Small Malls
Tired of shopping at the same old place? Ashley Ng checks out our many smaller quirkier malls.
Since Hong Kong has such high land premiums, developers have turned to creating shopping plazas “vertically” by using the smallest piece of land to build multiple-storey shopping centers. Providing entrepreneurial opportunities for independent boutique owners who can’t afford the rent of big malls, small malls are also chock full of teeny, quirky shops that sell random things you'd never see in monolithic marble shopping centers. Here are our picks, grouped by district.
Tsim Sha Tsui | Causeway Bay | Mongkok
TSIM SHA TSUI
Rise Commercial Building
Why go? It's the hub of local fashion designers and lots of newcomers open their first shop here. Henry Lau of SPY Henry Lau set up the first SPY shop here, and Rise has only gotten trendier and more upscale since then. It's absolutely tiny - all the shops over its four floors are so small, only two people could be in there at once. The stuff sold here is usually limited edition, which makes you hip, but it also means the clothes don't come cheap.
Good finds: Locally designed one-offs, silver accessories, secondhand Gucci bags
Address: 5-11 Granville Circuit, at the intersection with Granville Rd. Take exit B at the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.
TOP SHOPS
1. MINIMAL (Shop 120, 1/F, 2369-2328)
What's sold: Locally designed clothing
Why it's special: You won’t be spoiled for choice of colors here – everything comes in only black and white.
2. Witchylan (Shops 115 & 1007, 1/F, 2301-3186)
What's sold: Fortune-telling service
Why it's special: The fortuneteller here is pretty famous for tarot reading.
