Shop til you drop

Save plenty of room in your suitcase! Malaysia offer abundance of tempting one stop shopping centres/ malls, boutique, day and night markets & bazaar to satisfy your buying needs.

Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya
Kuala Lumpur is definitely the paradise for the shopping lovers. Best place to hunt for latest fashion items, branded goods and technological gadgets. Where’s the best place to shop? Well, it is much depends on what are the items that you are looking for and what type of shopping experience you want. I’ll provide a list of the shopping area with a brief of what’s one can expect of.

· Suria KLCC. Commonly known as KLCC by the local. It is located at Jalan Ampang, conveniently connected by public transports. It is famous for its up market merchandise. Will find many luxury and branded boutiques and outlets inside this mall. Besides, you can visit the Petronas Twin Tower just neighboring the Suria shopping centre. Also connected to the building is the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Aquaria (Aquarium Centre) and hotel.

· Bukit Bintang Area. I would say this is “The Place” for ultimate shopping experience. Modern shopping complexes, entertainment outlets, f&b outlets, international hotels making Bukit Bintang the hottest shopping area in Malaysia. Sungei Wang Plaza - famous for latest fashions & accessories outlets, also a good place to look for souvenirs. Lot 10, Pavillion & Starhill – you can find mid range to exclusive designer items in these three malls. Imbi Plaza – Malaysia first and largest digital mall. Computers, notebooks, computer peripherals, latest mobile and IT gadgets outlets gather in this mall. Don’t forget to bargain price. Berjaya Times Square – one stop shopping mall with an indoor theme park. Don’t forget the many individual shopping outlets along Jalan Bukit Bintang. And if you are tired of walking and shopping, try out the reflexology services around the area. Night at Bukit Bintang is even livelier with the many f&b and entertainment outlets available at the famous “Bintang Walk”. Enjoy and cup of coffee or have a beer to unwind after a day of shopping.

· Mid Valley Megamall. Another one stop shopping centre in KL. I suggest you go visit this mall whenever it is near to any festive celebration (that Malaysians celebrate). Why? Malaysia malls like to decorate accordance to the festive. So each time there’s a festival coming up, all the participating malls will decorate accordance to the theme. This particular mall gets numerous best decorated mall in Malaysia. Well, it is a good place to shop, watch a movie, dine in, enjoy the ornaments and decorations and know a little about the festivals celebrated by Malaysians.

· One Utama Shopping Mall, also known as 1U. Another shopping mall that bags many of the best decorated rewards. Mid range shopping merchandise. A live studio inside in mall. There’s also a small rainforest built in the mall.

(sometimes, lion dance performance can be seen at activities held by the shopping malls.)

· Mutiara Damansara Area. I would say these shopping malls are mainly cater to the residents staying nearby. Yet, I love this place because all the malls are so conveniently connected to each other and one can get anything needed from this area. So what’s in the area? There are shopping malls The Curve and Ikano, two mega lifestyle / furniture store – Ikea and Courts mammoth (you can get almost any household items just shop in these two store), a Cineplex – Cineleisure (cinema and bowling centre) and a Hypermarket Tesco.

· Central Market also known as Pasar Seni. Apart from all those modern shopping, this is a place where craft, painting and souvenirs are aplenty. So, you mustn’t missed this place if you wanted to look for local craft and art pieces. A formerly wet market has converted into air-conditioned shopping bazaar. It attracts many tourists to visit the place everyday. Across Central Market is “Goldsmiths Row”. Gold, jewellery, diamonds and jades are sold in the jewellery shops.

· Petaling Street Area, the Chinatown of KL. You can find lots of shops and stalls offering handbags, clothes, shoes, accessories, textiles, replicas, watches, leather goods. Bargaining is a must when you shop here. Foodstuff, fruits and herbs also easily available here. The place gets more crowded during evening and night.

· Masjid India Area. Famous for textile business.

· Ain’t enough? No worries, there are heaps of area to shop in KL. Go to a day / night market where the locals go. Famous night market – Cheras, Taman Connought. Duty Free shopping at KLIA airport and there are also some duty free shop around the town. Buy batik and pewters (famous pewter’s makers -Royal Selangor and Tumasek) as souvenirs. Night life and fashion lover, Bangsar area is another good choice.

Malacca
Good place to buy souvenir. Attention to antiques lovers and collectors, Malacca is the right place to look for the antique pieces. Woodcraft and antique (or replica of antique) furniture is available at Malacca. Germstones, porcelain, silverware, batik, trinkets, baju kebaya specialty store, art, craft and handicraft pieces are among the items hot on Malacca shopping lists. Where can you shopo? Jonker Street (antiques, woodcrafts, silverware), Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, bazaar at Stadhuys and Jalan Laksamana (galleries).

Johor
Similar to KL, Johor especially Johor Bahru has many modern shopping malls and complexes. Night time, Danga Bay is another area worth visting with many stores selling fashion items and souvenirs.

Langkawi
Langkawi is famous for duty free shopping. Many stalls and stores selling clothes, crafts and souvenirs around the jetty/ town (Kuah) area. Another shopping point is the Oriental Village at Burau Bay. This place provides unique shopping experience and cable car access to local tourist attraction.

Penang
For me, Penang is always related to food. Many people will shop for foodstuff at Penang. Unique local produce include nutmeg and nutmeg’s products, prawn pastes, durians (branded durians) & durian products. Gurney Plaza, Gurney Drive (hawkers food stall and other merchandise stalls starts business on the evening), Komtar, night market at Batu Ferringhi area.

East Coast – Kuantan, Terengganu & Kelantan
Here, shopping malls and complexes are very much less compare to other states. However, they are famous for local handicraft products. Terengganu is well known for silk and songket products. Visit the Sutera Semai Centre (silk weaving centre). And if you are visiting Kelantan, lookout for silk, batik and wood craft products. Central Market of Kota Bahru is a good place for shopping the local products.

Not many official sites will recommend shopping in Kuantan. Besides, I don’t think they want to write on what’s Kuantan famous for. But if you ask me, I’ll tell you it’s the fish products. Usually local tourist like us will buy the dried anchovies, salted fish (ask the best quality salted fish in Malaysia. Try it out!) and the satay fish (a type of snack).

Sabah
Recent years, the commercial and shopping area are catching up especially in Kota Kinabalu town area. The 1Borneo is one of the famous newly open mall in Kota Kinabalu. And don’t forget to visit the Philippinos Market along the waterfront of KK town. Knick-knacks, fashion accessories (especially pearl is famous), crafts are widely available.

Sarawak
Very little shopping compare to West Malaysia. However, cheap garments, toys and fashion accessories are easily available at souvenir shops around town. In Sarawak there are many pepper plantation, so high quality pepper and peppers products are abundant here. And for many Asian, they will also like to buy the bird nest products which are famous in both Sabah and Sarawak. Oh… don’t forget to try the sagu products (foodstuff).

Of course, Malaysia has much more to offer than what I can write here. And I’m sure you’ll have bounty items on your way back. Shop all you can and share with me your shopping experience.