Seemingly Endless Shopping

MBK is eight stories high and 330 meters long, with 2,500 shops using a total selling area of 89,000 square meters according to Wikipedia.  It used to be one of the biggest shopping malls in all of Asia when it was opened in 1985.  Fast forward to 25 years and MBK is no longer one of the largest shopping malls but it is still probably the coolest.  Bangkok now has many bigger, newer and “nicer” malls but MBK is most people’s favorite and will always be my favorite.  MBK is located centrally and is connected to the National Stadium BTS Skytrain stop making it very easy to get to.  The walkway also connects it to Siam center a newer, more expensive western mall clone which enables you to literally walk for miles through various malls starting at MBK.

Making Shopping Fun

MBK draws tourists from all over the world for its deals.  If you didn’t know which country you were in and you walked in MBK you would have a very difficult guess to make.  To me it reminds me of the Star Wars cantina scene because there are so many different types of people many whom are dressed in their native garb.

What makes shopping at MBK fun is probably 90% of everything in the entire shopping center is negotiable.  The asking price is often only slightly marked up for example some knock-off T-shirts are often sold for 150 baht when they will accept 120 or maybe 100.  It is not at all like Vietnam where I was told to offer 20% of the asking price at Ben Thanh Market.  What also makes shopping at MBK fun is the number of competitors.  For some items there are literally a dozen shops selling them so you can easily walk from shop to shop and shop for the best prices.

MBK Shopping General Guidelines

If you wonder if something is a knock-off product it is 99% of the time.  If you go to MBK expecting to buy the newest and latest high tech gadget for a bargain price think again.  Most high-end, top of the line electronics cost the same if not more expensive than in the United States or anywhere else in the world.   I was surprised that my Nikon camera was no cheaper in Thailand than the US because Nikon’s lens factory is here.  The same goes for all products made in Asia such as Nike shoes.

There is less supply and competition of many high end products in Thailand than there are in the USA.  Another possible reason why the electronics are not cheaper which relates to competition is the lack of internet sales.  To my knowledge it is not as common in Thailand for people to shop at online mega stores such as Amazon.

Just because you can’t get deals on high end electronics doesn’t mean  you can’t get great deals on electronics.  MBK is loaded with last years models and other not in such high demand products such as cell phones, mp3 players and video games which the prices are all negotiable and depend on your bartering ability.

MBK Shop Factoids

If you’ve never been to MBK there is no way to explain the uniqueness of it.  You just need to go there and experience MBK shopping because it is not like a typical shopping mall experience.  Besides Tokyu department store which is an Asian incarnation of Macy’s which is on the corner of the first 4 floors there are many styles of shops that do not exist in the USA.  I lived across MBK for a month and I go there probably 10 times a month so I list my current view of what’s at MBK.

1st Floor

The first floor at MBK has a mix of everything.  There are clothes shops, banks, pharmacies, restaurants and other random shops on the first floor.  There is also a full sized grocery store called Tops market.  It is pretty much like a Safeway on the west coast of the USA.  I found Greek yogurt there which I hardly find in Bangkok and they have a pretty good bakery.

2nd Floor

The second floor is much like the first floor in that there is no real organization.  There is a GNC where I buy my multivitamins for astronomical prices which is a rip-off compared to the US prices of supplements and vitamins.  On the second floor is a place where I get my business cards and printing stuff done and it is not alone.  There are seemingly dozens of printing places on the second floor and what  seems like the alternating printing shops, tailors and jewelery shops sprinkling in the occasional clothes and hand bag shop.

3rd Floor

The 3rd floor is mostly fashion oriented.  My favorite part is the south end closest to the Patumwan Princess hotel where there is a concentrated no nonsense clothes area with cheap deals on T-shirts and other forms of non-formal clothes.  You will also find your fair share of gold & jewelery shops on the 3rd floor which I easily ignore, and tailor shops which I try to ignore as most of the time there is a semi-annoying (usually non-Thai Asian) guy trying to get you to come in and buy a suit.

