New heartland malls a hit with residents

It's not only Orchard Road which is seeing new malls.

They are popping up in the heartland too and two were officially opened yesterday, to cheers from residents.

In Hougang Central, Kang Kar Mall was launched by Foreign Minister George Yeo, who is also an MP for Aljunied GRC.

The 3,000 sq m mall houses a two-storey NTUC FairPrice supermarket and a 24-hour Kopitiam foodcourt.

As there are no wet markets in the vicinity, the supermarket features a large fresh-food section, with more than 1,000 types of fresh produce available.

One highlight of the supermarket is the availability of a butcher to help customers with purchases of fresh pork.

Calling the supermarket a modern wet market, Mr Yeo said: 'I think many Singaporeans prefer this kind of wet market to the traditional wet market but there are older Singaporeans who prefer the traditional wet market.

'I think there will have to be a gradual phasing-out. It's natural.'

He said he has from time to time received requests from older residents for wet markets.

'But I would say they are in the minority,' he noted.

In fact, he said the supermarket is so popular that FairPrice is converting it into a 24-hour operation by this month.

It is now open from 7am to 11pm.

In Choa Chu Kang, residents got a new mall called YewTee Point.

Located next to Yew Tee MRT station, it has attracted almost a million shoppers since its soft opening in March.

The two-storey mall, which has a space of about 6,800 sq m, is run by Frasers Centrepoint Malls.

Source: Sunday Times, 1 Nov 2009