Updated on 6 Jan 2019
KSL City Mall is one of the favorite hangouts for Singaporeans, I am no exception. Besides shopping in the KSL City Mall itself, do you know there is more to explore outside the Mall as well? We try to give you as complete a guide as we can on KSL Mall and what you can do at the surrounding vicinity.
Directions: Once you reached JB Sentral, you can go to JB Sentral Bus Interchange, there is frequent daily bus trips to and fro KSL City Mall. The bus fare is RM 1.50 per person. If you chose to take Grab Taxi from City Square to KSL, it costs me about RM 6 – 7 per trip, which is worth it if you have 3-4 pax going together.
The distance from JB Sentral to KSL Mall is less than 10 mins ride away.
KSL City Mall
Within KSL, there are many nice eateries and shopping hangouts. Let’s see what to eat and what to do there at KSL….
At Lot LG, there are a lot of food eateries. There is “I Love Yoo!“老油鬼鬼, their 油条 & porridge is delicious. If only their 油条 is crispier, it will be even more perfect. The porridge is salty with a bit of seafood taste. S.D.S is also one of our favorite eatery, they have revamped their menu and increased the prices twice in the past 2-3 years, with recent price increase in Dec17/Jan18. We signed up for the Membership so that we save on the GST and service tax. Their Signature Fried Rice and Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Mushroom has always been our favorites. They have this Membership Ship day on 15th of every month, the SDS card holder gets one meal 50% from the selected dishes (not all dishes), On Weekdays (excluding PH), kids also get to eat for free, applicable to kids 12 years old and below, accompanied by a dining adult with order of at least one main course.
At Tea Garden, the food is also nice and price is reasonable. There’s Moonlight Cake House (Bakery), which has good reviews about their cakes (but I have yet to try).
At Lot LG Level, from KFC, going in the direction of Seoul Garden, walk straight, you will see Bao Zhan 包棧, I usually will buy their Siew Mai and Lo Mai Gai (Lo Mai Kai). If you continue to walk straight, you will see evilly good “Devil 魔王” Chicken Steak and , we have tried their Durian Coconut Shake and Strawberry Coconut Shake, which is extremely delicious, but sweet. We requested for lesser sweet version, which the stall graciously acceded to our requests as well. I will want to try their chicken steak next round.
At Lot LG, there is Tesco Supermarket, which is a favorite hunting ground for Singaporeans. The price of the goods here are usually about 1/3 cheaper than that of Singapore’s. We usually will buy some dry goods back on our way home.
At Ground Floor, Baskin Robbins is no longer there (Dec 2018). There is Emack & Bolio’s, an American Ice-cream parlor with very interesting ice-cream cones to select from, and top with decadent ice-creams (it looks very interesting, will want to try it out next time). The ice-cream will cost you a small bomb, plus another RM 4 for the cone.
At Level 2, opposite Domesky, you can see a non-attractive stall “Taste Better” selling Durian Puff. You should try their Durian Ice-cream, it was by-far one of the most delicious, smooth Durian Ice-Cream that we had in JB (I have yet to try their Durian puffs though ….).
(Dec 2018) At Level 2, from escalator walking straight after the cinema, there is a 鹿角巷 “The Alley” Kafe that is the latest favorite. Their most popular bubble tea is 鹿角黑糖鮮奶 Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk, it cost RM 14, it is drinking cold milk mixed with brown sugar soaked hot pearls. We loved it. Look out for the long queues. On our second visit to drink the bubble teas, the tea baristas asked us to come back 45 mins later as they cannot cope with the orders.
On shopping, there are many retails shops here selling clothes, shoes, toys. There are Korean’s inspired stores like Domesky, Miniso. At Ground Floor, there are several spectacles shops promoting Korean Frames for RM 39, RM 69 and RM 99. I bought a pair of spectacles for about RM 280 there, the spectacle’s quality is not as good as local Singapore ones, but considering the price, it’s ok. You can collect your spectacles in 2 hours if they have your lens degree in the shop.
We have also sought out the Mobile phone repairs services here, we did not compare prices then as the price is slightly lower compared to Singapore, they can do it within 1-2 hours. But when you are buying protective screens or phone covers, do ask around and compare prices, We have been quoted exorbitant prices (because we are not local) by one shop for one phone cover. Then we went to another stall, the stall keeper quoted us a much lower price, so we said we will buy the phone cover. This stall keeper then walked back to the initial shop (that quoted us the exorbitant price) to take the stock and sell to us (surprised!).
