When I was living in KL, I didn’t use to do my grocery shopping in Carrefour as I found the quality of their products rather lacking and not as fresh as some other grocery stores. Unfortunately, my opinion of Carrefour was confirmed when I headed to Carrefour Tropicana City Mall last weekend for some groceries. Read on for our unpleasant experience at Carrefour Tropicana City Mall.

Not Fresh Products at Carrefour

I generally don’t like to make comparisons between grocery stores in Singapore and Malaysia but when I saw the state of some of the dry goods in Carrefour, I couldn’t help making that comparison in my mind. The Carrefour store in Singapore carries fresh and delicious-looking quality products while the dry goods I was looking at in Carrefour looked really bad. The onions looked like they were rotting with sandflies buzzing around them and I actually saw packets of dry chillies that were starting to mould. Needless to say, that cut my grocery shopping list much shorter!

Higher Prices At Carrefour Tropicana City Mall

In general, we found the prices at this particular Carrefour higher than other similar Carrefours. A box of Sunsweet prunes we were looking at was RM9 compared to only RM7 to RM8 in other Carrefour stores. Why are similar products priced higher in this store? Is it because it services the Damansara area and hence assumes people in that area have higher income levels? As a hypermarket, one would think that prices will remain controlled all across the country!

Terrible Service At Carrefour Tropicana City Mall

The unpleasant experience carried all the way to the check-out counters where we were served by inept cashiers who could not speak English or Malay well and screwed up the person’s transaction ahead of us, making the wait terribly long. While we were waiting in the queue, we saw a sign that promised a mystery gift for every shopper who brought their own eco-bag to the store. As we had our own bag, we filled it with our groceries and asked the cashier about the gift to which she rudely said it was for purchases above RM100. If that’s the case, please clearly state it on the sign as the sign had absolutely no indication of such a condition.

Purchases above RM30 from Carrefour entitles the person to free parking. When sis went to claim our free parking, the lady behind the counter told her it would only be valid for the first hour. However, when we went to pay our parking fee, a sign on the machine clearly stated that parking on a weekend was per entry and not hourly – which means we should have gotten our free parking. However, because the lady did not validate our ticket, we ended up paying RM2 for parking which was totally against the parking policy Carrefour had.

It was a very unpleasant shopping experience and I personally thought it a pity that a multinational company like Carrefour had allowed itself to degenerate that way. It will not cost much more to ensure good quality products are sold, to remove any rotting products and to train a team of good staff to serve your customers. We are, after all, paying customers and should be entitled to a good level of service.

Singaporeans love shopping, no doubt about that. Just take a ride down their MRT system or a walk down the street and you will definitely bump into a mall! In fact, most of their MRT stations open up directly into shopping malls which is great if you’re a tourist or out for a shopping spree but not so good if you’re trying to save money!

One of the newest malls to hit the already saturated Orchard Road is the spanking new and iconic Ion Orchard. Read on for my review of Ion Orchard and how it measures up to the other malls on Orchard Road.

Impressive Architecture at Ion Orchard

Ion Orchard is impressive, no doubt about that. It is an architectural marvel with an interesting Media Facade wall along the outside made with cutting edge technology. This lights up at night to create a unique feature, glowing at one end of Orchard Road. I took the underpass from Wheelock’s Place and even the underpass hinted of the impressive technology to come with interesting LCD screen advertisements instead of the conventional paper ones.

Inside, the mall is all about opulent shiny floors, glass and long escalators snaking their way up and down the floors. Their toilets are posh and there are ample toilets so no need for long queues. Apparently there are VIP toilets available for customers who spend over $10,000, celebrities and foreign dignitaries! Although one wonders why that distinction needs to be made! Surely they are as human as the rest of us are!

Ion Orchard is known as a branded mall carrying most brands under one roof. They certainly do with a huge Louis Vuitton store right at the entrance, jostling for space with Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Dior. Enter and you will be treated to even more brands – Yves St Laurent, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Miu Miu, Longchamp and more! A Bottega Veneta store is scheduled to open in just a few more months. There’s even a Harry Winston store there for women who like their bling (expensive bling!) which I took a peek in. Finally, a chance to see the jewelry that adorn celebrities at the Oscars!

Ion Orchard – What’s Good and Bad?