4th Floor

Although there are sporadic electronic shops on most floors the entire 4th floor is electronics.  There are hundreds of kiosk like shops in the middle which is surrounded by shops lining the walls.  There is no real organization to the 4th floor shopping  madness but it seems like one side is mostly cellphones while the other side is mostly mp3 players and other electronics.  There is also a retail electronics store called Power Buy which is not that much fun.  There is also a ghetto looking food place selling Thai food and a row of food shops selling snacks next to the middle elevator.  I get a Thai Pearl Tea drink almost 100% of the time when go to MBK which costs 15 baht (45 cents).  I have spent most of my money on the 4th floor of MBK.

5th Floor

The 5th floor is mostly furniture therefore since my apartment is fully furnished, I never really spend more than 30 seconds on it.  I’ve glanced at the furniture and it seems it is very cheaply priced and no doubt most of it is cheaply made.  There is also a book store selling mostly Thai written books and an international food court called “The Fifth Food Avenue” which is geared towards tourists.  It has a few different ethnic restaurants and a backpacker/tourist meeting lounge.  You put some money on a credit card and go in and order and they swipe your card.  I had a steak at one of the places and it was terrible but I didn’t expect much.

6th Floor

The 6th floor is mixed with clothes and souvenirs.  The entire south end is loaded with shops selling Thai handicrafts and other souvenirs.  There is some cool stuff but I don’t like to be a pack rat so I avoid picking up all the cool stuff I see.  Even when I try to buy something for a family member or friend I can never think of what to get.

The 6th floor has an extremely ghetto food court where you have to buy these tickets.  The food is pretty disgusting but if you’re hungry enough you crave the heat-lamped garbage.  Of special not is an Indian/Mediterranean place which is overpriced and absolutely terrible with microwaved nan and curry that is probably weeks old.

7th Floor

Last but not least is the 7th floor.  The 7th floor has a gigantic karaoke place on the south end and a big neon style bowling alley on the right side.  There are around 20 restaurants on the 7th floor including American chains, McDonalds, KFC, and “The Sizzler” which is very popular as every time I walk by there are tons of people waiting in line.  There is a Swensen’s dessert place and a Red Mango yogurt peddler along with many more restaurants including a couple Japanese restaurants and Asian style barbecue places.  I am in the process of reviewing MBK’s restaurants but it will be hard because I always want to go back to my favorite CocoIchibanYa Japanese curry house.

The 7th floor is littered with movie promotional stands playing clips about Thai and American movies.  There is also a small arcade and internet cafe.   In the center is the box office and there are around 10 movie theaters.  There are 3 primary types of movie theaters which I will blog about in the future but the standard movie for matinee is only 100 baht ($2.99) which compared to the USA may be the best deal of Thailand.  The theaters are all brand new and nice usually playing all current blockbusters and Thai movies.

More About Movie Theaters in Bangkok - Coming Soon

Inside at the Center of MBK

Everything I have Bought at MBK

Before I moved out of my cluttered apartment in San Francisco I promised myself I wouldn’t buy a bunch of toys only to use my favorite one and have the others collect dust along with accumulating tons of stuff that will eventually just be hard to get rid of.  Lucky for me I got a fully furnished apartment and haven’t bought too much stuff although I need to stop now or I will become a pack rat!   This list doesn’t include the dozen or so movies, meals and pharmacy items (shampoo, soap, etc.).

Rundown of all Items I’ve Purchased at MBK from April 7th to October 27th 2009:

DVD Player

MP3 Player (Sony Walkman)

Talking Language Pocket Translater

Portable DVD Player

Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera

Nikon Nikkor 70-300mm Lens

Bed Set (Sheets, blanket & pillow cases)

Camera Bag

Ergonomic Microsoft Keyboard

Bunch of T-shirts

1 Pair of Green Cotton Shorts

Bunch of DVDs

2 Nokia Cell Phones

Picture Cell Phone Vendor Lady took of me with my New Cell Phone Camera to Prove it Worked

Good Smell.  Good Curry

It may sound odd but that is the catch phrase of Coco IchibanYa which is a Japanese curry house restaurant in Bangkok’s MBK shopping center.  Coco IchibanYa is conveniently located on the 7th floor across from the movie theaters in between McDonalds and a Vietnamese restaurant.  It is a sit-down restaurant with the typical Thai service of 8 girls doing the job of 2 with delightful smiles on their faces.

