It has been almost a week I’ve last written something! I would love to thank Plurk for keeping me insanely addicted to the new generaion of MicroBlogging… as well as the laziness of mine who refuses to let me brainstorm what to write.
For the weekend, we went to The Gardens shopping mall, part of the Midvalley Megamall Complex in Malaysia. Midvalley Megamall is one of the biggest malls in Malaysia (only losing to Berjaya Times Square which has a total area greater than that of the Pentagon in the US). The Gardens was opened around September 2007, and it’s geared towards catering to the hedonistic needs of the rich and famous in the city who have nowhere else to spend that swath of cash from economic boom. Normally normal city folks like us just hang around, gawk at the price tags, stare at the brand names and then walk away 
Purple Cane Restaurant - Although it’s located in the high-end mall, dining at Purple Cane Restaurant wasn’t that expensive afterall, as compared to other restaurants in suburban areas in Malaysia. We’ve been here a couple of times, not only to be impressed by the meticulously decorated interior spaces but also to savour the dishes - all cooked by tea. Even the rice they serve is flavoured with tea leaves too!
Our lunch! - This is what we had for lunch. I simply love the honey-glazed chicken in the background (it’s out of focus), and what makes it unique is that they’ve managed to infuse the taste of tea into their dishes without making them taste awkward. Awesome! I never touched the dish to the right - brinjals aren’t my cup of tea (no pun intended).
Connecting Walkway - This walkway connects the original Midvalley Complex with The Gardens. I love the design because it’s not like any other hastily-designed ones you see all around town- They’ve incorporated the concept of elegance, class and transparency (look, no ugly brick walls!) into the walkway. The curvy design is another plus 
not to mention the piano black glass frames. Very nice indeed! Sadly, it’s not highly utilised because it’s entrance near the Midvalley mall isn’t very obvious and many people are oblivious to its existence. How sad!
Interior design - The interior of the mall is also carefully designed, and I really adore the earthy tones they’ve used for everything - from the walls to the tiles, from the pillars to the ceilings. Natural lighting does not only saves electricity which is otherwise used to lightup the spaces, but also create interesting shadows on the interior surfaces, especially at different times of the day.
Vertical view of the void - The Gardens does not lack spaciousness. In fact, the architects are very generous when it comes to creating extra space that makes shopping a pleasure. The walkways that span the void create an interesting geometric pattern when viewed from certain angle. They have not much use when it comes to diverting shopper traffic, but it adds this glossy, modern feeling to the earthy-toned design.
Skyscrapers, Colours vs Black & White - Office buildings are part of the Midvalley Megamall complex too I took this photo when I was questioned by a security personnel in The Gardens because he saw me photographing. He said that I am prohibited from taking photos of the interior space. Hello? It’s not as if interior space constitutes part of your trade secret. But since it’s a private properly, I have to oblige to his request and scoot to the outside. In the public space outside, he has NO rights or whatsoever to stop me from photographing anything I wish.
Back to the photo, I’ve made two versions of it - one in colour and the other in black and white. I don’t know which is better. The former does justice to the lovely reflective surface of the skyscraper, while the latter makes shapes, textures and geometrics stand out. Which you do you like more?
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lunch looks yummy!!! oh well…KL has changed so much since i last remember. i hardly go to megamall. btw, brinjal (known as eggplant in aussie) is one of my favourite dish!!!!!
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Well you should visit Megamall now! It’s so different now. After the completion of The Gardens, the Midvalley Megamall has it’s toilets revamped too, into a more high-class look that resembles those new ones in Sunway Pyramid
I never knew what eggplants were until you strung it together with brinjals!
OMG this place looks awesome!! I’ve never seen anything like it! So many unique and exciting places in Malaysia, all we have here is mediocre buildings made out of red brick!
Btw the lunch looks yummy! *is hungry*
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Actually I love red brick facades
very classical feeling, but too bad the humid weather here doesn’t encourage such surfaces since moss will easily overwhelm the whole brick wall. What an architectural pity…
You know, the fifth and sixth photos remind me so much of the interiors of one of the malls near my house in Jakarta, called Pondok Indah Mall (Wiki)! Structural-wise, the fact that it has four levels, the connecting walkway, the finishes on the upper walls, everything! I think they even opened at the same time.. crazy! Maybe they’re from the same architects? =P
The only thing that is different is the outside “context”. The mall in Jakarta is not surrounded by tall buildings, but rather stands by itself. Either way, it’s awesome to see structures like that and be able to refer it to another place.
Haha! You know, when I saw the word brinjal, I had to look it up! I’m used to calling it “eggplants”. Haha! But that lunch looks especially delish.. because I haven’t eaten yet today, and I should! Haha!
Take care, Teddy!
