Slow days at once-bustling City Hall food courts

This food court at the Tempat Letak Kereta Brickfields used to be teeming with people at one point in time. Photos YAP CHEE HONG and CHAN TAK KONG

FOOD courts in Kuala Lumpur during lunch hour used to be a hive of activity.

These places would be teeming with people waiting patiently for an available table or queueing at their favourite stalls to order their lunch.

Unfortunately, the din of cooks stirring furiously in their respective kitchens may be a thing of the past, judging from the scene at these eating places today.

Despite the economy reopening under the National Recovery Plan (NRP), the Malaysian capital city’s food courts are largely silent, and in some parts even deserted, with only a handful of stalls operating.

Empty chairs and tables — some of which have been plastered with tape to comply with Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) — may be part of the new norm.

The camaraderie and social interactions that people have come to expect while enjoying meals at their local food courts before the Covid-19 pandemic could very well be history, seeing that many Malaysians are avoiding public eating spaces and continuing to opt instead for takeaways or online deliveries.

However, many feel that these places will see a return of walk-ins for indoor dining as the number fully vaccinated people increases.

Although it has been about two months since the government allowed dine-in to resume, StarMetro discovered that most of these food courts, including those located in busy commercial areas, remain deserted.

Surviving via takeaways

At Medan Selera Mega food court in Jalan Kelang Lama, which is right in the heart of a commercial area that is choked with traffic during lunch hour in normal times, the food court’s carpark was empty on the day StarMetro visited.

The food court was deserted as well.

One of the traders there said he only used his food stall for storage now.

“I started renting this space eight years ago and business was good then.

“But slowly, it got worse and people just stopped coming,’’ said the trader who wanted to remain anonymous.

On the second floor, only one stall was open and that was only for takeaways.

The stall owner, who also did want to be identified, said, “I used to run Restaurant Cao Shu Fen at 3rd mile of Jalan Kelang Lama for 30 years. We were famous.

“But we had to close the place and moved to Puchong.

“Two years ago, we moved to this food court.

“We only do takeaways nowadays, and 90% of our customers are regulars.”

Similar sentiments were shared by a trader operating at the Tun Sambanthan Complex in Brickfields, where only two stalls were open on the ground floor.

Restoran Ah Goh, a 60-year-old establishment that had relocated from the former site known as The Pines in Brickfields, is the sole Chinese trader at the food court.

“We used to be packed every night back in the day, but no longer.

“Now we get regulars from before but never the big crowds,” said one of the workers.

The Medan Selera food court in Brickfields Carpark Complex used to be one of the more popular eateries in the area too.

But even here, only a few people were seen having their lunch.

“Nowadays, people just drop by to tapau (pack) lunch,’’ said S. Sally, who operates S.A. Anandham Home Cooked Meals with her husband R. Vijay.

“We don’t get many customers dining in anymore, but people still order takeaway because we serve authentic traditional Indian food,’’ she elaborated.

Raja Surendran, who runs Raja Cik Ku Teh Herbal Vegetable at the same place, said he was struggling as business had been slow.

“It used to be so good two years ago, when this place was always packed. But now people are not coming here anymore.

“I cannot sustain the business if people don’t come in,” he lamented, “we hope things will get better.”

Even in Masjid India, one of Kuala Lumpur’s busiest commercial areas, traders at two food courts said they were barely making ends meet with customers mostly comprising workers in the area.

At the Jalan Masjid India food court, trader Samriyah Basut, 54, said cheap food was the main draw for those who patronised the place.

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors to this area mostly preferred to dine in the restaurants as those had a better environment.

“Here, our customers were mainly the retail workers who could not afford the steeper prices at the restaurants,” she recalled.

She said the situation worsened during the pandemic, when non-essential businesses were forced to close, depriving food court traders of their main clientele.

Now, on a good day, she is able to make just enough to cover her daily expenses.

“On days that I earn more, I use the extra money to settle my other bills,” she said.

Samriyah, who has been operating her stall in Masjid India for 20 years, said many of the other traders were unable to sustain their businesses and had closed down.

“Some, though, have just temporarily halted their business until the situation improves,” she added.

Low rental a lifesaver

Pak Ali, who has been selling fresh coconut drinks at the same food court, said the cheap rental was the only reason he was still surviving.

“If I were to open up a shop or stall anywhere else, I could not afford it.

“We pay RM114 a year in rental to DBKL. Nowhere else is there such affordable rental.”

He said the affordable rental was also the reason traders were able to keep the prices of food and drinks low.

“We cater to those who can only afford these prices.

“Hopefully, customers will start coming back to the area and more traders will be able to open again,” added Pak Ali.

Amira Salleh, a secretary working in KL Sentral, said she no longer went for the leisurely lunches she used to enjoy at food courts in pre-Covid-19 days.

“I prefer to take away or pack food from home now.

“I don’t trust the hygiene levels at food courts anymore.

“I just want to be safe, and after two years of being careful, I no longer feel like sitting there for lunch.

“But who knows, I may change my mind later,” she added.

The almost two-year-long pandemic has no doubt impacted food businesses in the city, causing many popular establishments to close shop.

Among the casualties this year were the Rasa Food Arena in Suria KLCC and the famed Coliseum Cafe in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.