By Laura Zhang
There has been much hype about the return of Gong Cha, a bubble tea chain, as news broke that their first flagship store will be located at Paya Lebar Singpost Centre this coming December. Likewise, Golden Village (GV), a leading cinema exhibitor will introduce Singapore’s first all-new laser projection multiplex, at the same Centre, this Friday (6 Oct).
On selecting the Singpost Centre as the location for the new multiplex which will feature eight auditoriums seating a total of 756 moviegoers at any one time, GV marketing director, Ms Ching Su-Yin, told The Independent:
“We noticed that under the urban redevelopment masterplan of 2008, the area around Paya Lebar MRT would be developed into a suburban commercial node. We have witnessed these developments with the sprouting of malls like Paya Lebar Square and SingPost centre and the sightings of new private residential apartments and HDBs along Circuit and MacPherson road.
“These are all new developments that were once occupied by light industrial and car mechanical shops. This newly developed commercial and residential areas with easy accessibility via public transport, gives Golden Village the opportunity to bring movies closer to the working executives and residents of Paya Lebar.”
Laser technology, deluxe seating and delicious bites
Although the “Golden Village” logo outside the Centre may be enough to attract movie buffs – casual viewers may also turn up in droves at the new multiplex that features the new projection technology, more comfortable seating, and more bites for food enthusiasts to drool over.
With a brightness of 20,000 lumens, the Barco Smart Laser Projection delivers unprecedented picture quality, far outperforming traditional digital projections. The new system creates higher contrast, clearer, crisper imagery and higher colour saturation, providing viewers with a far superior visual effect.
Similarly, auditorium seating has undergone a radical re-think from conventional cinema row-seating.
Fusing contemporary design with essential modern-day comfort, GV Paya Lebar’s latest seating concept in its DUO DELUXE hall, with opulent twin leatherette seats, specially designed with lumbar cushion. All halls in GV Paya Lebar (except DUO DELUXE hall) are fitted with ProBax® seats which dramatically increases comfort –first introduced in GV Suntec City and designed to encourage an anatomically correct posture in the seat occupant, removing the slumped posture often created in foam-based seats.
Having received positive feedback from patrons, all seats in GV Paya Lebar (except seats in the DUO DELUXE hall) were fitted with ProBax® seats, according to Ms Ching Su-Yin.
GV’s grab & Gold® café will offer a new set of menu, including Banana Fritters, Cheese Poppers, Beef Chilli Cheese Fries, Otah Samosa, Coney Dog Roll, Basil Cheese Pizza, Thai Chicken Basil Rice and various flavours of cakes and desserts.
Throwback to the old cinema culture in Paya Lebar
According to Singapore Post Limited, a provider of domestic and international postal services, SingPost Centre is housing the new General Post Office, which combines traditional counter service with technology-enabled innovations such as POPStations and eSAM machines over a space measuring 3,330 sq ft. The new General Post Office will also have a heritage corner, where customers can enjoy a learning journey through SingPost’s 150 years of history serving the Singapore community.
The new mall is owned by Singapore Post and managed by CapitaLand Limited.
Located conveniently next to the Paya Lebar MRT interchange station serving the East-West Line and Circle Line, a region in the east of Singapore with 120,000 square metres (sq m) of land earmarked by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for development into a vibrant commercial hub.
As the commercial hub nearest to the CBD, Paya Lebar Central is expected to house approximately 500,000 sq m of commercial space when fully developed. It will also be a stone’s throw away from the Geylang Serai civic area, which is expected to play host to a multitude of community events throughout the year.
In fact, the area was once known to be home to many cinemas back in the day, before they disappeared due to redevelopment. In a way, the new cinema appears to be a throwback to the old theatre culture at Paya Lebar.