Patchi Price Hike

Everybody in the household loved Patchi. But they were not exactly cheap. And since the 1st of January, there was a price hike of almost 40%!

I learned it the hard way after I made my order and was about to pay. I had to double check the price. It was certainly a steep climb. That was the effect of our Ringgit falling I was sure ....

In the Kebaya Shop

160711 Buying kebaya - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Nothing beats taking a 360 photo from inside the shop, looking at the collections they had. Very nice indeed!

Toko Ce Rose Kebaya Nyonya

One of the main reason we drove to Melaka last Monday was to shop. Anita had been eyeing some traditional kebaya for some time. Those is KL were either non-authentic or too expensive. The best places to get some proper kebaya would either be in Penang or Melaka since the Peranakan were known to make some fantastic attire.

She went on the net and found out about this place. There were a few others around the corner from here, but this was the one which caught her eyes. Getting there was pretty straight forward since it was located just around the corner from the famous Rumah Merah or Stadhuys building, not far from Jonker.

There were plenty of selections

Coming in many shapes and sizesThe place certainly lived up to its reputation. And they catered for the real expensive ones to the ones more affordable, complete with set of accessories. Unfortunately size was a factor for Anita, and we were not able to buy the exotic ones.

All in all, definitely a place to visit if one was into buying kebaya.

Freeport A'Famosa Outlet

First it was the JPO - Johor Premium Outlet. Then came the IT retail park near KLIA called the Mitsui. And now the retail outlet fever had properly hit Malaysia with the recent opening of another one near A'Famosa near the Negri Sembilan-Melaka border right along the PLUS highway heading south. Only about 90 minutes form KL, it certainly worth a look. And that was we did yesterday on our way home from our day trip to Melaka.

It was still brand spanking new - I was sure less than 3 months old. Some of the parts were still closed and the road leading to the outlet was still being built. Getting there was straight forward especially those who had visited the A'Famosa Resort before. It was right by the entrance to the resort. And parking was not a problem. The main issue here was exposure to the elements. The pace was hot!

Camel. Apt. Since the place was scorchingly hot!

Impressed with the architecture though ...Free hugs ....Is it better than the JPO? Unfortunately it was a resounding no. In fact, the JPO is in a different league all together. The absence of many brand names should alert you that retail experience won't be nearly as good. But the facilities was better. In fact, I must say that it was more family-orientated.

Can you get Sacoor? Yes. Can you get Samsonite? Yes. Nike? Yes. But that was about it.

No Tumi. No Burberry. No Armani. No Kate Spade. No Boss. The list goes on! A different place compared to JPO.

Cool watery surroundingNot sure how the windmill fits inYes, you can climb into the windmillMore water sproutsBut I managed to get some good Under Armour garments from one of the sports outlet. Limited choice but the price was OK. Oh! And better look closely at the items as some of them were not as it seemed. I was looking for a Citizen watch but it turned out it was a different brand in the cabinet. Even the drinks outlet could be copycat. They have "Juicee" here instead of "Boost" although the menu looked almost identical. Sneaky!

Keeping it under the shadesOne of Anita's favourite designer, Melinda Ooi also has an outlet hereTime to cool down ...Would I go there again? Maybe after another year or so when the place was more established. I would definitely rather go to JPO than here at the moment ....

Chocolates!!!

We did not plan to shop while we were in Langkawi. All we had in mind was some time off and the beach. The hotel we stayed in was also well away from the main town. There were hardly any opportunity to shop there.

Luckily, the driver was kind enough to take us to some shops on our way back to the jetty. The boys got their wish - chocolates!

And the chocolates there were damn cheap! Much cheaper than I expected. No wonder people loved to shop in Langkawi. We could get anything else though as we don't have any more space to carry them.

So, a quick stop, grab what we could and that was about it .....