Exploring the other side of town

We headed out to Kowloon City today just for the heck of it. And we ended up at Kowloon City Plaza. Not many people there at 1:30PM ish.

We ate at Gin Curry probably the cheapest fast food Japanese curry place in town. You can get HKD 17.00 for a plate of rice with curry sauce on top and add a drink + fries for additional HKD 4.00. Not necessary a healthy meal, but you will get stuffed nonetheless.

Then we headed to Jusco Living Plaza, I think the store used to be HKD 10.00 for everything, but prices went up by HKD 2.00. It used to be Jusco $10 Plaza. Well everything is rising except for a living pay check for people living day by day this store may be even too much. But then for those everyday items that you are going to use it maybe worth it. HKD 12.00 for a scrub vs HKD 18 - 24 for a scrub at your local supermarket is much of saving when things add up.

This was the press release of Jusco name change and price change:

23/09/2011

(HONG KONG, 23 September 2011) – AEON Stores (Hong Kong) Co., Limited (“AEON Stores” or the “Group”) (Stock code: 984) today announced that it will rename all of its “JUSCO $10 PLAZA” shops to “JUSCO Living PLAZA” starting from 1 October 2011. The selling price of all products priced at HK$10 will be adjusted to HK$12 effective on the same day.

Stepping into its 12th year of operation since the opening of the first shop on 15 September 2000, “JUSCO $10 PLAZA” has adhered to the principle of selling products at HK$10 to offer customers a variety of value-for-money merchandise. This extraordinary value explains the popularity of these stores among customers in Hong Kong.

To unify the new brand image, all “JUSCO $10 PLAZA” shops are to unveil a new facade featuring the changed name “JUSCO Living PLAZA” starting from 1 October this year while continuing to offer customers more diverse and unique merchandise. At the same time, due to the persistently rising exchange rate of the Japanese Yen in recent years, the Group’s operating costs have surged. In order to maintain the competitiveness and the flexibility of business operations, the selling price of all products priced at HK$10 is to be adjusted to HK$12 on the same day.

Mr. Lam Man Tin, Managing Director of AEON Stores, said, “We believe that the unified brand image and price adjustment will help to bring in more diversified, unique and quality merchandise to further satisfy the needs of our customers. We look forward to consumers’ continuous support and enjoyment of the brand new shopping experience provided by AEON Stores.”

There are a bunch of mom and pop stores at this plaza. You can find some nooks and crannies cheaper than what you can find at let say compared to store like Log On. I managed to put together two gift boxes for donation to Box of Hope for HKD 108.00 (under USD 15.00) at Jusco. A cute lunchbox set and an educational set with color pencils, sharpener and alphabet rulers.