You must be wondering why I placed this picture. Well, this is what I had to choose over my son's SPM and my 19th anniversary today. For their sake I hope they will be open, and it taste good. How can KFC taste any different? I can swear that the best tasting KFC was the one in Ampang Park, the one they demolished not too long ago. I will write about Ampang Park in my later posts. It's a story of missed opportunities and lost memories.
Okay back to why I chose KFC. I chose you! (Ala Pokemon.) One of the jobs I do is to ensure that our project shop lots are filled and operating. The one in Bukit Bunga is filled but not operating for reasons only known to them. Thus, we managed to spur KFC's interest to open an outlet there. It's a good location, capturing the market from the East West highway traffic and those coming and going from Buketa, Thailand.
Initially, they promised to open in December 2022. December moved to January and from January to February. This is where we are now. They finally declared that they would open yesterday or today. I was a little skeptical, so I fixed 1st March as the opening date. Apparently, I'd like to be proven wrong and they said it will open today, thus I need to make sure that they are indeed open. At the same time too, I want to have a feel of the initial crowd.
What did it take to get this open? Oh, nothing much just personal intervention with TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) to get things moving. And I am most grateful to TNB Kelantan. They did wonders and they delivered! In the meantime, I continued to haunt the construction site until we arrive to a satisfactory conclusion. With all the time I spent here, which is an hour and a half away from Kota Bharu, I deserve a chicken or two or three, Original Recipe of course with whipped potato.
This is Plaza Bukit Bunga or its full name Plaza IMT-GT Bukit Bunga. What's IMT-GT? It stands for Indonesia Malaysia Thailand - Growth Triangle, a loose collaboration between the 3 nations. Why Indonesia? If we draw a triangle with one end Malaysia and the other Thailand, the other end reaches Indonesia, hence the name.
This was the launch by YAB Menteri Besar Kelantan, Dato' Bentara Kanan Ustaz Dato' Haji Ahmad bin Yakob. My pudgy self is in that mix somewhere. It was launched on 3 November 2019. Why is the date important? That and following month there was a Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China. Following that, Covid crashed the world into a standstill with Malaysia imposing Movement Control Order on 18 March 2020. It was finally lifted nationwide on 8 November 2021.
For almost 2 years nothing was happening at this plaza. Shops were closed and shop owners suffered severe losses. Something had to be done quickly. We hope and plan that the KFC will be the first of many that will spur activities at this plaza. We have even installed public Wi-Fi to attract more visitors.
I will be visiting the latest KFC outlet in a few hours. I will update pictures of the new KFC later. What I hope to see are the shops that have remained close for the past years to now open with the strategy that KFC will attract new visitors to succeed.
Right after the visit I will catch a flight to KL. To be with my son and family? Unfortunately, not yet. Tomorrow, I need to attend our Management Committee meeting where I will officially declare that KFC is now officially open, and that Wi-Fi has been officially installed. I will try the Wi-Fi later and probably make some claims that it's even faster than the Wi-Fi I have at my apartment. Do I stay on with my son throughout his examination? Unfortunately, not again. I need to return to entertain a former Minister that has been hounding day and night about KFC's opening because he is not able to make it today.
Immediately after I shall return to Kuala Lumpur, where I intend to be with my son throughout his examination. Unfortunately, I then need to return again in early March in preparation for the ICC (Implementation and Coordination Committee) Kelantan Meeting to be chaired by YAB Menteri Besar Kelantan on 9 March 2023. Before that there will be an ICC Pahang meeting that will be held on 7 March 2023. Thus, Kota Bharu will be flooded by the Management Team from the 7th and 8th, therefore I need to be here.
One day when I pass this KFC, I will remember the pain it put me through to get it to open. The things we do as a service to our beloved nation.
As promised some new photos after my visit yesterday.
Photo of the newly opened KFC at Plaza IMT-GT Bukit Bunga. Note the cars, previously there wasn't that many cars. The new KFC attracted them.
Please do drop by on your way to and from the East West Highway or to and from Jeli, Kelantan or Buketa, Thailand.
![Joie de vivre [zhwaduh-vee-vruh]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_216,h_216,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png)
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