I was in Ion Orchard and was actually looking for something. Bad idea. I personally found the mall really haphazard. The escalators in the middle of the mall somehow make the space smaller and harder to navigate. The escalators are another big problem! They must be one of the longest escalators in Singapore and ironically, one of the escalators connects directly from the Lower Ground floor all the way to the second floor, bypassing the first. So if you’re on the first floor, you can’t take that escalator and need to go all the way to the end to take another escalator. I found that really irritating especially when I was rushing to look for the item I wanted.

I also found that whatever Ion Orchard offered, most malls on Orchard already offered the same as well. In fact, shopping in some of the other malls was a little easier as they were less crowded and were traditionally laid out which made the shopping experience much better. Ion Orchard does not seem to have an anchor tenant which most malls do and for average shoppers like me, I find anchor tenants sometimes easiest to find things in as they are all clearly labelled and laid out!

What I liked about Ion Orchard was their huge and impressive food court called Food Opera available on Basement 4. They actually have a dedicated escalator leading all the way into the food court. It is beautifully designed in line with the cutting edge technology the mall is based on with impressive designer furniture including ostentatious chandeliers and Philippe Stark ghost chairs lookalikes! A huge variety of food is available and I noticed a high number of Japanese type snack stalls and food concepts which we can’t find in Kuala Lumpur. However, be prepared to put up with crowds of people and not being able to find seats at anytime of the day! Otherwise, buy a few snacks from their snack area and eat as you walk!

Ion Orchard is easy to get to, the Orchard MRT opens directly into it and is worth checking out for their brands (if you’re a brand-whore), architecture, riding escalators and their Food Opera. However, if you don’t have much time to spend shopping and wandering around, it can be rather tiring.

Japanese confectionary and savoury snacks have always been top of my list of favourites, more than any other type of chips. They somewhat seem healthier, perhaps because they are mostly baked not fried although the MSG levels inside are something else altogether! It used to be really hard to find places selling a wide variety of Japanese food and snacks but now thanks to Shojikiya, KLites finally have a one-stop Japanese shopping outlet for all their Japanese food! Read on below to find out where the Shojikiya outlets are.

Shojikiya is the first Japanese specialty outlet store in Malaysia. I love their variety of products which total over 1,000 different imported varieties direct from Japan! Any Japanese food lover is truly spoilt for choice with fresh food ingredients for cooking, ready to eat Japanese snacks and confectionery, Japanese green tea and liqour and even fresh Japanese fish!

The prices are surprisingly quite affordable for some products, considering they are imported directly from Japan. However, if you don’t mind buying products that are closer to the expiry dates, look for the frequent promotions Shojikiya runs where you can pick up Japanese biscuits and crackers at discounted prices.

Most Shojikiya outlets are located next to the popular Sushi Zanmai and Pasta Zanmai outlets. In the Gardens outlet, you can actually purchase fresh fish from Shojikiya to be cooked by the Sushi Zanmai restaurant for a small fee! Nothing beats freshly cooked fish!

For Japanese food lovers, Shojikiya Outlets in Malaysia are:

The Gardens, Mid Valley
LG-205, Lower Ground Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingakaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.
Phone No: (03) 2283 6160
Mobile No: (012) 480 6162

Midvalley Megamall
F-051, First Floor, Mid Valley City, Lignkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.
Phone No: (03) 2288 1420
Mobile No: (012) 420 1220

One Utama Shopping Centre
G210B, Ground Floor Promenade, One Utama Shopping Centre, No 1, Lebuh BU, BU Damansara, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone No: (03) 77280390
Mobile No: (012) 7720390

One Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing)
SK9A, 2nd Floor High Street, One Utama Shopping Centre, No 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone No: (03) 77270310
Mobile No: (012) 2170130

Hartamas Shopping Centre
Lot P-17A, Plaza Ground Floor, Hartamas Shopping Center No 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Phone No: (03) 6201 3730
Mobile No: (012) 281 6270

Sunway Pyramid
1st Floor, Japanese Street, Oasis Bouvelard 2, Sunway Pyramid Shopping Center, No 3, Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone No: (03) 7492 0020
Mobile No: (012) 371 9720

Desa Park City
GF-07, The Waterfront @ Parkcity, No 5, Persiaran Residen Desa Park City, 52200 Kuala Lumpur.
Phone No: (03) 62808130
Mobile No: (012) 3288130

So the hallowed halls of Harrods have finally opened in downtown KL after their first branch outside London was opened in KLIA. If you were hoping for the full range of Harrods goodies, this is just mainly their food hall items with its expensive range of premium teas, cookies, deli section and jams. However, some nice Harrods bags can be found here too if you are prepared to splurge for a plastic shopping bag with Harrods emblazoned on it. Read on for my review of Harrods KLCC below.

