Henderson Place Mall — Attraction in Coquitlam

This mall is very strange and could have many more stores in vacant rental spaces. There is a mishmash of vendors, restaurants and services. However, the grocery/produce store is the anchor and has a good variety of Asian items, fresh local produce and really good BBQ pork that is neither over-roasted nor has a strong five-spice flavour which I've found at other stores.

Maxim's bakery also has frequent customers though their prices have increased considerably over the years with buns becoming smaller and custard tart shells being pre-made and not the flaky ones anymore. Their mango cakes are still excellent. The dim sum place across the hallway has in-house made dumplings and ones from a regional supplier. Good, though expensive. The ramen restaurant (which I reviewed elsewhere) is also excellent and reasonably priced.

The mall celebrates various events such as Halloween and Christmas and has displays at the Centre stage. Line-ups may not be as long for photos with Santa as compared to large malls. There's a lot of parking on the rooftop. Indoor parking on the ground and second floor can be rather chaotic and are full during the weekends. Only recently discovered the basement parking which is accessible off...

Ahhh.. Coquitlam's "Other" shopping Centre.

Time has not been kind to Henderson Place. The most frequented stores in this mall are: Maxim's Bakery, Nutri Herd (Traditional Chinese Medicine stuff), New Pacific Supermarket (asian supermarket, similar to T&T but much smaller), and Seven Korean Bakery.

There is also a Karaoke place here.

To my knowledge, this mall has been here for a very, very long time since 1999. I think I started going here in 2001-2002 going to Nutriherb. I have seen, most of the mall change during that time. . . Very, very little has changed.

My experiences here are virtually the same each time. I go to the traditional chinese herbalist, go to the super market or bakery to kill time waiting for my herbs to be compiled, and then pay for my herbal medicine.

The food court is mainly used as a open study hall for students, and most of the kiosk stores do not see very much traffic.

After the Coquitlam Library moved next door, foot traffic dramatically increased. Now, with the Evergreen line being built essentially outside and across the street, traffic is again expected to continue.

Finally, after 17 years, the mall will start to...

I'm cutting this place some slack for various reasons:

PROS:

It's a nice alternative to Coquitlam Centre accross the street if you want a different flavour in an uncrowded setting.

There are very few stores but each one is unique and original. No same old big chain or well known brands here. I specially like the anime themed and Korean Dollar Store in the first floor.

The food court, again, offers a very different assortment of foods than your regular mall. Hit and miss here, but different is good. Also bring cash.

Don't think of it as a mall, but rather an indoor central place where there are shops, entertainment (kareoke), restaurants, services..etc. There are some good cafes and services in both floors.

It's connected to the library so very convenient to frequent visitors, they compliment each other nicelly.

CONS:

Lighting is a problem as it's quite dim.The ceiling is very unaesthetic, it seems unfinished.

Some empty areas, not much foot traffic (can be good if you don't like crowds).

Too many businesses only...