Shopping in Singapore
-
A
Chinatown Complex
Once famously rundown and grungy, Chinatown Complex was inevitably closed for upgrading at the time of writing. Hopefully, when it reopens, the singular charms of its wet market, barking stallholders and famous hawker centre will not be lost – but we have our doubts.
reviewed
-
B
Dempsey Rd
These former British Army barracks have been turned into warehouse shops specialising in antiques. In this delightful, pleasantly disorganised setting, you'll find anything from Kashmiri carpets and teak furniture to landscaping ornaments and antiques - and a couple of excellent wine bars. It's a fascinating place to explore, attracting crowds of expats and well-to-do Singaporeans at weekends.
reviewed
-
C
Holland Road Shopping Centre
It’s anyone’s guess whether this ageing shopping centre will survive Singapore’s mania for redevelopment, but if it does, this magnet for expats and fashionable Singaporeans is a great place for art, handicrafts, gifts, homeware and offbeat fashion. Lim’s Arts & Living is a virtual encyclopaedia of home furnishing, Island & Archipelago offers retro, beachy dresses, while EMF has a large selection of secondhand books for sale, rent or trade. Framing Angie is a gallery that’ll also frame pictures. On Level 3 there’s a series of massage and reflexology shops to soothe shop-weary limbs.
reviewed
-
D
Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Voted Singapore's favourite one-stop shopping mall, Takashimaya has all the usual men's, women's, food and household departments, as well as a fitness centre (home to Singapore's largest swimming pool) and the giant Kinokuniya bookstore. The basement is great for a bite - the Japanese food here is especially good.
reviewed
-
E
Jones the Grocer
This rather trendy deli also serves up a decent feed. Or is it a restaurant with a full-service deli? It’s hard to tell, as Jones has craftily blended the two into a beautiful high-ceilinged, airy space. The cheese room is a delight, as is the open-faced wagyu burger. The espresso-based coffees are top-notch too.
reviewed
-
F
Bugis Street Market
Lock up your teens. A far cry from its seedy past as Singapore’s most notorious red-light area, the Bugis St market is now a teeming three-level hive of stalls selling clothes, shoes and accessories, plus a few manicurists and nail bars, food stalls and, in a nod to the area’s past, a sex shop.
reviewed
-
G
Polar Arts Of Asia
Polar Arts of Asia is a bizarre conglomeration of artefacts, skulls and tribal jewellery among golf shops.
reviewed
-
H
East Inspirations
East Inspirations is jam-packed with antique figurines, trinkets and some furniture.
reviewed
-
I
Exotic Tattoo
Visitors looking for a tattoo shop with a definite pedigree should know about Exotic Tattoo, for it’s here that you’ll be able to get exquisite work from Sumithra Debi. One of the few female tattoo artists in Singapore, Sumithra is also the granddaughter of Johnny Two-Thumbs, probably Singapore’s most legendary tattoo artist. Though there’s another shop in the plaza bearing the Two-Thumbs name, Exotic Tattoo is the actual heir to the Two-Thumbs lineage. In addition to ink work, the shop also does piercing.
reviewed
-
J
Vivocity
Staggeringly large, the waterfront Vivocity megamall is Singapore's largest, and offers a viable alternative to pavement pounding on Orchard Rd, though its broad, squat design (by Japanese architect Toyo Ito) means there's still a prodigious amount of walking to do.
There are dozens of ubiquitous fashion chains such as Diesel, Hang Ten and Esprit (and locals such as M)phosis) as well as smaller boutiques. Electronics giants such as Denki and Challenger also have a heavy presence. The excellent Page One bookshop is a rival to Kinokuniya in Orchard Rd, while the Golden Village cineplex is also Singapore's largest, with luxury Gold Class, GVMax and Cinema Europa cinemas. At…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Katong Shopping Centre
Not a great deal of outstanding retail (unless you like model cars and suchlike), but an insight into Singaporean life. This ageing mall is full of ‘maid agencies’ – the people who source and place Indonesian, Filipina, Burmese and Indian maids with employers, taking a huge cut of their pay in the process – and lots of women coming and going, or waiting around for work. There’s also lots of ‘enrichment centres’ for parents worried that their kids might get left behind. An interesting but mildly depressing place.
reviewed
-
L
Stamford House
The oldest, most elegant and distinctive shopping centre in the city, Stamford House was built in 1904 and mercifully conserved (a similar old building across the road was destroyed to make way for Stamford Court). Its wooden floors, ornate ironwork and plasterwork and aura of hushed refinement remain, and the tenants – art galleries, hair and beauty salons, local designer boutiques and spas – generally treat the place with the respect it deserves.
