Singapore City Shopping

  1. 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.

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  2. Wang San Yang

    Elegant specialty tea merchant whose location among the rough-and-ready bustle of the Hong Lim Complex gives it an injection of authenticity lacking in Chinatown's more tourist-friendly teahouses. Tea demonstrations on demand.

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  3. Whatever

    Singapore's middle-class affluence has fuelled a surging 'wellness' industry and Whatever is one of its principle players, offering classes in everything from yoga and meditation to the more esoteric healing disciplines. The bookshop glows with inspiration and there's an excellent vegetarian café. Some might find all that beatific harmoniousness to be, well, a little sickening.

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  4. Wheelock Place

    Apple devotees make pilgrimage to the mall's glass cone, which also houses a packed Borders and exclusive hair salons.

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  5. Wisma Atria

    In-your-face frontage contains international high-street fashion, jewellery and electronics, plus the outstanding Food Republic food court.

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  6. Yue Hwa Chinese Products

    This five-storey department store stocks everything Chinese, from porcelain teapots and jade jewellery to slinky silk cheongsams, dried fish and medicinal herbs/fungi/spices. Pick up some ginseng, a snakeskin drum or a jar full of seahorses for the road.

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  7. Zhen Lacquer Gallery

    Generally kitsch but sometimes stylish, the shiny lacquered stuff at Zhen will at least keep your eyes entertained for a few minutes. Hand-painted jewellery boxes, placemat sets, utensils, plates and photo albums are the pick of the crop.

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