Seremban First SuperMarket: Gama Supermarket

This is one of my on-going The Heritage Trail blog post series. Read my disclaimer here first :D. This is article No. 2.

One of my earliest memory collection of a supermarket is GAMA Supermarket at Jalan Tunku Hassan. It was the first supermarket for Seremban town at that time (in the 70's). According to a Seremban old-timer, the supermarket was used to be called Sum Long, however not long after Peninsula Plaza opened it's doors, Sum Long closed down it business and taken over by GAMA Supermarket. This was somewhere back in 1980 -1981.

Today, the present building was occupied by Cosmopoint College.

GAMA Supermarket was an 3-stories air-conditioned shopping center. I remember that they have a toys department on the top floor and my parents often gave me free time to gawk at the toys (Transformers Robots were at rage back then!) while they does their shopping.

It was at this supermarket I had my first encounter with plain-clothes security guard. I was still Standard 1 then. My eldest sister brought me and my 2nd sister to shop for stationaries. As we about to leave, a malay man came and ushered us to the staircase at the back. He then went through my sister's purchase. After determining that three of us were not there to shoplift, he then let us go. I was to young to comprehend the situation back then. Looking back now, we does look like little thieves with our shabby looking clothes :D

This street is the nightspot hangout place for many back then.

There is a night market along the Tunku Hassan Street then. After our night shopping at Gama, my parents will take us for a stroll along the night market. I remember some of the stalls very well. There was a stall that always draws me with the smell of it's delicious apam balik, and another stall that sells superglue with a handwritten signboard that says Gam Gajah (Elephant Glue) that promises to bond anything under heaven.

Oh I always remember the stall that sells digital watches - Jam Budak for three ringgit a piece. I always wanted those watches but I never asked my parents to buy it- knowing that being a hawker family we are not that well to do. But being loving parents they bought me the watch for my 10th birthday. I was over the moon! I wore it day and night, in shower and in sleep. I checked the time every 5mins. My heart ache when it got it scratched accidentally while in school. Due to my 'excessive usage', the strap broke and not too long after that it started to fall apart in pieces. I think I lost the watch while keeping it in my pockets.

The night market was relocated to accommodate growing traffic the 90's. This place held a lot of memories for me. Feel free to share your memories in this place below.

The GPS coordinate is 02° 43.542' E101° 56.228'