Big Smog




 

Hysan Mall is opening tomorrow!

Posted:

 

The long-anticipated Hysan Mall is opening tomorrow – finally. The iconic landmark is expected to draw 100,000 tourists, shoppers and diners every day. This afternoon, Time Out took a quick walk in the 17-storey shopping mall to see how it’s going to handle such a large crowd.

 

 

Among all the features the Mall promises, we raised our eyebrows at the centralised booking system. The system allows visitors to continue shopping while they wait for a table. At the second-floor concierge (served by three staff), visitors can request queue tickets for a maximum of three of the 11 restaurants located on the top floors. Instead of waiting outside restaurants doing nothing, shoppers can carry on their retail therapy and keep track of their queue numbers at the display panel available on each floor.

 

 

 

If you prefer a quickie meal, the 11th floor food court offers 11 dining options. Unlike most underground food courts, Hysan’s food court is rather spacious and equipped with plentiful cozy sofas, as well as the typical long benches. Pick a seat by the window and enjoy a rare mid-Causeway Bay panorama of the Hong Kong Stadium.   

 

 

 

Those who are mall-savvy will love the express escalators that sprawl across floors. The escalators take you on a visual journey that lifts you up from the busy Sogo horde, and if you have time to go far enough, it rewards you with an unblocked view of the Victoria Harbour. Although the escalators are indeed in express velocity, they are so narrow you can’t really walk up and down without squeezing past someone. The skinny express escalators, Time Out thinks, may not be the most suitable facility catered for impatient shoppers and tourists who walk in packs. Same for the beautifully-decorated double-deck elevators, their capacities so low they could well be the smallest mall elevators in the area.

 

 

 

To continue our theme of narrowness, we were surprised to see the narrow hallways on some of the floors. Well, it somehow calls to mind the fun time shopping at some of the really cramped shopping malls in Causeway Bay, such as The Point (at Sugar Street). Not quite exactly what we expected from the grand and gigantic appearance of the Hysan Mall.

 


 

The sky garden on the fourth floor is another highlight, supposedly offering a rare moment of open air in the over-crowded shopping mecca. To our disappointment, the sky garden resembles nothing like a garden with minimal greeneries and rather limited seating area. (Yay, we can sit on the ground!) We’re not sure how much "fresh air” you’ll get here, and it’s more likely it’ll turn into a smoking hub instead.

 

 

 

Don’t get us wrong, shops are actually big and spacious and we, too, cannot wait until they all open later this month. Just be prepared to bat through the crowds – as you do in Causeway Bay. John Yip

 

Stay tuned for our next Causeway Bay issue!

 

Top photo by Calvin Sit, others by John Yip

Tags:

Print Comment Tweet this Share on Invite friends

Add your comment

Time Out Hong Kong reserves the right to remove or edit comments that are potentially defamatory or offensive.

Blog Roll

Archives

 

© 2010 Time Out Group Ltd. All rights reserved. All material on this site is © Time Out.



Powered by C&R