Harrods KLCC is an open concept store which I believe is modelled after the open areas of their famous food halls. Pretty tins of cookies and teas are strategically arranged at the entrance. Walking in, you might for a minute think you are in Harrods London with their familiar green tea cans, cute novelty biscuit tins and servers wearing the familiar green and white aprons and cute little cardboard hats.

The Harrods KLCC offers tea in their Tea Salon should you wish to dine English-style with delicious sandwiches, scones and of course the famous Harrods tea, brewed to perfection.

Their range of jams, jellies and cookies are mouth watering and come straight from Harrods Knightsbridge itself so you can be assured of its quality. Unfortunately, they come with a premium price, probably due to the high British Pound exchange rate!

If you would like a taste of this grand ol’ dame of London, do pop by Harrods KLCC on Level 1, Park Mall, KLCC (opposite California Pizza Kitchen and next to Godiva Chocolates).

Prior to the Malaysian Daiso store opening, I used to drop by the Daiso in Singapore. Here’s a comparison of the two Daiso stores and how they fare from an unbiased shopper who loves Japanese products.

Daiso Stores

The Daiso store in Malaysia has its sign and entire storefront in a strange muted green that tends to remain me of hospital surgical gowns. Not the best most attractive signboard!

On the other hand, the Daiso store in Singapore has its store front painted in a bright and cheery red which, according to marketing experts, may be a more attractive pulling factor!

However, a quick check on the Daiso website revealed that Daiso does not seem to have a standard storefront sign as it ranges from neon letters in Vancouver to the same muted green in Dubai! Perhaps the fact that Malaysia and Dubai are Muslim countries have something to do with that!

Find out below which is a better store!

Daiso RM5 and Daiso $2 Deals

Everything in a Daiso store is sold at the same price which makes it easy to shop and very easy to end up buying more than you expect! Products are usually priced quite low, RM5 in Kuala Lumpur and $2 in Singapore but do watch out as these add up very quickly!

At an exchange rate of SGD1 to RM2.4, the Daiso store in Singapore comes across as a wee bit cheaper at RM4.60 instead of RM5. Although it may seem little, it does make for some savings by buying in Singapore if you are there for work or a holiday.

Japanese Food and Snacks

One big advantage the Daiso store in Singapore has is its huge range of Japanese food and snacks which the Malaysian store is totally devoid of, perhaps due to the Halal factor. Shelves and shelves of delicious sweet and savoury Japanese crackers, pretty Japanese confectionery and delicious furikake or Japanese savoury rice sprinkles are available for $2 a pack.

This makes it very affordable as most Japanese snacks and food products retailing in Malaysia are definitely not as cheap.

Storage and Household Products

The Daiso store in Singapore seems to be a better equipped store. It covers a wider area and has a much bigger range of Japanese household products and clever storage containers. Its range of bento accessories are sure to impress any bento lover with their cute and useful food containers, food picks, rice shapers and others.

The Curve Daiso store had a small range of bento accessories when they first opened but sadly, the range has dwindled now and do not seem to be replenished that quickly. The type of products available here are also less with fewer varieties of each product.

Personally, I find the Singapore Daiso store offers a more enjoyable shopping experience with its wide variety of products. I would recommend it if you are visiting or living in Singapore. However, if you are in Kuala Lumpur, the Daiso store in The Curve is pretty good on its own with its quirky and useful Japanese crockery, storage containers and household items. Even if you end up buying nothing which is very unlikely, it makes for great browsing!

 Photo credits

Free parking isn’t the only thing keeping me going back to Tropicana City Mall. It is also Paperdoll Boutique and her gorgeous owner, Joanna!

Paperdoll Boutique started off as an online store and has since spread its wings to a gorgeous little “brick and mortar” store right in this new mall. Every detail of the store is lovingly thought through, from its quaint English setting, pink butterfly wallpaper, chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the interesting prints and art decorating the store. Walking into Paperdoll is like walking into the wardrobe of a girlfriend with extremely good taste!

