Oh no! They’ve closed the Singapore Carrefour! Both of them!
Panic. Where am I going to get things?
“Imagine not having a Walmart or a Target to go to,” I tell Leslie back in Texas.
“Yeah, I could see how that would be annoying,” she says.
It’s not that either of us like or philosophically support Walmart, it’s just that sometimes it becomes a necessary evil.
“Can’t you order things online?” Leslie asks.
“No,” I sigh. “Some things you can, but its not like they have an Amazon here.”
“Can you Yelp it?” she suggests.
“Nope no Yelp either,” I answer.
Hopefully someone more business-minded and less lazy than myself will see this as an opportunity.
But alas, this may be an overreaction. Afterall, there’s always the Mustafa Center.
In the heart of little India and open 24 hours, it’s 75,000sq ft of random and not so random items, a hotel, café and supermarket. It is the place to go to buy tomato soap, an engagement ring, an ipad and an eye massager all at 2 am on a Tuesday, emerging three days later after a sensory overload induced psychosis has finally run its course.
That’s right, I said tomato soap, not soup. And yes, an eye massager as well.
Eye massager. Multiple varieties available.
Did you think I was kidding?
In the spirit of Diwali, maybe I’ll head down to little India. Since I’m there anyway, perhaps I’ll pick up a curry, some aspirin and a new laser printer.
If I’m not back by Friday, send a search party out.
Editor’s note: Yelp has answered my plea! Or maybe I was mistaken in the past. Seems like some Singapore places are rated on the site. It’s a start.
Texas on Thames 
I like Mustafa a lot, even though prices seem to have crept up over the years and it doesn’t seem to be as reliably ‘cheaper’ as it used to be. But to me it’s still worth visiting if I want to buy something, say a camera, and I’m checking out prices first.
There has been different sections and expansions in the complex over the years. My preferred one is the Serangoon Plaza building that faces the main Serangoon Road. It’s pleasant and orderly compared to the original building. The second floor there is a good place for colognes/perfumes, luggage, sporting equipment, etc
I love/hate their supermarket lol. They have had several expansions to the whole shopping complex over the years but the supermarket is still a massive pain at normal shopping hours like in the evening or weekends. I just don’t understand why they have to cram so much stuff in there and leave such little room so that moving about is such a tight squeeze. But Iove their big selection of chocolates, ready vegetarian food in boxes, dried fruits, etc.
Their Kebabs and Curries rooftop restaurant at their new latest extension was a pleasant surprise. I had thought it was a food court, but it turned out to be a restaurant with great food and prices, although the service was slow even though when we went it was far from crowded.