Most of my readers will know well my love affair with Crystal Mall in the Metrotown neighbourhood of Burnaby.
I eat and shop there at least once a week because they have amazing produce and a food court that takes me a long time to decide on what to eat because there are more amazing choices than Netflix on a Friday night.
Crystal Mall has been resilient amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A few stores and restaurants closed down, but others have survived and now thrived.
There are even some new places that have opened up, including the wonderful Marble House restaurant, which serves dim sum, barbecue and a wickedly good hot pot for dinner.
When I say resilient, I mean this more than other Burnaby businesses because Crystal Mall was victimized by some false rumours early on in the pandemic that spread across some social media platforms like WeChat. Things got so bad that Mayor Mike Hurley and Health Minister Adrian Dix came by and staged a press conference in March 2020 to dispel the vicious rumours.
Things have been up and down ever since as different waves have hit B.C. The Hilton Hotel that's attached to the mall has also been in the middle of a long lockout, which has cut down the number of tourists visiting the stores.
Well, sadly, there were more dirty and false rumours at the start of 2022 spreading on WeChat, according to one vendor who spoke with me, plus some friends who are on the platform a lot. I won't dignify them with details, but they were false. They didn't reach anywhere near the same levels of hysteria as 2020, but they certainly didn't help.
This coincided with the rise of Omicron and the panic that this new wave caused. Omicron meant that Lunar New Year was more muted – again – for businesses compared with pre-pandemic times.
But I’m also happy to say that the crowds have returned to Crystal Mall. There are once again waits to actually find a seat in the food court and the shops are all bustling with customers.
“Things are much better than two years ago,” one food court vendor told me.
I’ve never stopped shopping or eating there. I might have cut back on the visits, like I have around the city, but since I’ve been triple-vaccinated I’m back on my weekly special. My partner and I love the food there and can’t get enough of it (especially the chilled duck wings).
If you live in Burnaby and have never come by Crystal Mall, you are missing out. The food is from a wide array of Asian cultures, the staff are friendly and the other shops offer up a number of different services.
Now if bad people would just stop spreading vicious rumours that would be nice.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
