Senayan Park Mall in Senayan, Jakarta
By our rough estimate, there’s about a gajillion malls littered in & around Jakarta. Ergo, you’d forgive us if we’re not overly excited whenever there’s a new mall opening in the city.
That being said, the new Senayan Park (SPARK) mall which opened on 18th August has us convinced that it’s far from being just another mall. With its large outdoor area and an actual lake, we can definitely see ourselves lounging lazily here once it’s safe to go out again.
An oasis in the middle of the city
The front facade of SPARK mall at night
Image credit: @kipungkiong
The new SPARK mall is located in Jalan Gerbang Pemuda, next to the TVRI Headquarters marked by its tall television tower and to the north of the GBK sports complex. Older millennials might remember that the mall sits on the land formerly occupied by the Taman Ria Senayan theme park.
The TVRI tower visible from the outdoor plaza
Image credit: @myrideventure
The mall is essentially divided into two halves – an indoor section where most of the tenants, mostly F&B ones at the time of writing, are located and a large outdoor plaza next to a lake that is also accessible to bicycles. An outdoor jogging track and amphitheater are part of this outdoor section too.
One of several photo spots beside the lake
Image credit: @heropucuk007
Of course, those on the hunt for likes aren’t overlooked as the mall has set up several spots around the lake meant to bolster your Instagram game. If you’ve been missing Singapore, one spot even straight-up mimics the colorful Urban People sculpture of ION Orchard.
Colorful sculptures located in the plaza
Image credit: @malikibrhm_
While the place has been open since 18th August, the majority of tenants inside the mall aren’t open yet because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But rest assured, there’ll be plenty to keep us occupied once everything settles down.
Tenants include the first Jakarta outlet of US coffee chain Biggby Coffee
Biggby Coffee outlet in SKA Mall at Pekanbaru, Riau
Image credit: @biggbycoffeeid
This year, the local coffee scene that has been so far dominated by local chains is set to become more crowded. US-based Biggby Coffee is slated to open in the mall after opening their first Indonesian outlet in Pekanbaru, Riau last year.
Black Sesame Bagel sandwich from Biggby
Image credit: @bigbycoffeeid
Biggby is especially interesting as they’re known for their bagels in the US, and quality bagels are still uncommon in Jakarta. We’re looking forward to seeing how they compare with the contemporary sandwich shops in the city.
Other notable tenants include ramen chain Ippudo and Holywings Gold, an upscale version of the popular local watering hole Holywings. As the mall mainly focuses on F&B, there won’t be a lot of shopping experiences here yet, but beauty shop Sociolla already has a spot in the mall.
Senayan Park is a new take on shopping malls
It’s bold for a shopping mall to claim to be “an oasis in the city”, but we admit SPARK is entirely justified in making that claim with its wide green spaces.
We’re hoping SPARK becomes the spark, pun intended, that the city needs to integrate more shopping malls with nature.
For more spots to visit around Jakarta, check out these stories:
- 10 indie hangout spots in Jakarta
- 8 cycling spots in & around Jakarta
- M Bloc Space set to expand in 2021
Cover image adapted from @houseofoodies and @reviewinid
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