Kai Tak AIRSIDE shopping mall officially opens on September 28
Located in the core area of Kai Tak, AIRSIDE shopping mall with an area of 700,000 square feet is scheduled to officially start its first phase of trial operation on September 28, 2023. The mall promotes the concept of "Wholeness" to create a new urban lifestyle. It has built an art space of over 10,000 square feet, including the GATE33 Art Gallery managed by AIRSIDE's professional art team. In addition, AIRSIDE has a total of 6,000 square feet of urban farms, becoming the first construction project in Hong Kong to be awarded seven major green and smart building certificates.
During the first phase of the trial operation, a large-scale opening event themed "Up in AIRSIDE" will be held in the mall, focusing on aviation and flight, symbolizing the transformation of Kai Tak Airport from the iconic aviation hub of the past to a new landmark in Kowloon. Citizens are invited to review the development of Hong Kong's aviation industry through immersive interactive experiences and exhibitions like "flying", and witness Kai Tak's new milestone together!
The theme of the large opening exhibition is "Desire to Fly". The "Idea Cloud" exhibition hall is built in the atrium on the 2nd floor. Together with the GATE33 Art Gallery on the 3rd floor, it serves as an exhibition carrier, leading the audience to wander between the glorious history of Kai Tak Airport and the imagination of various art units on flying. The exhibition is supported by Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering. It displays a number of historical collections provided by the Swire Public Records Department, as well as personal collections of senior aviation personnel, including pilots' precious flight logs, old airport photos, tourist posters, flight maps, old air tickets and boarding passes. These exhibits echo with artworks such as videos, installations, immersive interactive designs, etc. created by 21 local art units, creating a multi-sensory experience. A small single-engine aircraft, the Beagle 100, will also be exhibited on the ground floor of AIRSIDE as an extension of the exhibition. The small aircraft was piloted by Hong Kong aviation legends "Qian Brothers" Qian Yaozong and Qian Yaochang in 1971. They set off from the UK and traveled to 14 countries in a thrilling 30-day journey. It finally landed smoothly on Runway 31 of Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport on the evening of January 8, 1972, setting three flight records and one world record in Hong Kong aviation history. Aircraft fans should remember to visit the event to get a close look at the majestic Beagle 100.
In addition, AIRSIDE has commissioned a number of artists to use the Kai Tak community as inspiration and combine AIRSIDE’s expectations for the area to create art works in different media, injecting a unique artistic vision into the new landmark, while interpreting the changes in Kai Tak’s new and old, prompting the audience to think about the relationship between themselves and the surrounding environment.
The mall will have a new MCL AIRSIDE cinema with 7 theaters and 900 seats. It will also have a special LUXE: A RealD Experience giant screen theater with a built-in 19-meter by 9-meter revolutionary RealD Ultimate Screen, coupled with a Dolby Atmos sound system, to present a top giant screen experience. Several international stores are also located here, including the 12,000-square-foot MUJI store, the German luxury home appliance brand Miele, and Asia’s first Nespresso experiential concept boutique.
Many local brands have also moved in, including the original design lifestyle store B’IN Select, the handmade brand White Paper Life Concept Museum, the high-quality boutique store Garian that collects lifestyle items from all over the world, the creative brand HIUCHI that combines illustrations, pottery and lifestyle products, the slow-living light jewelry collection store Plaform O, and the Hong Kong original design handmade brand Fingers Work & The Wax Can, etc., to create a tasteful and quality life. During the opening period, Taiwan’s design shopping website Pinkoi will also open a limited-time “Pinkoi Autumn Expo Store”! In addition to selling popular delicacies, Pinkoi will also bring the "Pinkoi x SOU・SOU Collaboration Series" launched with the Kyoto cultural and creative brand SOU・SOU in Japan. More than 200 collaborative products will be unveiled and sold to the public for the first time in the physical store. A large lifestyle store city’super covering an area of 25,000 square feet and Hong Kong’s first large indoor surfing area in a shopping mall will also be located here.
As a pet-friendly mall, there are of course stores for pets. These include HOLA il colpo Hair & Pets, the first high-quality pet beauty care service under the star-level luxury hair and beauty group IL COLPO Group; Hong Kong's first Japanese pet shop with the concept of PET BOUTIQUE, which introduces Japanese kimonos, seasonal fashion, Japanese handmade products, etc., as well as a Japanese-style environment for pet owners to check in in kimono style; Ruff & Fetch airport theme retail store with self-service pet washing and rehabilitation facilities and furry pet gathering space; and Purr’Licious, an exclusive space that provides a variety of high-quality pet cat snacks, toys and environmentally friendly pet cat supplies. On the occasion of the opening, the mall also held a series of themed activities for pets, including workshops and parties, allowing visitors to spend happy time with their pets.
The mall has a total of 40 restaurants, covering a wide range of dining options - whether it is Asian delicacies, international cuisine, specialty bakeries, open-air cafes, light meal check-in cafes and tea houses, popular cross-border cuisine or local ginger food shops, all are available.
Nana's green tea, a popular matcha shop in Japan, will open its first branch in Hong Kong at AIRSIDE shopping mall, allowing diners to enjoy a variety of tea-based drinks and exquisite desserts made with the highest quality matcha powder without having to go to Japan. The new store of imported solid wood furniture store ALOT Living located in AIRSIDE shopping mall will integrate the catering concept for the first time and collaborate with Relish to launch Relish Kitchen by ALOT, using the brand's imported furniture products to create a high-quality Japanese leisure space for diners, and provide a variety of Japanese and Western food creative dishes to create a new experience. AIRSIDE Cafe, a new-style cooking concept store, is the latest masterpiece of Cafe Deco Group. It covers an area of more than 1,600 square feet and is inspired by the transparent glass house design, allowing natural sunlight to shine through the roof into every corner of the restaurant, providing everyone with a comfortable and cozy dining environment.
Popular restaurants include Chef’s Cuts, a Western steakhouse; Dongbaek, a Korean BBQ restaurant in Busan, South Korea, which specializes in Korean BBQ and traditional Korean cuisine; Michui, a Japanese curry omelet rice specialty store; Abu Yabu, a signature roast duck specialty store; Lan Yue, a modern Chinese restaurant; Lotte Dynasty, which specializes in exquisite and innovative Chinese northern and southern cuisine and classic Beijing, Sichuan and Shanghai cuisine; and boutique coffee Ideaology. The over 10,000-square-foot Foodmuse food court houses 11 dining brands, providing a multi-national dining experience.