Hong Kong is called a shopper’s paradise for its quality, wide variety of handmade products, fashion, and jewellery to be found in just about any corner of the city. As a top financial hub in Asia, it is also famed for the shopping malls that tower over every major district, acting as hotspots of retail, premium food and beverage, and community activities. Especially for someone visiting Hong Kong, use our guide to help you make the most out of crawling Hong Kong’s best shopping malls.
Hong Kong Island
IFC — Central
The Hong Kong International Finance Centre (IFC) is made up of two luxury commercial buildings: One IFC and Two IFC, which house the headquarters of prestigious organisations including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and British newspaper Financial Times. At the bottom of the towers lies one of Hong Kong’s premium shopping destinations, IFC mall, with four levels of luxury retailers, a Lane Crawford, cinema, and Apple’s Hong Kong flagship store. A city of convenience indeed, IFC has direct access to the airport via a 25-minute train ride and an in-town check-in service where travellers can check in their luggage just below the mall (Note: Temporarily closed at the time of writing). The IFC skyscrapers famously featured in The Dark Knight and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life.
Location: 8 Finance St, Central
How to get there: Take the MTR to Hong Kong station and go out from Exit F, E, or A.
Landmark Atrium — Central
Landmark is the shopping mall for those looking for one place to shop the core international luxury brands. Landmark Atrium on 15 Queen’s Road Central is occupied by mostly high-end brands, a Harvey Nichols department store, and restaurants and cafés (altogether, the F&B establishments in LANDMARK hold a total of 15 Michelin stars). It’s actually part of the Landmark family of shopping centres all located in Central, which includes Landmark Chater (8 Connaught Rd Central), Landmark Alexandra (18 Chater Rd), and Landmark Prince’s (10 Chater Rd). The Christmas display on the ground floor if you’re around during the holiday season is not to be missed!
Location: 15 Queen’s Rd Central, Central
How to get there: Take the MTR to Central station and go out from Exit G.
Lee Gardens — Causeway Bay
Lee Gardens is not one place, but encompasses seven buildings: Hysan Place, Lee Theatre Plaza, One Hysan Avenue, and Lee Garden One to Six. The most popular shopping mall is Hysan Place with 17 levels of retail shopping. Notably, Taiwanese bookstore chain Eslite takes up an entire three floors, I.T. takes up one floor, and there’s a two-level Apple store. Many of the malls in Hong Kong are vertical shopping centres to make up for the lack of horizontal space, but Hysan Place is one of the places where this is felt most obviously, with a set of express escalators carrying you up to the 17th floor food court in around five minutes.
Lee Theatre Plaza is targeted at budget shoppers, with brands like Uniqlo, Muji, and Cotton On. Lee Garden towers One to Six are a mix of premium office towers and designer brand shopping.
Location: 33 Hysan Ave, Causeway Bay
How to get there: Take the MTR to Causeway Bay station and go out from Exit F2.
Pacific Place — Admiralty
Pacific Place has more than 160 shops, a cinema, and a department store spread out over four floors, with notable retailers like Balenciaga, American Vintage, Celine, and COS, as well as upscale F&B like Butter, Dim Sum Library, and Man Ho Chinese Restaurant (located in JW Marriott Hotel above the mall). The Great Food Hall on the LG1/F is a premium supermarket and some casual pick-up-and-go eateries. Three five-star hotels (Island Shangri-La, Conrad, and JW Marriott) are located right over Pacific Place.
Location: 88 Queensway, Admiralty
How to get there: Take the MTR to Admiralty station and go out from Exit F
Times Square — Causeway Bay
The Times Square of Hong Kong is the beating heart of Causeway Bay, a multi-use complex of designer brands, Lane Crawford, city’super, and a food court. A popular tourist destination, the shopping mall offers a good mix of brands at moderate and high price points, with more accessible shops like Zara, Adidas, American Eagle, and Log-On. There’s even a co-baking space and local English-language bookshop Bookazine! Opening in 1994, Times Square was the first vertical mall in Hong Kong.
