Relax - A S'porean's guide to shopping in KL (Part 2)

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In part two, contributor Daisy Chiu shares tips and reviews regarding three malls, and tells you which are her favourites.

» Missed part one? Read it here.

Mid Valley Megamall

Size
5 floors of retail space including the lower ground floor, which is linked to The Gardens.

Shopping experience
Anchored by Jusco, Metrojaya and Carrefour together with 430 retail shops, this is one leisure experience you won’t want to miss. The megamall is the place to shop for the latest from international brands like Jeep, Guess, Topshop, Zara, and local names like Salabianca and Risis. Not forgetting my favourite - Crocs.

This mall has an activity for everyone, including an 18‐screen cinema, bowling alley and gym. If your legs are tired from walking around, there are good foot reflexology centres around and a must-try is the Kenko reflexology & fish spa. I have to say - the services here are cheaper than what you can get in Singapore.

The Nose and Vinci shop are favourite haunts for Singaporeans for their latest designs at reasonable prices. Moreover, the Megamall offers wide varieties of gourmet food that will surely suit every taste bud.

Directional signs
One of the best. Signs are upgraded frequently to match new offerings at the mall.

Comfort and ambience
It is always crowded as there are offices, residences and two hotels attached to it. Walking shoes are a must. A favourite mall among Singaporeans as you can practically find everything under one roof. But parts of the mall don’t seem to have adequate air conditioning.

Advice
Being a closed mall and always crowded, don’t leave your handbag or phone on the table. Keep them close to you, as there may be snatch thieves or pickpockets about.

Carparks
The carparks are perpetually full. The mall is always crowded. There are ample lots but you just have to be patient and wait, or drive all the way up. An irritating part is that there are barricades everywhere, so from one section, you cannot go across to the other section.

A better bet is to go in the early mornings before 11.30am and can avoid the traffic at the entry and exit roads as well.

Toilets
The toilets are not particularly clean due to the heavy usage. The nursery room is located inside Jusco itself but not particularly pleasant to be in. It is no way comparable to Singapore’s Takashimaya or Centrepoint. Hot water is provided in thermos flasks.

Overall Rating
3.5/5

The Gardens

Size
This is an up-market addition to Mid Valley Megamall, with six levels of retail, and 9.7 acres of development within the mid valley city. There are 2 linked walkways (on the lower ground and 1st level) connecting the Megamall and The Gardens.

Shopping Experience
This is an avant garde style shopping gallery, offering middle- to high-end branded products. Anchor tenants are Robinsons, Isetan and Cold Storage supermarket together with 200 other branded boutiques and restaurants.

Tired with shopping? You can either relax in Cocoon on the 4th level, a secluded and dedicated area which comes complete with spas, wellness centres, hair and nail salons or catch the latest movie releases in the most premier seats and services in the Golden Screen Cineplex.

There are many nice eateries around. Even the Food Garden (food court) is a very comfortable place to have a nice and reasonably priced meal. The place is clean and not as crowded as the food courts in Megamall.

Directional signs
The interactive directory is very user-friendly, and on a large touch screen. The signs to lifts, car parks and toilets are clear. It is easy to navigate around the mall as the shops are neatly laid out and while standing on the aisles you can locate your directions easily. The IT shops are all conveniently located on the top level.

Comfort and ambience
It is comfortable to walk around the mall as it is less crowded compared to Mid Valley Megamall. One can feel the difference immediately, especially so when both malls are side by side. The Gardens features nice seats and sofas on every level, to rest your weary feet. The concierge service is also very professional.

Advice
Be it rainy or sunny days, please bring along a jacket as the air conditioning is extremely cold. You can get ‘frozen’ in here. The restaurants are crowded on weekends with queues.

Carparks
First challenge is to navigate through the heavy throng of cars to find the entrance to The Gardens car park, somewhere in the back lane. It is easier to get a lot in The Gardens car park as compared to Mid Valley Megamall. There is also Premier parking whereby you are assured of getting a lot but the charges are significantly more expensive. The rates, however, are still affordable and cheap by Singaporean standards.

Toilets
For a price of RM5, enjoy and relax in a ‘6-star’ toilet, which is located on the ground floor. Otherwise go up to the first level and the toilets are free. The toilets here are in much better condition than those in the Mid Valley Mall. The nursery rooms are on the 2nd level but still no way comparable in standard to those in Singapore’s up-market malls.