Read more on Paperdoll’s special touches below.

Paperdoll has lots of girly dresses available which are guaranteed to catch any girl’s eye. Browse through the printed dresses, tops and long dresses which are so très chic at the moment and pair them off with her collection of interesting jewellery pieces. If you are feeling adventurous, why not try on one of her collection of real corsets? She charges a small fee of RM5 for trying on corsets as each trial will actually affect the line of the corset.

The dresses and tops available are reasonably priced and are available in limited numbers so shoppers do not have to worry about seeing another person in the same outfit!

Joanna has a great sense of dressing and would readily teach you the best way of wearing her dresses and how they can best flatter your figure. She stocks a wonderful collection of clothes for plus sized women which are really beautiful and a stark contrast to the shapeless outfits some plus-sized stores try to pass off as dresses. Often, shoppers to her store find themselves picking up those outfits only to be told that they would probably be too big for them!

All purchases from Paperdoll are luxuriously wrapped in soft tissue before they are put into your bag. I really liked this part of it as which girl does not like unwrapping presents, even if she paid for it herself?!  

On a recent visit to Paperdoll, I picked up this exclusive white cardigan/top which is made of the softest velour and is oh so Japanese! Joanna hasn’t put it out in the store yet and I can’t wait to wear it!

So, if you’re looking for some new Chinese New Year dresses and don’t wish to spend too much, hop over to Paperdoll Boutique located at Lot L1-43, 1st Floor, Tropicana City Mall.

For regular updates, why not join the Paperdoll Facebook Group? Do also ensure you sign up as a Paperdoll member with every purchase to be entitled for occasional discounts and gifts. Plus, as a special bonus, hop over to My Women Stuff to take advantage of a special promotion!

Happy Shopping!

Photo credits

KL City is a city of mall rats and for all you mall lovers, there’s a new mall in town to check out – Tropicana City Mall. Conveniently located along the Sprint Expressway, I like the fact that I don’t have to pay toll to get to it and that it has free parking for the time being!

Tropicana City Mall is a bit of a dead place with several stores and restaurants still closed. I have seen some signs for Wendy’s Fast Food, San Francisco Steakhouse and Sushi Tei but it is still a mystery as to when they might open. Their current list of tenants open look pretty impressive for a neighbourhood mall but mall traffic still seems a little quiet. The mall boasts 4 floors starting with a Lower Ground floor which houses a Carrefour. All floors look down into the centre concourse which at the moment is only inhabitated by an inflatable castle for children and a stage for Chinese New Year.

So is the Tropicana City Mall still worth a visit? Definitely yes!

Despite its quietness, I still do enjoy dropping by every now and then, especially since my favourite store, Paperdoll Boutique, is right there!  There are quite a number of boutiques already open and Borders is right on the first level together with some pretty decent restaurants such as Pho Hoa which serves absolutely great pho - Vietnamese noodles.

The mall aisles are wide and it is a nice change not to have to jostle with lots of weekend shoppers or wait for a restaurant to dine in. I find the Carrefour pretty well stocked as well and it because its new and clean, I find it a better shopping experience and shorter queues compared to other Carrefour hypermarkets. Some interesting stores there are the kitchen and home speciality stores such as Kitschen and Akemi Uchi which carry really nice kitchenware and bedding!

Some grouses I do have is that the toilets are very far away and located behind the main doors of the mall which I find rather dangerous as you never know who might be lurking around those toilets. There is also a lot of renovation on-going in the mall which means a high number of foreign workers who tend to stare as women walk past which is pretty creepy. I also personally find the mall layout rather confusing and recently only found out I was taking the long route to some of the stores! Perhaps due to the low human traffic, I find the mall freezing cold so do wear something warm when you intend to visit!

Otherwise, the car parks are bright and best of all, the parking is still free till further notice so why not check it out the next time you’re in that area? Free parking nowadays is hard to come by!

The mall is open from 10am to 10pm from Mondays to Sundays and free shuttle services are available from the Kelana Jaya LRT Station.

How do you get it?

Simply log on to Clarins Malaysia and click on their Hydra Quench challenge to play an interactive online game to conquer skin dryness! Upon completion, they will reward you with a FREE e-voucher that entitles you to the following:

1. A FREE Clarins trial product

2. Free skin consultation with Clarins professionals

3. Complimentary make over

Isn’t that great?! Plus, you get a chance to win a day of shopping indulgence with you and 3 friends worth up to RM11,000!