Location: 1 Matheson St, Causeway Bay
How to get there: Take the MTR to Causeway Bay station and go out from Exit A
Fashion Walk — Causeway Bay
Fashion Walk is comprised of both an indoor space and outdoor space in Causeway Bay. There’s Charles & Keith, H&M, and multiple international altheticwear brands. The outside area is anchored by Fashion Walk Food Street (bordered by Kingston, Paterson, and Cleveland Streets), a cozy lane lined with restaurants and cafés which are perfect for a little stop for brunch or coffee after hitting the Fashion Walk stores located on the bordering streets.
Location: Kingston St, Paterson St, Cleveland St (outdoor) and Great George St (indoor), Causeway Bay
How to get there: Take the MTR to Causeway Bay station and go out from Exit E.
Kowloon
Harbour City — Tsim Sha Tsui
Harbour City is a gigantic complex with shopping and an observatory deck that juts out into Victoria Harbour, and even doubles as a cruise ship terminal. The biggest shopping mall in Hong Kong, it spans 2,000,000 square feet. It’s home to a small cinema and the largest Toys’R’Us in the city. With its incredible number of retailers (primarily upscale brands) and its proximity to the Star Ferry Pier, it’s a wildly popular mall for mainland and international tourists. The Ocean Terminal section of the mall was originally the first shopping mall in Hong Kong, opening in 1966.
Location: 3-27 Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
How to get there: Take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui station and walk 10-15 minutes or take the ferry from Central or Wan Chai to Star Ferry Pier and walk three minutes.
K11 Musea — Tsim Sha Tsui
Opening in 2019, K11 Musea is a completely new innovation on shopping malls in Hong Kong. Fittingly located on Tsim Sha Tsui dockside nearby the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Hong Kong Cultural Centre, it’s an experimental mixture of retail and cultural experiences, and at the most basic sense, it’s a beautiful shopping centre. The inside resembles a futuristic art museum with its organic shapes, actual art that sometimes doubles as rest areas, and flourishes of greenery. As a shopping centre, it houses international and up-and-coming local fashion brands as well as independent coffeehouses and restaurants.
Location: 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
How to get there: Take the MTR to East Tsim Sha Tsui station and go out from Exit J
Elements — Tsim Sha Tsui
Elements is a high-end shopping mall connected to Kowloon and Austin MTR stations. Besides the shopping, the shopping centre has a skating rink and the largest cinema in Hong Kong with 1,600 seats total. The mall is sectioned into five zones with design inspired by the five Chinese elements: wood, water, fire, metal, and earth. It also connects to the International Commerce Centre which houses the Sky100 observation deck and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Notably, Elements offers more seating areas than most Hong Kong malls.
Location: 1 Austin Rd W, Tsim Sha Tsui
How to get there: Take the MTR to Kowloon station and go out from Exit C1 or D1.
Langham Place — Mong Kok
Langham Place was the second vertical mall to open in Hong Kong. (In fact, it was the tallest building on the Kowloon Peninsula when it was completed in 2004!) It most notably features a 148-ft escalator, the longest escalator in a shopping mall in the city. There are 15 levels of shops, with a healthy combination of international fashion houses, boutiques, and sportswear brands, as well as a plethora of food and beverage on B2/F, the 4/F food court, 9/F, and the uppermost floor. There’s also a cinema on the 8/F.
Location: 8 Argyle St, Mong Kok
How to get there: Take the MTR to Mong Kok station and go out from Exit C3 or E1.
MOKO — Mong Kok
MOKO is the main shopping mall in eastern Mong Kok. Situated just five minutes from the Flower Market, the shopping centre houses six floors of boutique shops and global brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and Uniqlo; there’s also a cinema, Japanese supermarket YATA, as well as a connecting five-star hotel, Royal Plaza Hotel. Besides being conveniently connected to Mong Kok East MTR station, there’s a bus terminal right outside the mall.