reviewed
-
M
Geylang Serai Wet Market
Trundle out to Paya Lebar MRT station, from where it’s a short walk along Sims Ave to the temporary home of Geylang Serai Wet Market. The original market across the street is getting a facelift and has already missed its 2008 reopening deadline. Expect a crowded, traditional Asian wet market with meat hanging on hooks, baskets of sloshing fish, squirming frogs, slippery eels and people haggling over the produce. Watch your step!
reviewed
-
N
Citylink Mall
The first underground mall in Singapore, designed by Kohn Pederson Fox from New York, this seemingly endless tunnel of retail links City Hall MRT station with Suntec City and the Esplanade. It’s a tempting means of escaping searing sun or teeming rain, and a comfortable way of getting into the city from the Marina Bay hotels. It’s a bit disorienting, but there’s a full range of fashion, books, music and food down here.
reviewed
-
O
Sin Bee Trading Coffee Powder
One of the few remaining traditional coffee grinders in Singapore. The smell, the tins of beans and the ancient grinding machine offer a glimpse into Chinatown’s almost forgotten past. The owner’s son is friendly and will describe the various grades and blends on offer (including the staple kopitiam blend, mixed with margarine!). Hopefully soaring rents and gentrification in the area won’t force it out.
reviewed
-
P
Sungei Road Thieves Market
How and why the authorities allow this kerbside jumble sale to exist is a mystery, but happily it remains, spread out across four streets around a patch of open ground. The array of old geezers hawking random collections of used items makes it an interesting place to wander around, mingle with Singapore’s impoverished underbelly and perhaps throw them a few dollars for some of their wares.
reviewed
-
Q
Peninsula Excelsior
The shopping centre that props up the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel has definitely seen better days, but it’s one of the best hunting grounds in Singapore for sporting goods. Among the tennis rackets, bowling balls, cricket bats and football shirts are also plenty of unexpected and eccentric little shops, from guitar repairmen to what appears to be a death-metal specialist.
reviewed
-
R
Parco Bugis Junction
One of Singapore’s more distinctive malls, featuring two streets of recreated shophouses, covered with a glass ceiling and air-conditioned. Levels 1 and 2 are fashion central, stuffed with big local names, major midrange international brands, and a host of smaller local designers. On the top floor you’ll find the large Shaw Bugis cineplex.
reviewed
-
S
Small Claims Tribunal
Singapore enforces international copyright laws, so being palmed off with pirated goods is not likely to happen. If you do run into trouble, take your purchases back to the shop. If you fail to get satisfaction, contact the Small Claims Tribunal or any of the visitor centres. Tourist complaints are usually heard within two or three days.
reviewed
-
T
Galérie Cho Lón
Marrying the polish of a high-end lifestyle store with the chaotic jumble of an eccentric curio shop, Cho Lón always has the ability to surprise. Among the familiar range of Asian furniture, homeware and antiques you'll find an excellent range of books, plus things such as old-style stitched leather footballs and antique kids' bicycles. A delight.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
U
MICA Building
The rainbow-shuttered colonial MICA Building houses a clutch of quality galleries, including Art-2 Gallery, Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery, Gajah Gallery, Art Mosaic and Soobin Art Gallery, which showcases the best of China’s vibrant avant-garde scene.
reviewed
-
V
Lucky Plaza
One of the few remaining dingy old malls along the snazzy Western end of Orchard, Lucky Plaza has a bit of everything, from clothes to joke shops to tailors to massage parlours and a sex shop, but is notable for its basement hive of electronics and mobile phone stores (haggling essential). Packed with Filipina maids enjoying their day off on Sundays.
reviewed
-
W
Lim’s Art & Living
Holland Village Shopping Centre seems to be happy to buck the facelift trend. This complex is a warren of independent stores with decor stuck in the ’80s. Ladies can enjoy a manicure or pedicure while guys zip off to Lim’s Art & Living to rummage for Asian vases, teak furniture, cushions and glassware of all heights and girths.
reviewed
-
X
Patissier
Tucked behind a rather grand doorway, this modest little shop produces masterpieces of cake-design sold whole or by the slice, attracting streams of office women, who line up and coo over the display cabinet. It’s closed on Saturday and Sunday, but the Mohamed Sultan Rd branch is open weekends if the cravings get too strong.
reviewed
-
Tampines Mall
One of Singapore’s largest suburban shopping centres, conveniently located right at the Tampines MRT station. Aimed at the middle-class heartlanders, you’ll find a branch of the Isetan department store, a Golden Village cinema and several bookshops inside this bottle-green monster.
reviewed