Shopping in Singapore

Another highlight of my trip to Singapore was shopping. One would wonder how much can one shop in an expensive country like Singapore. Here, I would like to thank our hosts in Singapore, Naveena and Sarath. Not only did they help and guide us with local information but also gave us company to most of these shopping arcades. You need to check what offers are available to get the best deals. Orchard Road: Probably one the most popular hangout place for the tourists as well as the locals. The road is lined on either side with shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops, nightclubs and hotels.  History reveals that Orchard Road got its name from the plantations that the road led to in the mid-1800s. As you walk from the MRT towards the heart of the Orchard Road you will cross the official residence of the President of Singapore. We spent time at the Takashimaya shopping centre. A red brick stone architecture, Takashimaya is a sprawling mall comprising of apparels, footwear, accessories, jewellery, home décor, baby shops and various other ranges of lifestyle products. When you get tired of walking around the mall, you have the option of resting and grubbing at their food court located in the lower basement area. We found the food sumptuous and the service excellent. United Square: A mall located at the Novina MRT station comprises of range of shops selling lifestyle products. The highlight for me was the baby shops that had many attractive offers running. Mother care, Blooms, Pumpkin Patch are few of the well known brands who have their outlets at United Square. There are small bakeries selling delectable and eye catching knick knacks. Naveena suggested soya peanut butter which we had on the go and loved it. Mustafa: I didn’t visit Mustafa for sole reason that walking around in a crowded shopping arcade that sources most of the products from India didn’t attract me much. Besides walking around that huge mall (1, 15,000 sq ft only :)) with a baby would not have been a very pleasant experience at all. However, I was told by my friends that Mustafa is the only shopping centre that is open 24/7 selling every perceivable item under one roof.  They have every conceivable product under the sun! They also have surprise gifts, lucky dips & special discounts if one shops after 2.00am there!! Located in Little Italy, Mustafa has sizeable footfalls from locals and tourists throughout the day. If you are an electronics buff then this is a must visit as you will get the latest models for the least price. Also, if you are looking at buying playstation/Nintendo/video games…etc. you will get the best deal here, also good second hand options! There is an array of Indian joints and restaurants around Mustafa. We stayed at the Park Royal next to Mustafa making it very convenient for us to walk in at anytime during the night (post we got back from sightseeing & thirst quenching trips!) Tao Payoh town centre: Pronounced as To–Pa –Ye-O, once a notorious squatter district is a busy market with various shopping outlets, departmental stores, eateries etc. We tried Pau – a chicken dumpling from one of the eating joints here. It was a revelation and evidently a popular local snack. There are offers running on popular brands like Addidas, Nike, Giordano,… etc. We bought quite a few t-shirts at a very reasonable rate from this market. (The same branded T-Shirt in a Mall was priced at 6-7 times the street price!) I also got some pretty strappy frocks for my daughter! 🙂  

Vivocity: Different from Velocity (another mall in Singapore), Vivocity is a mall that’s class and style redefined. The architecture, the layout, and the location everything is outstanding. Situated at the harbor point, this white colored mall is spread over acres of land and has various outlets selling variety of products. You can see Sentosa from Vivocity, just across the Harbour, as you enjoy the water view from one of the decks. The Cable car to Sentosa starts just next door. One can also catch the cruise ships or glimpse them docked in the Harbour, as the STAR HQ is also next door.

The food court is separated from the main mall through beautiful landscaping. Attractively done, food court has quite a few eateries (more than 100, me thinks) selling different kind of food items. The most popular is the Chicken rice (throughout all food courts in Singapore). We tried an oily puff which wasn’t that great to taste though! But it was so interesting to watch it getting made, that’s why we tried it! To watch a small piece of dough puff up 5 times its size when put in oil surely looked like a science experiment unfolding in front of our eyes 🙂

China Town: Predominantly frilled in red, the China Town in Singapore is an apotheosis of a market from China. On exhibit are various knick knacks ranging from chopsticks, to Chinese coins, kimonos and other collectibles. Good place to pick up souvenirs for your friends and family back home. There are food stalls from where you can try out various Chinese dishes (Indians going to these outlets, beware, as these dishes have no relation in taste to what we get as Chinese food in India). We also found art shops with impressive collections here. For people crazy about home décor there are interesting things for you to grab. Apart from souvenirs for my friends; colorful Chinese kettles are something I invested in and today it is a part of my living room decor. One outlet which caught my eyes in China Town was TINTIN. Yes, it’s the first official TINTIN shop in Asia, and they merchandise only TINTIN. It was wonderful to see, so much stuff from the various adventures that we all have enjoyed reading. Must VISIT for all TINTIN fans. (Advise would be to hang on to your wallets and spend judiciously, as the prices are steep)

Burgis Street: It reminded me of Janpath or Lajpat Nagar market of New Delhi, India. Cheap albeit chic handbags and trinkets flood this market. Also available at reasonable prices are clothes. However, you might have to scan the market through before you find something to your taste. The market here is frequented by students and younguns for whom variety is important. And if it allows them to change style every few months then why not!? A nice bag here costs around $10 (Singapore dollars).  Right in the centre of the street is a juice shop selling juices of exotic fruits like avocado, kiwis,… etc which is a must try. Undoubtedly, there are other arcades, streets and markets in Singapore for you to shop. Above mentioned were the few of the markets we could visit in our short trip to Singapore. My advise would be to make a daily list of places to see for your trip and have one market place to visit everyday, otherwise it will become an overdose of shopping, specially window – if one has budget constraints!!