11 Great Things To Do At KSL City Mall (Johor Bahru) – Singaporeans’ Beloved Weekend Mall

KSL City Mall is a famous shopping mall in Johor Bahru, Malaysia that is a 10-minute drive from Johor customs. It is home to a tidy sprawl of retail shops, massage parlours, restaurants, a cinema, KTV joint, supermarket, and other amenities. There is also a 4-star hotel above the mall if you wish to stay over the weekend. Based on my own visits, I have created a list of eleven great things to do here. This article was last updated on 24 October 2019.

1. Thai Odyssey

Thai Odyssey is a Malaysian massage parlour chain with plenty of outlets across Malaysia.

I was impressed by the elegant and peaceful ambience of the KSL branch. It is quite large with many rooms and massage chairs inside.

The wife and I both had a 90-minute Thai massage (RM146.30) inside a clean and cozy couple room.

My masseuse was really good at massaging my sore muscles; it almost felt as good as my massages in Bangkok.

In comparison, the wife’s masseuse was quite sloppy; it was only after the wife requested for her to use more strength that she started to use more force in her strokes.

KSL is chock-full of other massage parlours with cheaper rates, but most of them have pretty bad online reviews so we decided to just stick to Thai Odyssey.

Note that the branch is extremely popular so it’s best to make reservations a few days in advance. I tried booking a weekend 3pm slot two days in advance, but was given a 12.30pm slot instead because it was fully booked for the rest of the day.

All the Thai Odyssey therapists are females.

How to Book
1. First I went to the Thai Odyssey reservations page and filled in the relevant details.
2. A few hours later, Thai Odyssey sent me an email confirmation. They will suggest another timing if your requested time slot is not available.

Full price list: click here
Location: L2-01
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Phone: +607 2893693

2. MBO Cinemas

Food counter

MBO Cinemas is the third largest cinema chain in Malaysia.

The ticket prices are extremely affordable compared to Singapore, costing around RM16 on weekends and RM12 on weekdays. Popcorns and beverages are cheap too, and there is even a “gourmet counter” offering finger food and pizzas.

The wife and I caught the movie “Joker” at MBO KSL over the weekend. I had bought tickets online, but realised later on that there was actually no need to do so. This is because I checked about two hours before the showtime and there were still plenty of seats available.

We enjoyed our movie experience very much! The movie hall was clean, modern and spacious. The sound system was great too. The seats were covered with leather instead of fabric, which was more hygienic.

The only downside was that the theatre was REALLY cold; I could feel a constant draft of cold air blowing directly at me. Luckily it stopped about midway through the movie. Therefore, please remember to bring a jacket!

Movies and Showtimes: www.mbocinemas.com
Location: L2-128

3. Tesco

Tesco is a large supermarket chain in Malaysia. The KSL branch is clean and brightly lit with a good variety of groceries.

The prices are much cheaper compared to Singapore, which is why we like making weekend grocery runs here.

If you spend more than RM50, you can use the receipt to redeem free two-hour parking at the customer service counter. Location: LG-26

4. Claw Machines

We saw plenty of claw machines in the mall’s basement (level LG), with many plushies up for grabs.

Each token only costs RM1, with the price going lower if you buy more. This is three times cheaper than Singapore’s claw machines.

The wife and I bought 25 tokens for RM20. We left empty-handed but it was definitely a fun experience.

We also saw a pink-themed claw machine shop called Superstar (L1-93) that had a life-size pink colour Rilakkuma for photo taking.

5. Food Hunting

No visit to Johor Bahru would be complete without indulging in delicious food. We saw several famous eateries inside KSL mall, such as Liang Sandwich Bar, Emack and Bolio’s, Meng Meng Roasted Duck, D’Shanghai, You Kee XO, and more. And of course there were bubble tea shops as well (Gong Cha, Tiger Sugar and The Alley). Check out my list of 10 best eateries in KSL City Mall!

6. Studio M KSL Hair Salon

Click to enlarge

Studio M KSL is a popular hair salon in KSL mall known for its high-quality hair services and friendly staff. The prices are quite affordable too, you can see the full price list above.

Location: G-08
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 9.30pm
Phone: +607 2890058

7. I’m A Singer Family Karaoke

Weekday Pricelist (click to enlarge)

Weekend Pricelist (click to enlarge)

I’m A Singer Family Karaoke is a KTV joint located on level 2. It offers decent rooms with good sound systems at very affordable prices: a small room (for two to three persons) costs just RM60 for two hours.

The wife and I had a really fun KTV session here! Our room was very clean and spacious; I think it could have accommodated up to four people. The songs selection system was very user-friendly and had a large variety of songs, including popular songs from China singing competitions like Sing china, I Am A Singer, Sing My Song, etc.

We only booked the room for one hour (RM35), which we later regretted because we had to rush through many of the songs (sing halfway and skip). The next time we will definitely be booking a two hour session!

If you are with a large group, there are bigger “VIP” and “Party” rooms available (refer to price list above). There are also food and beer packages.

Location: L2-89
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 3am
Phone: +607 339 1008

8. Daiso

Ok I know what you are thinking, this is just another Daiso branch. But I figured there was no harm checking it out since we were already at the mall anyways.

To my pleasant surprise, the Daiso KSL branch was large, spacious, and brightly lit. Each item costs RM5.90, which is slightly cheaper than Singapore, but that’s not its main draw.

Instead, we enjoy shopping here because even though we visited on a Saturday, the store was not crazily crowded like the Daiso branches in Singapore.

In addition, it offers a larger variety of products than Singapore branches, and they are all neatly organised on numerous rows of shelves. The wife and I bought several nifty household products here.

Location: L2-080B
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

9. Bargain Fashion

There are no luxury fashion boutiques in KSL, but we did see quite a few bargain fashion shops. Spend some time looking around and you might find decent clothes at great prices.

10. Mobile Accessories

There are plenty of mobile accessories shops in KSL mall, where you can buy trendy handphone cases and screen protectors at low prices.

11. Popular Bookstore

This is a good place to buy some books and stationeries at lower prices than Popular branches in Singapore.

Location: L1-96
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

KSL City Mall
Directions: 10-minute car ride from Johor customs (we took a Grab ride from the customs for RM5)
Address: 33, Jalan Seladang, Taman Abad, 80250 Johor Bahru
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Mall Directory: www.kslcity.com.my/store/view