MyTOWN Shopping Centre Review - The Perpetual Saturday (2024)

MyTOWN Shopping Centre should be the first stop for those who’ve just moved into a new home and don’t want to spend too much.

When we first moved into our apartment, we went to three different malls over three different weekends searching for items we needed for the home. I’m pretty sure that if we had just come to MyTOWN Shopping Centre back then, we could’ve gotten most of what we needed and it would’ve saved us from buying all sorts of crappy furniture and housewares off the internet. In fact, the impetus of us coming here on this day was because our crappy Lazada office chair broke again for the second time (after less than a year of use) and we were fed up with Lazada quality!

MyTOWN Shopping Centre knows it’s not flashy… just look at the outside of it… but it’s doing its best to fill a void with their choice of retail tenants. It does seem like this mall is trying to be more than just a place to shop. Co-working spaces make MyTOWN a possible destination for work, but the mall’s outdoor hangout spot and multiple entertainment venues also make it a place to play.

Layout

There are 5 floors of shops at MyTOWN Shopping Centre, from the basem*nt up to level 3. There are additional levels above and below this, but these are just parking levels. With the exception of the basem*nt, levels G and above have a sort of bean-shaped layout with shops on the outer ring and an inner bubble of more stores. Be sure to check out the East Atrium as there will usually be a pop-up here. There are escalators at each end, one at “Central Town” and another two at the atriums closer to the IKEA end. The basem*nt is square shaped with an extra ring of shops. There are only three escalators down here, all on the northern edge. At the south end of the basem*nt, there is a direct tunnel to Cochrane MRT station.

Parking Rate

Shopping

Click on pictures to enlarge

The IKEA at MyTOWN Shopping Centre is the largest IKEA outlet in Malaysia. This makes MyTOWN the king when it comes to Home & Living. Right now there are a dozen stores listed in the category, not including the furniture superstore. This may not sound like much, but compare that to a huge mall like 1 Utama, which has 15 stores listed in the Home & Living category but almost half of them are small shops that only sell expensive furniture or wall paintings. If you’re just looking for some sturdy yet affordable furniture, IKEA has you covered. None of the other Home & Living tenants at MyTOWN waste space trying to sell you furniture, and instead focus on other useful home items not found in IKEA like small appliances, water purifiers and specialty equipment (massage chairs, exercise machines). Don’t forget the shops in the “Hobbies/Leisure” category such as Daiso, Miniso and Kaison that are always good for really cheap housewares or cute home decor. If you need something for the home and don’t want to spend too much, you will have the best chance of finding it at MyTOWN Shopping Centre as opposed to the other popular malls in KL.

For fashion apparel, MyTOWN Shopping Centre made a good effort. Their tenants are not a complete rehash of the same shops you see in every mall. Due to lower rents, obscure brands and niche boutiques are able to get a foothold here at MyTOWN. I was surprised to see not one but two specialty stores selling exclusively maternity wear. Even a bigger, more popular mall like Mid-Valley Megamall has zero maternity stores in their directory. Muslimah garments are also well-represented. Shoes and men’s clothes are two departments that are lacking at MyTOWN Shopping Centre though.

Of course, mall staples such as Cotton On, Uniqlo and Padini have a presence here, but about a third of the clothing shops are independent brands that I have never seen before like Hotwind (unisex), HLA (menswear) and Vegapino (shoes). Not all of these were cheap local or Chinese clothiers either. Notable finds at this mall include Calliope, an Italian fast fashion brand, and Tomaz, a haven for the well-dressed man with smart blazers hanging all over their walls and leather loafers on display at their entrance. You could build an entire unique outfit with items from these lesser-known brands that you definitely won’t see on every other Malaysian walking around.

Digital Lifestyle has a decent showing with the popular telcos and phone brands. There is a lot of overlap in this category between this mall and Sunway Velocity next door. Electronics is where MyTOWN pulls ahead, as it has the huge All IT Hypermarket in addition to the handful of smaller gadget shops present here.

Many of the tenants under the “Beauty & Wellness” category are spas, salons or clinics. If you’re looking for a specialized treatment, such as skin whitening or a facelift, there are enough clinics at MyTOWN that you can shop around and compare prices. Don’t come here if you’re searching for skincare products or cosmetics. For a much wider variety of international brands, you’re much better off going to the nearby Sunway Velocity Mall.

One layout element that boggled me was that the only two convenience stores in the entire mall, MyNews and FamilyMart, were both located the in the basem*nt. They weren’t even spaced out, but literally across the corridor from each other. It was annoying constantly having to make treks to the exact same spot in the basem*nt just to get a bottle of water.

When wandering around, I noticed a lot of empty shop lots at MyTOWN. This got more pronounced as we advanced to the upper floors. Browsing the entirety of the 2^nd and 3^rd floors took considerably less time than the lower levels because of the fewer number of stores up there. It doesn’t help that COVID has forced the closure of all the entertainment tenants that make this mall interesting. The VR arcade, escape room, karaoke bar and cinema were all dark and shuttered, making this mall look really depressing in certain areas.

Food

FoodTown: Basem*nt

The basem*nt is amusingly labeled “Foodtown” and is the best place to get a snack. I was pleased with the food & beverage options and it didn’t feel like one type of cuisine dominated the mall. Big Apple Donuts, Oppa Korean Corndog and Street Churros are seriously bad for your waistline but so hard to resist. Many of the outlets are located in the central island spaces, which don’t have space for much seating, if at all. On top of that, social distancing greatly limits the number of available seats so be prepared to take your churro to go. The restaurants on the edges of this level have room for dine-in guests and will be more comfortable. These cafes in the basem*nt are definitely more on the cheap and casual side of the spectrum, such as The Chicken Rice Shop, Simply Penang and The Canai Guys.