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Pondok Indah Mall looks exactly the same like The Gardens! The only difference I can tell is that the void between two sides of the mall is wider in Pondok Indah Mall, and it had silvery, reflective panels on the bridges instead of teak wood ones in The Gardens. I think they’re either masterpieces of the same architectural firm, or the biggest copycat move ever (by the firm who designed The Gardens, since Mall 2 of Pondok Indah Mall opened in 2004)
Most suburban malls in Malaysia are like the ones you’ve described - standalone buildings with no towers in sight, at most a hotel or an office building, or condominiums.
I didn’t know what eggplant is until you mentioned it… I thought eggplant and brinjal are completely, distinctly different vegetables
whoops! I brought the issue up at the dining table today and my dad told me that it’s more common for people to call it eggplant.
This just tells me I haven’t been to KL these few years or I haven’t been keeping up with Malaysian news. lol
It looks really cool. But the thought that hit me was, wow. What big space for just the ceiling. Was the decor worth the money and space used? So I was thinking, couldn’t they use natural light with a smaller ceiling-space-thingy.
and I like the first photo of the skyscraper. Personally, I love colour photos. I find the convey more than black and white photos. Or its maybe I haven’t tried taking a bw photo. i guess it’s good to remove distracting colours in backgrounds, but the thought of converting my photos to bw never crossed my mind when i edit them, so, I guess I’m biased.
and oh, i hate eggplant too. it’s just squishy, icky, yucky, especially the fluidity. It’s just not solid enough. Unless it’s a eggplant tempura. If you have the same reason as I have to hate eggplant, try the tempura.
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KL is evolving a lot, especially for the suburbans areas where the malls are frequently undergoing expansion projects as well as refurbishments. The one near my home just got their restrooms upgraded into those that look as if found in 5-star hotels!
As for the construction cost of The Gardens, I think it’s kind of justified since the mall caters exclusively for the richer consumers in KL. So they’ve to make the whole mall as classy and as elegant as possible. I think the huge chunks of wall blocking the transparent ceiling are built to shield the interior from excessive sunlight? The management wouldn’t want people accusing them from unhealthy levels of UV exposure
heh!
I could never decide which photo is suitable for black and white and which isn’t
lol!
I never like eggplants because it’s too soft for me taste… and it’s in an unusual hue for purple, for vegetables. Most of them are green!
i haven’t been to Gardens for a while now and i don’t remember it as cool looking like the pictures that you took :p
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Maybe when you went there it was still under construction? I’ve took photos are the higher levels because there’s too much clutter at the levels beneath. Never liked them hanging ‘SALES’ all around the place
I went to Purple Cane 3 weeks ago, when I went back to KL to visit my gf. The food there is special because they use tea to cook. I remembered I also ordered the honey glazed chicken. Not bad. Too bad I didnt take any picture there.
The Gardens target high end consumer. However, there are a few stalls that we can afford to buy thing. Eg. I buy item from Isetan Sales, which is very very cheap.
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Yea, that’s the concept to made me fall in love with the restaurant - it’s too unique to be true! The person (or chef) who came out with that idea of combining tea and food together must be some genius! The honey glazed chicken is my favourite, and for that day, we were served with extra large chunks! Woots! Normally the chicken is more boney than meaty, lol!
A few months ago we did buy something from Isetan! It’s some fragrance pack where you hang it in your closet to make it smell nice (instead of smelling like old socks and soiled undergarments, lol!)
I also quite like the concept of the restaurant. The tea that is quite nice. I just remembered i ordered the want that is about RM6+. I did not order those about RM10, but I will definitely go there to try when I start working.
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oh wow. amazing pictures. I love ‘em. I like the gardens. the design is stunningly beautiful. Eventhough I’ve been to midvalley for a lot of times, I’ve only been to the gardens just once. and that was not even for shopping. just walking in there, looking around. huhu ;D
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Thank you!
what I love about the design is that they’ve made a good choice of colours - earthy tones are my favourite, so does the minimalistic appeal of the connecting walkway (piano black frames + floor to ceiling glass = awesomeness!)
I have a surprise that might excite you - there’s a Machines (an official Apple vendor) in The Gardens! There’s where I used their iPhone and left a Plurk. I had so much fun playing with the iPod touch!
lovely photos. nice shots!
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Thank you! *bows*
*gasp*
The Gardens is definitely on the top of my must-visit list the next time I stop at KL. Those diagonal walkways are intriguing!
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Wooot …. great dishes that you had during ur patron to purple cane restaurant !! hmm .. feel free to visit http://www.bestfoodjunction.com in order to find more affordable yet fantastic restaurant !! and oh ya .. dun forget to sign up for members as there is some free goodies available !!
enjoy ya day 
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