Thursday 4 November 2021

A Note to Readers

Thank you for stopping by this humble blog. The blog is still under construction and only several entries are available, but more are coming in the future! Hopefully you will enjoy what is available for the time being.
For your information also, I back-dated my entries to the date where I visited that place to avoid misleading readers. This is to make sure that the information I provided in the entry regarding the place are correct on the said date. Due to this also, you may suddenly come across a post dated, say, February 2017, the next time you visit (when previously it wasn't there at all).
Thanks and happy reading! :)

Friday 15 October 2021

Destination: Souq Shoppe, Putrajaya (Malaysia)

Chocolatey Goodness Under One Roof!

I have been to Souq Putrajaya once or twice before: it used to sell a wide range of Malaysian souvenirs such as pewters, batik clothing, keychains, fridge magnet, handicrafts and the likes. And the place (at least, whenever I visited) was almost always quite deserted. I suspected it was because most of the visitors in the area were locals, thus the superfluous need to buy any souvenirs.

But now, in year 2021, the Souq had been converted into a full on chocolate boutique – and the place might finally be able to attract locals as well. I saw a promotional poster somebody sent me through Whatsapp about the opening of Souq Shoppe, said to be the largest chocolate shop in the Klang Valley area.

And so I went to check out the place during its opening day on 15 October 2021.

I arrived around 2.00 p.m. and there was already a considerable line queuing outside the entrance. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, entrance was limited to 100 customers at a time. And only fully-vaccinated individuals were allowed access.

Souq Shoppe’s foyer was decorated with giant-sized chocolate replicas, allowing visitors some photo opportunities – be it hiding behind a large mug of Hershey’s chocolate bar dipped in melting chocolate, or standing below a toppling tower of Reese’s chocolate cups.


Fancy gigantic chocolates for your Insta-worthy poses

As I entered the large hall, I saw a long line of customers queuing to make their payment at the cashier. Souq Shoppe offered some fairly good discounts during its first three days of opening, hence the crowd of people today.

The long line of people queuing up to pay

There were rows and rows of shelves filled with many types of chocolate and sweets brands, including some of which I’m not familiar with. There were Hershey’s, Kinder, Toblerone, Kit Kat, Ferrero, Nutella, Snickers, Mars, Loacker, Fidani, Pepero, Ritter Sport... and many more (forgive me but I cannot continue saying all the names without drooling 😅).

Kinder chocolates were placed at a fancy aeroplane-like shelf

Fidani chocolates were packed beautifully for gifting purposes

More Hershey's... and these ones are edible ;)

Bebeto's halal marshmallows, imported from Turkey

Some chocolate brands are unfamiliar to me

The many flavours of Ritter Sport chocolate bars

I was looking forward to buy some M&Ms, but unfortunately, I found none being sold there. So I bought a box of Kinder Bueno and a bag of Daim chocolates instead. (And I regretted forgetting to buy the Peperos as well! 😵)

Towards the back of the shop, there was another photo-worthy spot: a lighted Hershey’s logo, wedged in between two streetlights that made it look like someplace from Disney’s The Cookie Carnival (1935) cartoon.

Welcome to Hershey's town... apparently

All in all, Souq Shoppe is great for those looking to buy a wide range of chocolates under one roof. Personally I don’t think it could surpass the variety or low prices offered in the duty-free shops of Pulau Langkawi, but still, Souq Shoppe is more convenient to go to for Klang Valley residents.

Do you remember The Cookie Carnival? (image from fandom.com)

How To Get There:

Souq Shoppe was situated under the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya. You can park anywhere in the Dataran Putra area in front of the mosque, and find the escalator down to the lower level where the food court and Souq Shoppe was located.