8 Cheap (Or Free) Things We Will Miss When JCube Closes In August

Say goodbye to neoprints, an affordable games arcade, and couple rings.

It’s official. Jurong East shopping mall JCube will soon close its doors to make way for a new residential development.

In February, CapitaLand Development said it obtained the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s provisional permission to redevelop the existing JCube site into a 40-storey apartment block.

While some may look forward to the urban renewal plans in the Jurong area, we are still sad to say goodbye to a 10-year-old shopping mall which holds fond memories for West siders.

What’s there not to love about this old thing? From its wide space of 204,000 sqft to five levels of retail, including two basement car park levels, a skating rink, and a rooftop landscaped plaza, much of the essence of what JCube represents will be missed.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

Here are eight cheap or free things we will miss when JCube shuts its doors on August 6.

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#1 The Only Olympic Skating Rink In Singapore

How much will you spend: Free or $14 per adult for a two hour session

What a beautiful sight to witness the graceful figure skaters dancing on ice like ballerinas.

What’s even better? You don’t even need to pay for tickets to watch the professional skaters practice on the same ice that is shared with the public.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

You may have brought your date to this skating rink in the early days when Singapore had fewer paktor spots. Or brought your family for a day out to experience ice skating during the pandemic as you could not travel.

This is the only Olympic-sized skating rink in Singapore. For younger children, it may have inspired them to become figure skaters by just watching the training sessions of the youths from the Singapore Ice Skating Admission. Many young girls also had the chance to experience winter wonderland and pretended they were Elsa from Frozen at this skating rink.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

The skating rates are also very straightforward, with no hidden prices or sudden fees unlike new recreation establishments. You get to skate until your legs are tired for two hours at $14, with boots rental at a separate fee of $4, subject to festive surcharges. Youths (Primary 6 and below) pay $12 for admission, and $4 for the boots rental. There are also disco ice-skating events on Fridays and Saturdays.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

The opening hours vary due to National Skating Associations Trainings. Some days the rink closes at 11.30pm – you can refer here for the public skating sessions calendar. Ticketing closes one hour before the last public skating session ends. The tickets for public skating can only be made online and tickets sold are non-refundable.

If you don’t plan to skate, you can also just sit by the benches and watch the skaters dance on ice for free.

#2 Rooftop Landscaped Plaza For Picnics, Exercise Classes And Leisurely Walks

How much will you spend: Free

The JCube rooftop offers a space for visitors to thaw from the cold air-conditioning in the mall or from skating at The Rink.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

There are also activities and events held on the rooftop plaza. You can also bring some sandwiches for a relaxing picnic with your friends to try a different experience.

Take a break from the shopping and venture to the landscaped plaza to catch some fresh air too.

#3 The Wonderful World Of Whimsy Gaming Arcade

How much will you spend: $0.25 for 1 game token

You can’t find such affordable gaming centres in Singapore anymore. Unless you cross the border, the rates for gaming centres are usually at least $2 per game.

At Whimsy, a $2 note can exchange you 8 tokens, which could mean 8 games. The more tokens you buy the cheaper it gets.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

With just 1 token ($0.25), you can play games like a Clutch Shoot where you throw a ball into a basketball net by pressing a button. There is also a Slam and Win game that only cost 1 token.

There are also nostalgic games like the Street Basketball where you can throw real basketballs into hoops for 4 tokens ($1.00).

Image Credit: Angela Teng

I spotted a father and son playing the arcade games with gusto while visiting the arena, and I can’t help but wonder if there are even alternative cheap sources of entertainment these parents can find for their children once the mall shuts.

#4 Affordable Lifestyle Shops: Daiso, Donki Donki, Value $ Store

How much will you spend: From $1 to $2 for shopping

An interesting feature of JCube is the cluster of affordable lifestyle shops all in one mall.

There are value for money shops like Value $ and Donki Donki at the basement level and Daiso on a higher floor.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

What’s great is that because of the size of the mall, the stores are generally quite large. You can be able get lost for an hour in the shops easily just looking at buying affordable $2 items for household or personal use.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

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#5 Carpark Of Two Floors In The Mall

How much will you spend: As low as $2.50 per car entry; $1.30 per entry for motorcycles

Finding a carpark near the Jurong East MRT area is often quite a hassle. With the JCube carpark going away soon, drivers could be wondering where else can they park their cars for their grocery shopping in the area in future.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

The carpark rates are also affordable, at $1.30 for the first hour, and $0.40 for every subsequent 15 minutes (from 3.30am to 5.59pm). From 6.00pm to 3.29am, the carpark rates are at a low rate of $2.50 per entry.