On Ground floor, outside the Mall (near Tea Garden), there are 2 Durian Stalls. These stalls tend to sell pretty high price for Durians, whether low or peak season, their price does not come down. During the peak season (I mean in March this year), in Singapore I can get $10 for 3 Kampong durians, the stalls there are selling RM 50 for 3 kampong durians. The price for their branded Durians remains constant, never change even when there are abundance of Durians this seasons. They are there to “slaughter” the Singaporeans and China tourists. Once I bought a styrofoam box of Durians for RM 28 from them to quench my cravings. Seriously, not worth it…
Around the Vicinity of KSL City Mall
While there are nice food and shopping in KSL Mall, if you dare to venture out of the KSL Mall, you can find another undiscovered treasure dove out there, albeit nicer food at a cheaper price.
At Ground Level, exiting from “Tea Garden” Restoran, just turn left and walked straight, cross the little road separating KSL is Sheng Li (or Seng Li) Restoran (信利美食中心). We have tried the Ipoh Fried Kuey Teow, fried by an old man, it was delicious. Another stall here selling Dim Sum is also our favorite, each set cost RM 4, usually we will buy their Siew Mai (RM 4 for set of 3) and Lo Mai Gai (Lo Mai Kai) (also RM 4 each), personally the quality here is much better than that of Bao Zhan 包棧.
Outside Sheng Li Restoran, you can see some stalls or vans selling Durians. I read somewhere that you can get cheaper Durians here compared to the Durian stalls in KSL Mall. So I have asked several of these vans on different occasions, their price is not much diff from the Durian Stalls in KSL Malls, just as high. They are also targeting the Singaporeans tourists….
When you exit out from “Tea Garden”, just cross the road, you will see Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh (顺顺兴肉骨茶), I have tried the Bak Kut Teh here, their pork ribs soup is quite peppery and nice. Their chilli comes with the dark sweet sauce.
Outside Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh, if you walk straight down (along with the flow of traffic), you will see Ah Chong Wanton Noodle & Laksa (亚忠云吞面叻沙), have tried their Wanton Noodle, they served crispy fried Wantons here as well (we ordered separately from the noodles), the noodles are quite average. Along the same stretch of road, walk further down towards the end of the road, you will see Ming Ang (明安特产专卖店), this store is famous for their Heong Peah (or called Ma Ti Su (马蹄酥) or Pong Pia). I love their Shao Bao as well. From Ming Ang to the end of the road, then cross the road and turn right, you will hit Yit Foh Wanton Noodle (益和云吞面), I understand the Johorians highly recommend this Wanton Noodle stall. I have tried the wanton noodles here, you can taste the freshness of the noodles and wanton, like it is made fresh on the day itself.
Night Market Outside KSL City Mall (KSL Night Market – KSL Pasar Malam)
You do not know what you are missing if you never visited the KSL Night Market. I heard this night market is meant for the locals, but a lot of tourists and Singaporeans have joined in the fun.
The night market is opened every Monday after 5.00 pm (from the exit of “Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf”) along Jalan Seladang, all the way straight down to Grand Paragon Hotel (the whole stretch of road will be closed to traffic). Usually there will be a traffic jam closed to 5pm along this stretch of road. (By the way, the Bus going to JB Sentral Interchange will not be able to stop here, the picking up point is changed to the “Tea Garden” Exit on the other side).
At this Night Market, you will be able to find a lot of ready-to-eat food items (like Bao, Dim Sum, Bread, Cakes, Kuehs, Fried Carrot Cake, fried and grilled meat, etc), the food here is really cheap. I bought a box of Dim Sum before. They also sell a lot of fresh fruits like Jackfruits, seasonal fruits, Durians, etc. I once bought 1 box of Durians for RM 11 (the box is much bigger than the usual styrofoam box to keep Durians). There are also stalls selling clothes (Koreans fashion, Tees, Shorts, Jeans etc), Toys, Fishes, etc.
The night market is very crowded, so take care of your belongings at all times. There are usually some beggars lining along the road, begging for money as well.