After a long way, I finally managed to visit the latest Japanese-themed lifestyle mall in KL and here is my Lalaport BBCC Kuala Lumpur review.
On 17 January, Lalaport BBCC had a special media preview of their lifestyle mall before the opening, set for 20 January.
Review of Lalaport BBCC Kuala Lumpur
It has been two whole years since I attended any events in Malaysia, and the pre-opening media preview of Lalaport BBCC was a great start to 2022.
If you still need to learn, Lalaport is under the Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd group and manages Mitsui Outlet at Sepang. This project is their first lifestyle mall in Southeast Asia.
What is Lalaport?
LaLaport BBCC is a Japanese lifestyle-themed shopping mall focusing on today's trends. The place has a total floor area of 133,000 sq m, a retail space of 82,600 sq m and about 2,400 parking bays.
The lifestyle mall plans for about 400 stores to be opened in stages, while 80 outlets are opening this 20 January 2022.
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| Gourmet Street will be one of the busy areas of the mall. |
This means that more stores will open over the coming months, and the management will see around 80% occupancy by mid of this year.
Lalaport KL is also located in the core of the RM8.7 billion Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), a 7.9-hectare mixed-use urban development project under construction on the former Pudu jail site.
The shopping mall is designed based on "modern simplicity" and "Japanese flavour" design concepts with its Japanese heritage.
Several event spaces, such as the Gourmet Street and Central Rooftop Garden, offer about 1,700 sq m.
Zepp Kuala Lumpur, one of Japan's leading concert halls, will open in the "entertainment hub" area adjacent to LaLaport BBCC.
The mall plans to have regular music events and campaigns in this facility in collaboration with Zepp, which operates 10 other facilities in Japan and Taiwan.
Who are the Tenants at Lalaport BBCC?
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| Coo&Ruki is a Japanese pet shop that will be the talk of the town. |
Among its tenants include Japanese brands that are making their first appearance in Malaysia, including;
- Shin'Labo
- Matcha Eight
- Star Child - Japanese concept childcare nursery
- NITORI - A Japanese concept furniture shop
- Coo&RIKU - A Japanese pet shop with the famous Pucci Marry cat cafe
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| Matcha Eight is a Japanese speciality ice cream shop that will be the craze here. |
Other tenants opening now include;
- Body Glove
- Focus Point
- Life n Fitness
- Guardian
- The Face Shop
- JONETZ by Don Don Donki
- Jaya Grocer
- MR DIY
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| Gourmet Street at Lalaport. |
What are the F&B areas in Lalaport BBCC?
The shopping mall has three food areas, including the 1,400-seating capacity Garden Dining Food Court and Gourmet Street and Depachika Marche.
Each is hosted in different sections of the lifestyle mall and caters to different walks of life, families or just plain shoppers.
Where is Lalaport BBCC?
This new Japanese-themed lifestyle mall is located along Jalan Pudu and Hang Tuah, where the former Pudu Prison or Pudu Jail was located. From Bukit Bintang or Berjaya Times Square, it is just a short walk to get here.
- Address: 2, Bukit Bintang City Centre, Jalan Hang Tuah, Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
- Hours: 10.00 AM to 10.00 PM
- Phone: 03-2731 3555
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| The former Pudu Jail or Pudu Prison is now just the entrance facade. |
Who Owns Lalaport BBCC?
Mitsui Fudosan's first LaLaport mall in Southeast Asia, under its Malaysian subsidiary MFBBCC Retail Mall Sdn Bhd — a company among UDA Holdings Bhd, Eco World Development Group Bhd and the Employee Provident Fund or EPF.
The RM1.6 billion retail mall was developed by Mitsui Fudosan's 50 per cent-owned Malaysian subsidiary MFBBCC Retail Mall Sdn Bhd. The consortium partners own the remaining 50 per cent.
LaLaport BBCC is the second LaLaport shopping mall overseas after Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Shanghai Jinqiao, China.
Video of Lalaport BBCC
The video below was taken during the media preview and shows the shopping mall, locations and areas. It was also edited by me on the same day and published.
Photos of Lalaport BBCC
Below are random photos that were taken around Lalaport BBCC during my media preview on 17 January 2022, a few days before opening to the public.
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| Inside one of the court areas of the mall. |
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| WOW Plaza connects to Gourment Street. |
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| Nicely done interior design at Lalaport BBCC. |
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| The beautiful interior of the shopping mall. |
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| Central Rooftop Garden, outside Garden Dining t the 4th floor. |
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| Some of the beautiful Instagram angles inside Lalaport. |
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| NITORI Furniture Outlet. |
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| Nitori showroom at Lalaport BBCC. |
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| Nojima electrical store. |
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| Puchi Marry Cat Cafe at Coo&Riku. |
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| A beautiful sign inside the building. |
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| Wow Plaza connects the mall to the residence at Gourmet Street. |
Conclusion
At the end of the day, people want something new and different; hence, the Lalaport BBCC opening is perfect, especially after a two-year lockdown and much uncertainty about Covid19.
Now that things have improved since Covid19 lockdowns, more people are comfortable going to shopping malls. Therefore, this mall should see visitors coming to check out the place.
For the record, I initially did an article about Lalaport Kuala Lumpur in July 2017, but the project was delayed due to the pandemic.
I hope you enjoyed my Lalaport BBCC Kuala Lumpur review, and if you have anything to ask or add, please do so in the comment section below. And yes, more shops will be opening here over the next few months.