IKEA: Levels G and 1

Being the biggest IKEA in Malaysia, patrons are bound to get hungry while walking through such a massive store. It seemed like there were more people eating at the IKEA Cafe than at the food court. Located on the ground floor, you first have to check into the IKEA itself since the cafe entrance is blocked off for now. Turn left once you walk in and the cafe will be on your left. Here they serve coffee, boba tea and pastries like croissants, muffins and donuts. There are quite a few tables for dine-in, with more seating on level 1 that spills out into the mall.

If you keep heading straight past the ground floor cafe, you will reach the Swedish Food Market. This area is stocked with packaged biscuits, crisps, chocolate and many other IKEA branded foods. There is also a small fridge here where you can pick up a drink. A little further from this, across the check out registers, is IKEA’s hot food counter. Line up here to get curry puffs, hot dogs and ice cream for good value. Take note that there are two queues at this counter. The queue that is a bit further back might have fewer people in it since everyone coming straight in from the mall will naturally stop at the first queue. If you’re just buying ice cream, you can save a lot of time by using the self-serve ice cream vending machines that are usually located along the walls.

Food Court: Level 3

On the third floor is the Food Empire, the mall’s food court. This is a large space with picnic benches and big windows on the back wall with a view facing south. The food up here is mostly Asian cuisine.

Washrooms

Me and my bladder appreciated the abundance and easy accessibility of the washrooms. The facilities are conveniently spaced out in MyTOWN Shopping Centre with 3 to 4 washrooms on each level. No matter where you are in the mall, if you feel the urge, you’ll likely have a washroom already in your sights. You won’t have to backtrack or walk far to find a toilet.

I used the facilities three times during my day at MyTOWN, and all three washrooms had the exact same layout. When you enter the washroom, there will be trough sinks with push button faucets arranged in an L-shape. The soap dispenser is only at the edges, so if it’s busy you’ll have to awkwardly squeeze in next to someone to get a dollop of soap. There is an airblade style machine to dry your hands afterwards.

There are 8 stalls in the women’s tandas: 7 sitting toilets and 1 squatter at the end. There are small pictures on the door of the stall to tell you which is which, and whether the stall has a bidet. There is no toilet paper in any of the stalls, so grab some from the communal dispenser by the sinks if you need it. All of the washrooms I used also had one separate disabled toilet next to the main gendered washrooms.

Take note that the toilets in the inner bubble will have two different entry/exit points. When you’ve finished your business, one hallway will lead back to the northern part of the mall and the other to the south part. If you’re not paying attention, you could end up in a totally different spot than where you entered the washroom. After a mutual pee break, I stood waiting, confused as to why Mark was taking much longer than me to finish. I thought he was taking a poop, but it turns out he had taken the other corridor and was on the other side of the mall! If you’re visiting this mall with someone of the opposite gender, you can easily get separated after a bathroom break.

Extras

Sunken Garden

On the south facing Jalan Cochrane is the Sunken Garden. This is accessible directly from the basem*nt level next to the McDonalds. You can also get here with a short walk from the ground floor exit opposite Central Town. This uncovered amphitheatre-shaped space has some lawn accents and trees. Sometimes there are mall events held here, but when there’s nothing going on, there’s nothing to look at while sitting here. Usually, this functions as a hangout spot. Just behind this is the Town Park, a covered space with gentle music piped into the area. There are a few more places to sit in this area, as well as a small garden with a short walking path through it.

Balcony & Viewpoint

This is not really a feature of the mall, but something we stumbled upon. On level 3, many of the south facing exits that would normally lead onto a balcony are currently blocked off. However, one exit remains unlocked in between the DaiTokyo and Wong Kok restaurant. When you come out here, you have a view over the Town Park below, Cochrane MRT station and beyond.

Saturday Worthy?

If you are satisfied with generic furnishings, you will be able to find much of what you need to decorate a new home at MyTOWN Shopping Centre. Muji, Spotlight, Kaison, Daiso and MR. DIY will have all of the non-furniture extras that one would need, from the essential (kitchenware) to the overlooked (power strips). However, the lack of a department store anchor tenant at this mall means there is no “mid-range” alternative for some items. You might be stuck buying expensive Muji bedding in boring minimalist colours or super cheap cookware of dubious quality from MR. DIY if you desperately need these items and don’t have time to shop anywhere else.

Once COVID blows over and the entertainment venues have hopefully resumed operations, MyTOWN Shopping Centre is a much better place to do activities other than shop and eat over the other nearby malls. Sunway Velocity only has a cinema and ancient, crappy video arcade. Berjaya Times Square has a bowling alley, and while that’s neat, that’s all they have. All five of MyTOWN Shopping Centre’s entertainment tenants look cool and get very good reviews on Google.

I would only go to MyTOWN Shopping Centre for home furnishings, but this is still a very worthwhile mall even if you’re not looking to buy housewares. If you require less mainstream fashion apparel, a co-workspace or want to hang out with friends in a comfortable place, keep this mall in mind. There are a lot of great hangout spots here: the Sunken Garden, any of the entertainment venues, or even in the IKEA. I think someone could easily spend an afternoon at MyTOWN Shopping Centre without even doing any shopping.

Mall Info

Address: No.6, Jalan Cochrane, Seksyen 90, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Daily: 10am – 10pm
Nearest MRT Station: Cochrane
Stores and Floors: Approximately 250 stores on 5 floors
Shop Types: Home Furnishings, Local & Big Brand Women’s Apparel, Salons & Clinics, Entertainment
Anchors: IKEA, Village Grocer, Golden Screen Cinemas
Website: https://mytownkl.com.my/en/home/