Location: 193 Prince Edward Rd W, Mong Kok
How to get there: Take the MTR to Mong Kok East station and go out from Exit D.
MegaBox — Kowloon Bay
Designed by American architecture firm JERDE, this box-shaped mall in lucky red has become a bit of an icon in eastern Kowloon. With a size of 1.1 million square feet spanning 19 floors, Megabox houses the second-largest IKEA branch in Hong Kong, as well as clothing and homeware stores, cinemas, AEON department store, and the biggest ice skating rink in the whole city at 26 x 57 metres. Although not located as near the MTR as most of the malls on this list, it can be reached with a free shuttle bus from Kowloon Bay MTR station.
Location: 38 Wang Chiu Rd, Kowloon Bay
How to get there: Take the MTR to Kowloon Bay station and go out from Exit A. Take the escalators to the Podium level, turn left at Circle K, and keep walking straight until you see an escalator going down into the bus terminal. Look for signs for the Megabox Shuttle Bus.
Festival Walk — Kowloon Tong
Festival Walk is a seven-storey shopping centre with a cinema and skating rink. Multiple restaurants and the food have a view down into the ice rink, ‘The Glacier’, on the UG/F. The mall is primarily occupied by mid-range brands plus the flagship store of Agnes B. Other shops of note include Apple, Toys’R’Us, Marks & Spencer, and a Taste supermarket. It’s linked to the City University of Hong Kong via a walkway, making the mall popular among university students. During Christmastime, their famous Christmas tree that is as tall as nearly four storeys is erected.
Location: 80 Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon Tong
How to get there: Take the MTR to Kowloon Tong station and go out from Exit C2, G2, or H.
New Territories
New Town Plaza — Sha Tin
One of the busiest malls in Hong Kong is New Town Plaza. The nine-storey shopping centre in Sha Tin has around 350 shops spread throughout its two phases with a few upscale brands but primarily mid-range, including American Eagle, Bauhaus, Zara, and Foot Locker. There are also many beauty and athletic apparel brands. Notably, there’s a Snoopy-themed outdoor theme park, Snoopy’s World, which is free to enter. There’s also a roof garden with a play area for pets and some pop-up F&B concepts.
Location: 18 Sha Tin Centre St, Sha Tin
How to get there: Take the MTR to Sha Tin station and go out from Exit A3
YOHO — Yuen Long
YOHO is one of the newest shopping malls in the city, opening in 2017. Originally slated to be just one phase, the new development combined with what used to be a smaller shopping centre called Sun Yuen Long Centre, which became YOHO Mall Phase II. Phase I houses mostly mid-range fashion brands and luxury beauty brands, as well as a ton of jewellery stores, while Phase II has more local boutiques and sports apparel brands. A cinema, YATA, and 50,000 square feet outdoor green space called ‘Midtown Garden’ are notable features of YOHO, which are also located in Phase I. The mall is connected to two housing estates which sit over it: YOHO Midtown and YOHO Town.
Location: 8-9 Long Yat Rd, Yuen Long
How to get there: Take the MTR to Yuen Long station and go out from Exit K (YOHO Mall I) or Exit F (YOHO Mall II).
PopCorn — Tseung Kwan O
PopCorn is a owned by the MTR Corporation and as such, it’s conveniently connected to Tseung Kwan O MTR station. It’s the main mall in Tseung Kwan O, and its 345,000 square feet covers fashion, make-up, household products, dining, electronics, health, and more. There’s also a 622-seat cinema and Namco, a Japanese gaming centre. The mall opens out into Tong Ming Street Park with beautifully landscaped grass and a lot of space for picnicking.
Where: 9 Tong Yin St, Tseung Kwan O
How to get there: Take the MTR to Tseung Kwan O station and go out from Exit C.
Header image credits: Houiko Monilld Risea via WikiCommons
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