Gold Supermarket Seremban: Now The Store Seremban

This is one of my on-going The Heritage Trail blog post series. Read my disclaimer here first :D. This is article No. 4.

In the 80's Seremban people like to associate buildings or places to gold. This is evident with the shopping malls like Punca Emas (Gold Source), Gama (I presumed the chinese name is Golden Horse) down to housing areas like Taman Mas (Golden Garden) or Taman Bukit Emas (Golden Hill Garden). The word "Gold" is virtually almost everywhere in Seremban. And this shopping mall I am talking about today is no different.

My earliest collection of this building was back somewhere around 1987. I remember this building was an empty building then. Then someone started a Haunted House themed-park with it and it attracted teenage students in droves with its entrance fee of just 50sen. I was green with envy of my two elder sisters able to visit the theme park and I just get to hear stories of how fun and scary the theme park was.

Old Gold Shopping Center

But it didn't stay that way for long. Soon the theme park closed down and the building is haunted again :D But somewhere around 1988 a new shopping center sprang up and it's called GOLD SHOPPING CENTER. I remember the building used to have a big yellow sign of the word GOLD on it's little tower.

It became a very popular very quickly as it is the first shopping mall that carries branded fashion apparels in Seremban. My family shopped often in this place and it's our favorite Chinese New Year shopping outlet every single year. (my family finances has miraculously bounced back then, but that's a story for another day)

Gold Shopping center expanded very quickly. In a short few years, it built another 4-story high shopping complex just at the other end of the street. It's popularity skyrocketed. It's was first shopping mall with fast food joint, even more fashion apparel choices and a row of food delicacy outlet made it the perfect shopping center our little Seremban town. Seremban began to give it a new nick name: Old Gold (Gau Wong Kam) for the first shopping center and New Gold (San Wong Kam) for the newer mall. 

Most of my CNY shopping in my teenage years are done in the newer mall. I remember I got my first 'expensive' watch at this place. It's a chrome silver Bonia watch with a white face. I got it when my mom got two pants for me for and got the watch at a special price of RM50. That watch last me a few years before it gave up it's ghost. I still had the watch with me till today somewhere safely tucked in the drawers. 

Here is where I had my first taste of herbal eggs. Herbal eggs are basically  hard boiled eggs in black herbal soup, cooked for many hours so that the aroma and the goodness of the herbs seeps into the eggs. I fell in love with those eggs ever since and it's a must have every single time we shop at this mall.

New Gold Shopping Center

I don't remember when but I think somewhere in 1994 Gold Shopping Center changed hands and it was renamed to The Store shopping center. Today, both malls are still operating but the nick name remains. Just ask any Seremban-nian chinese - "Where is San Wong Kam (New Gold) ? and they will point you to the right direction. Only Seremban newbies will call it The Store.

My wife & I still shop there once a while. Though it's little old, we find it still has something else to offer in the midst of other shopping malls. There are certain clothing or kitchenware available here and not anywhere else. And the best thing is their prices are still Seremban prices - cheap and good :D