Be at the Heart of Bedok
February 2014
Since Bedok Mall opened in early December 2013 in Bedok’s town centre, the 40-year old estate has seen a drastic change – for the better. Housing close to 200 shops over 220,000 square feet of retail space, the one-stop lifestyle destination has added a palpable buzz to Singapore’s largest estate, drawing shoppers from all over the island to the heart of the action.
Wong Min Yeow who lives in Sengkang said, “I came to see the new mall. It’s comparable to the ones in town. There are even some shops that you don’t find in Orchard Road.”
“We have been waiting for [the completion of] this mall. Now, we don’t have to go to town to have the Orchard Road [retail and dining] experience,” added Cheryl Wee, who has lived in Bedok all her life and was there with her two children.
Bedok Mall is the centrepiece of Bedok’s transformation into an exciting hub, which will include an air-conditioned bus interchange, a town plaza with a heritage corner, and a new hawker centre complete with a multi-storey carpark.
“This [mall] has become my new weekend hangout,” beamed Zarina Zaid. “It has made this area quite exciting and crowded.”
Heart of Connection
For the more than 300,000 residents and the thousands more who work or study in or visit the estate, the fact that Bedok Mall is linked to major public transport nodes is a big bonus. The mall’s Basement 2 is directly linked to the Bedok MRT station while the new air-conditioned Bedok bus interchange, which will begin operations in the second half of 2014, is located above Bedok Mall on Level 2. This CapitaMall is part of an integrated retail-residential-transport development, and right above it is Bedok Residences. The 583-unit condominium is expected to welcome about 2,000 residents in 2015.
“Bedok Mall’s positioning is built on 3 ‘C’s, namely ‘choice’, ‘convenience’ and ‘connectivity’. With the mall’s extensive offerings, prime location in the heart of Bedok Town Centre, as well as excellent connectivity to the major transport nodes and the rest of the neighbourhood, we are confident that in time, Bedok Mall will become the heart of the Bedok estate,” said Kevin Siew, Development Manager of Bedok Mall.
Riding on its connectivity, the mall has launched a campaign to encourage shoppers to make use of its excellent public transport links. The Ride and Redeem programme gives away 1,000 STAR$ (worth S$1) in transport rebates to those who take the MRT or public bus to the mall.
CAPITASTAR is CapitaMalls Asia’s card-less reward system initiated in 2011. With a minimum spend of S$20, every dollar spent at supermarkets and food courts is rewarded with one STAR$; while every dollar spent at any other store gets you five STAR$. Every 5,000 STAR$ can be exchanged for a S$5 CapitaVoucher.
Heart of Action
This first major mall in the estate with excellent location and connectivity fulfills its potential by featuring an extensive mix of retail and dining choices catering to every need. Basement 2 houses shops for everyday essentials, including FairPrice Finest, Popular, Home-Fix, Japan Home, Guardian and Watsons. For a quick bite, there is also a wide variety of food kiosks to choose from. Grab a drink at Gong Cha or Smoothie King, fill up on dim sum from Ho Kee Pau or Hong Kong Sheng Kee Dessert, chow down on crispy chicken at Hot Star Large Fried Chicken or have Japanese bento from Yoshinoya.
One floor up and its the lifestyle, apparel and family-trade retailers including UNIQLO, Best Denki, Samsung, Sony Centre, Cotton On, Fox Kids & Baby, Kiddy Palace and The Travel Store.
Level 1 is where the chic labels reside. Get your shopping bags ready and explore Cache Cache, Charles & Keith, Dorothy Perkins, G2000, Levi’s, Net, Santorini and Wanko at their newly-opened outlets.
Bedok Mall distinguishes itself from the competition with a wide selection of new-to-market brands. For example, Sembonia, a Malaysian leather goods brand has opened its flagship store there. Another new-to-market store is women’s fashion outlet, Roem, which specialises in romantic, feminine pieces inspired by Korean and European fashion. In the area of services, a new aesthetic clinic has set up shop at the mall as well. Refresh Laser Clinic provides laser treatments and non-invasive clinical facials.
Providing a revolution in dining experience is a slew of new-to-region food outlets that have opened at the mall. From the western hemisphere, there is Wingstop, a popular American chicken wings franchise with over 600 outlets that has set up its first Asian outpost at the mall; and from the East, comes Scallop-Q, a Taiwanese eatery that specialises in Hokkaido fresh scallops grilled in a special sauce.
Homegrown F&B; concepts also flourish at this CapitaMall. Former food court stalls Guan Chee Hong Kong Roast; and Ottoman Kebab and Grill, which serves Turkish cuisine, have opened their first stand-alone restaurants there. In addition, Pho Street, managed by Singapore’s Select Group, dishes out Vietnamese street fare; while Junshin Express, a new start-up, offers healthy fruit and vegetable sushi.
Two novel fast food places can also be found at Bedok Mall: GreenDot, which specialises in meat-free, fusion fast food; and Paik’s Bibimbap, a Korean fast food concept selling healthy bibimbap and bibim noodles by renowned celebrity Chef Jang Wan Paik.
These F&B; new entrants add on to an extensive list of established restaurants at Bedok Mall, including Canton Paradise, C-Jade HK Café, Dian Xiao Er, Din Tai Fung, Itacho Sushi, McDonald’s, Menya Musashi Takatora, Pizza Hut, Pepper Lunch, Poulet, Ramen Play, Starbucks, Swensen’s, Tim Ho Wan and Thai Express.
This CapitaMall has not only won the hearts of shoppers far and wide, it is also a winner in other ways. Bedok Mall, along with Bedok Residences, was accorded the BCA Universal Design Mark Gold PLUS (design) for the integrated development’s accessibility, connectivity and user-friendliness. Bedok Mall and Bedok Residences are also recipients of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum award, the highest accolade for green building certification in Singapore.