Overall Rating
3.5/5

Sunway Pyramid

Size
1.7 million sq ft of retail space.

Shopping Experience
The mall is seamlessly connected at all 4 floors by a loop corridor, with shops on both sides, offering a 360 degree splendour to shoppers, with no dead ends and blind spots.

Be spoilt for choice as you have Jusco and Parksons as the anchor stores as well as brand names like Marks & Spencer, MNG, Naf Naf, Miss Selfridge, Aldo, Forever 21, Calvin Klein, Raoul, Timberland, just to name some.

Check out the Marrakesh zone, with quaint alleyways and unique interiors inspired by the exotic bazaars and ‘souks’ of Morroco where you can get some knick knacks, antique pipes, leather goods, etc.

The kidz zone is also a one-stop convenient zone with specialty stores for expecting mothers and babies. The 21,000 sq ft one-stop IT centre with over 50 retailers is a must visit for IT savvy individuals.

Select from a wide variety of international and local cuisines after a long day’s walk. For entertainment and fun, the mall houses a 48-lane bowling alley, indoor ice‐skating rink as well as a 12-screen Cineplex. There is definitely something for everyone.

Directional signs
There are not enough mall directories around, hence navigating around the mall is bit tough. The concierge is located all the way at the far end in the blue zone, so do not try looking for an information counter. There are no signs indicating the directions to the hotel and convention centre till you are near them.

Comfort and ambience
With more than 700 specialty shops and benches along the corridor to rest your tired feet, it offers shoppers comfort and convenience. Pleasant to walk around as the shops are neatly laid out and the tenant mix is good.

Advice
Most of the F&B outlets are located in the red zone, so plan your route well. Put on a good pair of walking shoes. The mall is extremely crowded on weekends, so please be early if you do not want to be caught in a human jam.

Toilets
The toilets are clean, neat and modern. Parents, nurse your infants in the nursery rooms located on G (red zone), LG1 & LG2 (orange zone). Here, they are well equipped with baby wash, baby lotion, hand soap, hot water dispenser and diaper changing pen. There are also children friendly toilets on every floor throughout the mall. This is a great shopping mall suitable for all ages.

Carparks
The car parks are brightly lit but have no signage to indicate where the lift lobbies are. I was lost in the car park as the exit or Keluar signs lead to nowhere. The ingress and egress roads leading to the mall are poorly designed and jammed.

Overall Rating
4/5

Conclusion

Besides the sales, the nice thing about shopping in KL is that you can enjoy some retail brands and eateries that cannot be found in Singapore. My personal favourites are One Utama (cheap parking and you can spend up to 6 hours at RM1 per entry walking about without having to worry about increasing parking charges), KLCC and Sunway Pyramid.

One piece of advice is to take care of your handbags and belongings. Beware of snatch thieves on the street and pickpockets in the malls. This advice is similarly applicable for Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila.

Daisy Chiu is a Director of Corporate Real Estate at Hall Chadwick Asia Sdn Bhd. She is a Singaporean, living in Kuala Lumpur and is a self-professed mall rat.

*The ratings and reviews above are strictly the views of the author and not endorsed by AsiaOne Relax.

Like to share your travel tales and tips of a place you have been to recently? Write in to relax@sph.com.sg, and send us your holiday snapshots, too!

A S'porean's guide to shopping in KL (Part 2)

By Daisy Chiu, AsiaOne | Wed, Jul 8 2009

In part two, contributor Daisy Chiu shares tips and reviews regarding three malls, and tells you which are her favourites.

A S'porean's guide to shopping in KL (Part 2)

Keywords

kuala lumpur

In part two, contributor Daisy Chiu shares tips and reviews regarding three malls, and tells you which are her favourites.

» Missed part one? Read it here.

Mid Valley Megamall

Size
5 floors of retail space including the lower ground floor, which is linked to The Gardens.

Directional signs
One of the best. Signs are upgraded frequently to match new offerings at the mall.

Advice
Being a closed mall and always crowded, don’t leave your handbag or phone on the table. Keep them close to you, as there may be snatch thieves or pickpockets about.

A better bet is to go in the early mornings before 11.30am and can avoid the traffic at the entry and exit roads as well.

Overall Rating
3.5/5