Lalaport BBCC Kuala Lumpur Review

After a long time, 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 hosted a special media preview of their lifestyle mall, ahead of its opening on 20 January 2022.

Review of Lalaport BBCC Kuala Lumpur

It has been two whole years since I last attended an event 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 part of 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 site has a total floor area of 133,000 square meters, comprising a retail space of 82,600 square meters and approximately 2,400 parking bays. The lifestyle mall plans to open about 400 stores in stages, with 80 outlets set to open on 20 January 2022.

Gourmet Street will be one of the busiest areas of the mall.

This means that more stores will open over the coming months, and management expects to reach around 80% occupancy by mid-year. Lalaport KL is also situated in the heart of the RM8.7 billion Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), a 7.9-hectare mixed-use urban development project currently under construction on the former Pudu jail site.

The shopping mall is designed based on the concepts of “modern simplicity” and “Japanese flavour”, reflecting its Japanese heritage. Several event spaces, including Gourmet Street and the Central Rooftop Garden, offer approximately 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?

Coo&Ruki is a Japanese pet shop that will be the talk of the town.

Among its tenants are 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

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

Gourmet Street at Lalaport.

What are the food and beverage (F&B) areas in Lalaport BBCC?

The shopping mall features three food areas, including the 1,400-seat Garden Dining Food Court, Gourmet Street, and Depachika Marche. Each is hosted in different sections of the lifestyle mall, catering to various walks of life, families, or shoppers.

Where is Lalaport BBCC? 

This new Japanese-themed lifestyle mall is situated along Jalan Pudu and Hang Tuah, where the former Pudu Prison, also known as 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

The former Pudu Jail, now known as Pudu Prison, is all that remains, 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 alongside UDA Holdings Bhd, Eco World Development Group Bhd, and the Employee Provident Fund (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, following Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Shanghai Jinqiao in 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 taken around Lalaport BBCC during my media preview on January 17, 2022, a few days before the venue opened to the public.

Inside one of the court areas of the mall.

WOW Plaza connects to Gourment Street.

Nicely done interior design at Lalaport BBCC.

The beautiful interior of the shopping mall.

Central Rooftop Garden, outside Garden Dining at the 4th floor.

Some of the beautiful Instagram angles inside Lalaport.

NITORI Furniture Outlet.

Nitori showroom at Lalaport BBCC.

Nojima electrical store.

Puchi Marry Cat Cafe at Coo&Riku.

A beautiful sign inside the building.

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 COVID-19.

Now that things have improved since the COVID-19 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. If you have any questions or would like to add something, please do so in the comment section below. And yes, more shops will be opening here over the next few months.