Blok M is a business and shopping quarter located in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Indonesia. The development is less modern than some of the developments near Kota, Central Jakarta and many of the buildings are run down. Still, the area becomes quite crowded daily, and even more so nightly. Much of the popularity of the quarter is due to the prices of goods (which are often low due to the relatively inexpensive property costs for vendors), the night life, and the accessibility of the center, considering it contains one of the largest bus stations in Jakarta. In the main shopping portion of the quarter (called Blok M mall) one can purchase any variety of goods. The mall is notorious for having low prices but bartering is considered a requirement. Outside of the Blok M mall, there are a couple of western standard malls, Plaza Blok M, and Pasaraya Grande. The Plaza is a standard mall, while Pasaraya Grande is a giant department store run by the government. Its two contiguous buildings include a big food court in the basement and an international standard (with corresponding prices) movie theatre at the top. Arguably the most popular portion of blok M, and certainly what has given it most of its notoriety is the Pelatehan Road, which is the portion of the quarter that contains the bars and clubs. Many of the bars become extremely crowded at night and are known to stay open extremely late.
