I saw this as it was being built in January. Two weeks ago, I was in the area with a friend from Taipei, who told me it was the "fobbiest" place she had ever seen. Unfortunately, it was closed (the time was 11 pm) by the time we wanted to take a look.
Today was my lucky day to check out the newest mall that has hit the fobbiest neighborhood in New York (Flushing)!
Most of the stores were still under construction, but the ones that were open -- were very nice. However, I can only give this place 3 stars because there aren't that many stores, and they're wayyy too specialized and definitely are not catering to the correct audience.
Today, I saw an MNG by Mango. I loved the store when I was in Hong Kong, but I'm pretty sure Main Street, Flushing is not the appropriate venue. The mall also housed a store called Irresistible, which sold home decor items, as well as beauty on the second floor. I have to admit, the space that it's in is very, very pretty (I also thought that, with the lit-up spiral staircase and fish pond, it would make a really great space for a lounge or nightclub). The store sells alot of fake flowers (that look surprisingly real), picture frames, candles, etc. My only qualms were the price tags attached to these items -- a candle ran around $13. Being the Asian that I am, I know that if I go tot Main Street, I should be able to find cheap goodies, not prices that run the range of Soho stores.
There's also a cigar store there, which was nice to look at. I then walked by the most ornate place (Rose House) ever. It was both tacky and somewhat pretty at the same time. Apparently it's a place were you can get tea service (I had a really good tea service at BPL when I was in Boston). I was tempted to go in, but my full stomach and aversion to high prices told me to walk the other way.
Up some stairs, I ran into a Korean restaurant called Ah Rhee Soo Korean Japanese Cuisine. Unfortunately, it was closed. Like the rest of the mall, it was insanely pretty.
Bottom line: This mall is a really nice space (if you're into high ceilings and lots of light). From the outside, it definitely looks like someone pulled a kitschy mall out of Asia and transplanted it here. On the inside, it reminded me of the more posh malls in Hong Kong. However, it was mostly empty on a day when people should've been scrambling to find a/c indoors, so I guess only time will tell if this place will be a hit or not. read more