out place for Indonesian helpers. Peninsula plaza for Burmese Lucky plaza for Filipinos People’s Park Complex for Chinese nationals Golden mile tower for Thais Mainly these mall offer n serve their respective local food delights n offer competitive remittance service or exchange rate for that particular national
There used to be a Chinese restaurant at the top floor. The food smell outside the restaurant was very strong (in a good way). I guess it would be an easy way for you to spend $100.
