12 Best Things To Do At Mid Valley Southkey Mall – Johor Bahru’s Newest and Biggest Integrated Mall!

I visited the new Mid Valley Southkey mall in Johor Bahru during the long weekend break recently. This complex is JB’s newest and biggest integrated mall, and is the sister mall of Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur. It is HUGE, spanning an area of 2.5 million square feet (230,000 square metres). After spending half a day exploring this sprawling complex, I have come up with a list of 12 best things to do here.

1. SOGO

SOGO is a huge three-storey Japanese department store in the mall. It is the anchor tenant of the mall, and sells a large variety of goods from clothing to home accessories to beauty products.

I found that the homeware items here are quite affordable, especially when compared to classy homeware shops in Singapore like Crate & Barrel, Robinson, Tangs etc.

Visiting this department store invoked a sense of nostalgia because Singapore also once had a SOGO outlet at Raffles City back in the 1990s.

2. Shopping

F.O.S (LG-038)

Brands Outlet (LG-041)

Good2U (LG-028)

Padini Concept Store + Vincci (G-047&048)

Uniqlo (G-033&034)

Uniqlo here is around 10% cheaper than in Singapore

Michael Kors (G-005)

After browsing through the various fashion retail shops, I felt that this mall is a good place to shop for bargain unbranded fashion. You can get trendy graphic t-shirts from as low as 3 for RM45, or denim jeans at just RM59.

I also saw several outlet shops selling branded goods (Polo Ralph Lauren, Armani, etc) at heavily discounted prices, though I can’t vouch for their authenticity.

The mall is home to a large number of mid-market brands like Adidas, Victoria’s Secret, G2000, Charles & Keith, Bath & Body Works, and many more. However, the prices are around the same as prices in Singapore, and in some shops I even found the items to be slightly more expensive.

The only exception was Uniqlo, where the items are around 10% cheaper than Singapore outlets.

As for luxury boutiques, we saw a few high end brands like Chanel, Coach, Dior, Braun Buffel, Michael Kors, etc. Service was good, but again the prices are similar to those of boutiques in Singapore.

3. Sports Fashion

adidas original (G-024)

Skechers (F-003)

Mid Valley Southkey mall is a good place to shop for trendy sportswear. I saw many sports-fashion shops, including brands like adidas original, JD Sports, Onitsuka Tiger, Royal Sporting House, Skechers, World of Sports, and more.

The prices are not really cheaper than those of sport shops in Singapore, but it’s good that all the brands are conveniently located in one spot.

4. FamilyMart

Mid Valley Southkey mall is home to a small FamilyMart store in the basement. This well-known Japanese convenience store offers a variety of Japanese snacks and food.

However, it is most famous for its delicious Brown Sugar Bubble Milk, which is usually sold out by mid-noon.

Location: LG-020
Opening Hours: Daily 8am to 11pm

5. Game Zone Palo (Arcade)

Game Zone Palo is a large gaming arcade in the mall, with games suitable for both children and young adults. I saw many colourful claw machines and arcade machines here.

Location: S-012
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

6. Harvey Norman

I came across a huge Harvey Norman store in the mall, selling the usual home appliances like television sets, fridges, washing machines, etc.

Some of the items were quite cheap, but remember that you will still need to pay GST at the customs. The product warranties may also be valid for Malaysian addresses only.

Location: LG-014&015
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

7. Zen by Thai Odyssey

Zen is a tranquil massage parlour run by well-known Malaysian massage chain Thai Odyssey. A 70-minute massage (foot, neck, shoulder, back) here costs just RM 93.30, which is significantly cheaper than the massage joints in Singapore.

Location: S-017
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

8. Cosmetic Shops

Sephora (G-028)

The wife visited various cosmetic shops such as YSL Beauty, Sephora, Innisfree, Sasa, etc, and found that the prices were not really different from Singapore.

9. Toys ‘R’ Us

I was surprised to see a large Toys ‘R’ Us store in Mid Valley Southkey mall. I guess reports of the toy company’s demise may have been exaggerated.

The store had a vibrant atmosphere, with some sort of toys competition going on near the entrance when we visited.

There is a large range of toys on sale, including the usual suspects like Lego, Barbie, PJ Masks, Lil Outrageous Littles (LOL) dolls, etc. However, most of them were quite expensive and comparable to prices in Singapore.

On the bright side, the store has many sample toys for kids to play. Therefore, if you have children it’s a good place to keep them entertained for a while.

Location: S-048
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

10. Village Grocer

Village Grocer is a large premium supermarket that offers a pleasant grocery shopping experience. However, the prices here are “premium” too and you will not really save much here compared to Singapore.

Location: AT-2
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

11. Say Nails Services

Say Nails Services offers manicure, eyebrow embroidery and eyelash extension services. The express gel manicure costs just RM 55, which is definitely more affordable than back in Singapore. However, the wife did not have time to check out this nail salon, so we can’t vouch for its quality.

Location: S-045
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

12. Food Hunting!

KyoChon 1991 (LG-048)

Din Tai Fung (LG-005&006)

A&W (LG-045)

Last but not least, I was most impressed to see that the mall has a large number of awesome eateries, including famous establishments like Din Tai Fung, Nando’s, Kyochon Chicken, Meng Meng Roasted Duck, Chir Chir Chicken, Dragon-i, and many more.

The Din Tai Fung outlet here is a muslim-friendly establishment that does not serve pork.

Singaporeans will be happy to know that there is an A&W restaurant in Mid Valley! Don’t worry, unlike the Jewel Changi outlet, I didn’t see a long queue here when I visited on a weekend afternoon.

And of course, there are bubble tea shops like Xing Fu Tang, KOI, and HeyCha.

Click here to see the full list of restaurants in Mid Valley Southkey.

Third Floor Opening Soon

When I visited in August 2019, the Third Floor and Third Floor Mezzanine in the mall were still under renovation. I will update this article if we manage to visit these levels in future.

How to Go Mid Valley Southkey Mall

Ample parking space

Parking fees

There are three ways to get to the mall. Click here for more details.

The first method is to catch a Grab / taxi ride from JB Customs. It will cost about RM 8.

The second method is to take the Causeway Link shuttle bus MV2 from JB Customs for RM 1.

The third method is to drive for around 12 minutes from the customs. You can enjoy free parking in the mall from now until 05 Sep 2019.

Conclusion

It was a pleasant experience exploring Mid Valley Southkey mall in Johor Bahru. I would say it’s worth visiting this mall at least once. For me, the highlight was the large variety of great eateries. Other than that, Mid Valley is similar to a typical modern shopping mall in Singapore, only a lot bigger and with many more shops. With the exception of food and massage, the prices of most items were more or less similar to Singapore. Therefore, I would suggest visiting the mall for a sumptuous lunch at your favourite restaurant, followed by some browsing of the shops, before ending your mall tour with a relaxing massage session.

The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey
Address: No. 1 Persiaran Southkey 1, Kota Southkey, 80150 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Telephone: +607 336 9288
Mall Directory: www.midvalleysouthkey.com