Being a curry house the menu is what you’d expect.  Many different things topped with curry.  I opted for the very unhealthy chicken katsu covered curry and rice.  I added an order of vegetables to it which included carrots, asparagus, potatoes and onions.   The menu allows you to mix and match different items and even allows you to select from various levels of spicyness which is always nice.

Great Curry

The Japanese curry sauce at Coco IchibanYa was excellent.  The chicken katsu wasn’t as crispy as I like but after it was smothered in the gravy-like curry sauce it’s all the same right?  For some reason the white rice tasted better than what I’ve had lately as well.  The vegetables were also good when doused in the delicious normal spiciness curry sauce.  I can tell anyone who is going to Coco IchibanYa that the normal level of spicy for the curry isn’t that spicy so if you like spicy go for a higher level.

Needless to say, after I finished my meal I was completely stuffed and satisfied because the food was very tasty.  Japanese curry houses are not very common outside of Japan and Coco IchibanYa provided a welcome change to my Bangkok diet.  I actually thought about heading back to Coco IchibanYa 2 days later when I went back to MBK but I held off.  I can see myself craving the delicious curry soon and making a return trip.

The cost for my double order of chicken katsu and vegetable curry along with 2 drinks was less than 300 baht ($9USD) so I consider Coco IchibanYa low-mid range restaurant as far as Bangkok is concerned.  Since it is located right next to the MBK SF Cinema city it makes a perfect place to grab a relatively quick meal why your movie’s seemingly endless previews and advertisements are running.

Where to Find Boring Household Stuff?

My new apartment was furnished but I still needed to get bedding.  I also wanted to get a rice cooker and coffee maker.

I have been to MBK which is by my old apartment dozens of times where there is a department store called Tokyu.  Tokyu is a 5 level store with everything from a grocery/deli to clothes to houseware.  The stuff at Tokyu is expensive (for Bangkok standards) and not all that great.

I was looking at sheets, pillows, etc. at Tokyu and it was incredibly overpriced.  Sheets were over $30 USD and they weren’t even that nice.  I was feeling frugle so I decided to wait a day to get the sheets and go to Big C which one of my friends Gary recommended to me.

It’s Kind of like a “Low-End Target”

I got to Big C after being in this humongous traffic jam (everyday traffic) and when I walked in it immediately reminded me of old school K-Mart stores of the early 1990s.  It was disorganized (for Thai standards) and filled with mostly generic crap.  All the bedding looked like Ross Dress for Less rejects.  I’m talking Garfield bed sets, pink flowered bed sets, bright purple and brown bed sets w/ ruffles on the pillow cases, etc.  This angered me because I know I have to either go back and spend too much at Tokyu or try to find another store.

Big C was just like the other discount stores like Target and Walmart in the USA as they had some brand name products and some generic versions which were often 1/4 of the price.  I tested my fate with a generic rice cooker and coffee maker instead of a panasonic version which cost 4x more.  I made sure to get a rice cooker which has a vegetable steamer on the top so theoretically I can cook rice and vegetables in my apartment to eat healthy instead of eating greasy friend noodles or rice.

My Big C experience lets me recommend Big C only for people who live in Bangkok and need to stock the house of bulk items you would normally get at Costco (there are none in Thailand) such as toilet paper, bottled water, rice.  Anyone visiting Bangkok for the short term, Big C is a complete waste of time as nothing you can buy in the entire store would be worth bringing home compared to any store in MBK or even on the street.