Mustafa Singapore

“Hey Bro, wanna go Mustafa Singapore for some shopping?”. This was a text message I send to Ian at about 12.45am as I was still wide awake and couldn’t get to sleep. I was trying my luck on Ian hoping that he was awake as well.

“Are you out of your mind, what time is it now?”…a return message from Ian.

“What the heck…ok, lets go. I am looking for a MP3 player anyway.”…a followed on message from lan.

Ian has always been a gadgets freak and Mustafa Singapore has always been his favorite electronic host because it is here that he gets great bargain prices for some of his latest toys. And that is very true, Mustafa Singapore offers electronic goods at cheaper prices as compared to Funan Shopping Mall or Chinatown. Now, I am not talking about low grade products but popular branded goods here.

Mustafa Centre Singapore

Mustafa Singapore is the one and only shopping center that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week whole year round in Singapore. If none has used the slogan before, I would have used it on Mustafa…”The Shopping Mall that Never Sleeps”. Mustafa is located in the heart of Singapore Little India and many has called it the shining jewel in Little India’s crown.

We met up at the entrance of Mustafa at about 1.30am. At this hour, there was already a shopping frenzy at the shopping mall. The popularity of Mustafa Singapore has attracted not just the locals but many budget travelers from India, Middle East and Africa looking for some good buy.

I have shopped in Mustafa Center a couple of times and I quite like it. However, for travelers or shoppers seeking for atmosphere and comfort, this is not a place for you. Especially on Friday and Saturday nights, this place is jam packed with shoppers and it could post a challenge to get to what you are looking for or find the best priced item. Although Singapore is a relatively safe place, it is still advisable to watch over your belongings in a crowded place like Mustafa. Better be safe than sorry.

Multilevel Shopping Store

Mustafa Singapore is a 24-hour multilevel store, offering almost everything ranging from food, luggage, medicines, apparels, and electronics to gold jewellery. We jostled against the others on the crowded platform and managed to land at the electronic section located on the 1st floor. The sales personnel were busy serving others and we waited sometime before we had the opportunity to be served. Ian straight away asked for the brand and model of the MP3 player he was looking for.

After checking the price, I could see a faint smile on his face and he was ready to proceed on to the cashier.

“Hey hang on…aren’t you going to check out the specifications of the player, the warranty period or some comparisons with other models before you make a decision?”

“Come on Clifford, it will be dawn by the time we find out all these. Let’s go!” replied Ian.

Packed Mustafa Centre

Ian explained that in a crowded place like Mustafa Singapore, it is very inconvenient to find out details about product information and many of the sales personnel here are not too well equipped with product knowledge. So, very importantly, you need to do your homework before proceeding to Mustafa Center. Cool…another lesson learned today!

We roamed around the mall for a while looking for some sale items. We noticed that the luggage section was extremely crowded with tourists probably looking for extra baggage to take back their purchases in Mustafa Singapore. We went on down to Basement 2 where the apparels section was. The sport shoes and gears were branded and authentic and sold at unbelievable cheap rates. Many of these items were almost a good 20 bucks or so less then what you have to pay in places like Orchard.

Singapore souvenirs are also much cheaper in Mustafa Singapore as compared to elsewhere. We were marveled by the selections of chocolates in Mustafa. Some so special that you don’t find it in other super mart and they were not even expensive. The temptation was just too overpowering and I admit I got succumbed.

Look out for sign of great sale items by observing for horde of Indians crowd at a particular spot. Indians are good at looking for the best deals and if you spot a crowd, you can rest assure that there must be a sale going on. Indeed a good way of verifying that you are getting a good deal at Mustafa.

Night Shopping at Mustafa Centre

I was astonished to learn that Mustafa offers many other services that are so diversified, such as air ticketing and travel booking services. They provide the best air-fare to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even United States and Europe. Well, I am not too sure about the rest but I do know that many of my Indian friends only frequent Mustafa for tickets to India. So, I gathered that the airfare deals at Mustafa must be pretty attractive.

Besides ticketing, other services that come under the same umbrella are travel insurance, visa processing services, foreign exchange and a gold super-mart. It was simply mind-blowing to see that Mustafa have 3 floors meant for the gold jewellery.

If you are in a mood for Indian food, they are everywhere around the vicinity. Mustafa is surrounded by restaurants and eateries, and you will be spoilt for choices. On the other side of the street when you exit through the jewellery or pharmacy section at level 1, there is a whole suit of restaurants; you will have difficulties making a decision.

Mustafa Singapore is a well known shopping center in Singapore but not necessary the best you can find. You may not necessary get the best service here and it is often congested, but given the deals you’ll get, I will be happy to take the rough with the smooth.

Shopping at Mustafa Singapore has been an interestingly unique experience for me. It is a one stop shop where you can get almost anything under the sun…hmm…should I put across as anything under the sun and moon since it operates round the clock. With its wide selection and impressive size, this is not your usual 24 hours convenient store.

How to get there.

From Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, transfered to the purple (north-east) line and alight at Farrer Park MRT station. Mustafa Singapore is located at the corner of Syed Alwi Road and Serangoon Road in Little India.