So click today and play to win! I can’t wait to try the Clarins Hydra Quench products!

They say every woman should have a nice, sexy collection of lingerie for those days when she just wants to feel like a woman! I’ve always liked satiny smooth nighties and lingerie but the choices in the store here wasn’t great and they cost a lot just for one tiny slip. So, I used to just settle for comfortable cotton pyjamas whilst admiring the pretty and slinky lingerie available in online boutiques.

Knowing my love for lingerie, sis was pleased to tell me about an all new Malaysian online Lingerie Boutique called Chicwear that catered specially for Malaysian women who are tired of the limited choices out there and high prices. It is a fantastic online store that carries lingerie brands such as Dreamgirl, Miran and Fantasty in a whole host of lingerie types. Chicwear has something for every girl ranging from sweet nightdresses in pretty satin and lace or sexy teddies and 2-piece sets.

I really liked their silk satin nightdresses which came in lots of lovely bright colours with some very pretty lace trimmings.

Others came in some really interesting lace up backs that looked almost good enough to wear out as a dress!

Chicwear is a Malaysian company but they ship internationally as well. Shipping is free anywhere within Malaysia and international shipping charges will apply for international shipments. I loved how they package your purchases in a pretty gift wrapped box. My order came all nicely wrapped up in tissue paper and neatly packaged into a box with a nice bow. If you wish to gift wrap your gift instead of using the gift box they provide, an additional fee of RM10 will apply for each box wrapped. What a wonderful present to give the lady of your life!

Chicwear accepts almost all kinds of payment methods and are linked to Maybank and CIMB Bank locally. They are also running a promotion now where each customer who pays with a CIMB Clicks account will be entitled for a free gift for each of their purchase which is a really nice spaghetti strapped singlet available in a host of pretty pastel colours.

They have hot picks every now and then where their lingerie goes on sale with quite a big discount so don’t forget to keep checking back for offers on your favourite lingerie! Now, we can shop for sexy lingerie in comfort with Chicwear! Do check it out!

A tunnel has also recently been built to connect the old wing of Midvalley Megamall to the spanking new Gardens via a walkway lined with all kinds of cute and interesting little cafes featuring all kinds of food. Some of them are really interesting such as Baoz, Big Apple Donuts, Shilin Taiwan Snacks, Jonker Street Desserts and lots more.

Visitors to The Gardens food floor will be greeted by a yummy mouthwatering display of gelato at Gelatissimo. I always been sorely tempted by this stall with their brilliantly coloured gelato flavours but haven’t yet had the chance to try it yet.

Next to this is the Marketplace @ Cold Storage, a trendy and upmarket supermarket that offers all kinds of local and imported food and fruit. Its cooked food section serves one of the best fried chicken drumsticks I have ever tasted, for below RM2!

There is a Coffee Bean smack in the middle surrounded by other eateries and food shops which are arranged in a horseshoe shape. Another really popular place here is Din Tai Fung that never fails to have a queue outside for its delicious xiao long pao and dumplings or a curious crowd watching the chefs prepare the dumplings through a glass window.

Yet another interesting place is Fogal’s Meat Market that sells a wonderful array of marinated and raw beef. They have a great variety of premium Australian beef available in cuts suitable for every kind of dish. So if you have a barbeque in mind, make sure you pop by Fogal’s for your meat!

Another favourite of mine is the MBG fruit store. MBG stands for Money Back Guarantee and that is their policy should you be unhappy with any of their fruit! They have a beautiful display of both local and international fruit and I love how generous they are with their samples and how honest they are whenever we ask how sweet their fruits are. The fruits here are surprisingly inexpensive for the high quality they maintain for each fruit they sell.

A big favourite of my sis’ is Sushi Zen Japanese sushi restaurant which is located in the middle section, near Din Tai Fung, which she has spoken of glowingly here. It is linked to the Japanese store on the same ground and they would actually cook any fresh fish you buy from the store for a flat cooking rate of RM3.

This floor is the closest I’ve seen in The Gardens to a food court. However, it is a very interesting concept using individual restaurants instead of stalls. Another thing I liked was their open area comprising 2 long rows of tables near the escalators where people can sit to eat their food from any of the restaurants or cafes on the floor. This certainly provides shoppers with a whole lot more variety!