Motorcycle rates are only at $1.30 per entry.

Since the future mixed-use apartment block will already have residents with their own vehicles to park, Jurong residents and travellers visiting will likely have to park at the HDB blocks in the area or at nearby shopping malls like Westgate or Jem.

For comparison, Westgate’s carpark fees are cost much more, at $1.60 for the first hour, and $0.55 for every subsequent 15 minutes (from 12 midnight to 5.59pm). From 6.00pm to 11.59pm, the carpark rates are at $3.25 per entry.

#6 Public Massage Chairs On Almost Every Floor

How much will you spend: From $2 for a 6-minute session

This is a sight to behold, as the massage chairs reminds me of older malls like City Plaza at Paya Lebar.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

There are at least 10 massage chairs found in various corners of JCube. Some patrons were seen using the chairs to massage their tired backs.

The prices are also not expensive, at $2 for a 6-minute session, $5 for a 15-minute session, and $10 for a 30-minute session.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

The chairs can massage the full back as well as thighs. They are also automated, so you just need to insert your dollar notes into the machine to start using them without interacting with anyone.

#7 J.Avenue (Dozens Of Shops Selling Clothes, Accessories And Gifts)

How much will you spend: Free (window shop) or from $5 for a top

This zone sells blogshop pieces as low as $5. The wallet friendly corner of the mall is one hangout students and bargain hunters go to for brand new discounted items.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

I bought a willowy pair of black pants for only $10, and I could even ask for a new piece. The space reminded me a little of Bugis Street, but with air-conditioning, neater shops and no tourists.

#8 Youth Time Favourites: Neoprints And Couple Rings

How much will you spend: From $10 for two neoprint photo strips

Other interesting features that stood out were the nostalgic stores from our youth days like couple ring shops and neoprint booths. It reminded me of Junction 8 and Plaza Singapura malls before they were revamped.

Customised couple rings, matching necklaces or keychains used to be a thing when many of us were younger. There is a store that sells items like this and it is as if time stood still in that shop while consumer habits evolved.

You can still be able to engrave your faces on the necklaces or keychains as well in the rings which are mostly made of stainless steel or silver material – just like in the past.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

You pay $10 for two photo strips of neoprint and you can decorate them and have four different poses for the prints. You will get two strips – your friends and you can share them once they are printed out on the spot from the machine.

Image Credit: Angela Teng

Although the price of taking a neoprint has definitely shot up since our school days, I suppose that’s because of inflation over the years and lower demand for such prints these days.

Life Goes On As Urban Renewal Is A Common Occurrence, But How Can We Better Preserve Our Memories And The Past?

There is a Chinese saying that goes by “there is no banquet that will last forever” (天下无不散之宴席) which means that even good things will also come to an end.

Even enjoyable experiences cannot last forever. It is true that we might have to accept that times are constantly changing and there is the need to move on eventually – in this instance the tearing down of a shopping mall that holds nostalgic memories to make way for something new.

The writer taking a selfie before all of this disappears soon / Image Credit: Angela Teng

We are aware that developers have to constantly look for properties under their portfolio to renew and refresh them to make money, and that urban developers have to constantly look at plots of land in the country to renew and update them. Perhaps the question is on how to approach the conversion of estates that hold a part of our past so that residents don’t feel that they are losing a part of their childhood when buildings like these get torn down.

It could easily be done by finding tactful ways to do so while pushing forward with Singapore’s urbanisation plans. For example, a way to do so could be to hold carnivals to commemorate the end of the life cycle of the space, or perhaps capture a virtual version of the mall and upload it on the internet like a Google maps, so that we can get to “reexperience” these urban estates that holds our fond memories.

Urban redevelopment is not something that is happening to just this generation. Even our parents experienced it too. That’s how fast the country develops and the places they used to visit are now new malls and spaces.

In fact, some of our parents’ memories are now found in museums. The National Museum of Singapore has an exhibition called Off/ On that is an immersive showcase that explores the technology of the past and today. There are typewriters and desk phones, salons of the past and remakes of traditional coffeeshops for the youths of today to experience the past.

Perhaps one day in the not so far future, these memorabilia – neoprints, gaming arcades, and customised couple rings – might just become the next exhibition pieces in a museum.

Featured Image Credit: Angela Teng

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