Suria KLCC's RASA Food Arena closes after more than two decades

THE Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the food business and one popular spot among locals and tourists – RASA Food Arena in Suria KLCC – has closed down its operations from Wednesday (Sept 1).

With a simple note written on a red board placed at the entrance, the announcement of the food court's closure brought much sadness to regulars and even some expatriates who live in Kuala Lumpur.

“Thank you! It is with great sadness that we announce the permanent closure of RASA Food Arena, Suria KLCC from Sept 1, 2021.

"Thank you for your patronage over the wonderful 22 years. It has been our ultimate pleasure to serve you," it said.

A shot of the note with the outlet in the background has gone viral on social media.

The outlet was one of the first tenants when the mall opened in May 1998.

When contacted about the closure, Suria KLCC Sdn Bhd said this decision was not made by the mall management.

Its public relations and communications manager Sherina Khairi said: “As far as we are concerned, the management of Suria KLCC Sdn Bhd does not interfere nor have any say with regards to the tenants’ commercial and operational decision-making.

"In other words, the decision of RASA Food Arena or any other outlets to pull out would be at their sole discretion.”

News of the closure came as a huge shock to many regular patrons as the food court had been a regular fixture for over two decades and was seen as a budget-friendly stalwart at the upmarket shopping mall.

Arni Halina Abdul Halim has been working at the bookstore Kinokuniya, a long-standing tenant at KLCC, for 15 years and is a regular customer at the food court.

She says although the food court had been less busy this year, she was surprised when she found out it has now closed permanently.

“My colleagues and I are so sad about the closure, as the food court is one of our favourite spots to lepak (hang out) during our breaks.

“We like the food court because the pricing is reasonable and some of the stalls are really good, like the mamak stall which had the best teh tarik and the Penang stall which had really yummy assam laksa,” said Arni.

Social media users were generally saddened by this turn of events.

“Goodbye RASA Food Arena Suria KLCC. Surely will be missing that delicious kuey teow soup,” said Mohd Kamal Wong on Facebook.

While Suria KLCC did not comment on whether or not another food court will take up the space, some believed it was only a matter of time before a replacement appeared.

“We don’t know yet whether new management will take on new food stalls, but I believe there will be another food court there,” said Arni with conviction.