The Adventures of Xiao Huang – Toy Shopping in Perth, Australia 2010

Woof woof! Doggie did (ok, the correct word should be attempted) some toy shopping in Perth in Western Australia in 2010 when he was there. However, the sad news is that the selection there wasn’t very good and doggie came back empty-handed.

Here's Xiao Huang at Changi Airport ready to go shopping in Perth!

One observation is that the ang mos in Perth really know how to enjoy themselves and their lifestyle is pretty relac lo. Most shops close around 5-6pm on weekdays and weekends, except on Fridays where there’s extended shopping hours (till 9pm I think). During Xiao Huaung’s 4 days stay in Perth, he was staying near the Perth Central CBD area and there’s where he mostly shopped (yes, because he is too lazy to walk too far). After 6pm, the CBD area will machiam like suddenly become “Hantu” city (because bo lang there one).

Habour Town Factory Outlet

During the 1st day, doggie went to the Harbour Town Factory Outlet located at 840 Wellington Street. You can reach there by taking the free yellow “Meow Meow” bus (ok, it’s known as the CAT bus) and alighting at the “Habour Town” Stop. While there, doggie trotted round both level one and two and regret to inform that besides clothes, fashion accessories, clothes and more clothes (with lables like Adidas, Nike, New Balance etc), there’s really not much selection for toys like Legos, Kubricks etc to be found. Doggies did find a computer games shop (EB Games) and an outlet selling children’s toys (Gamesity) there. Visit only if you wish to buy clothes and accessories.

View of the Harbour Town from the 2nd storey. The shops are located on both the 1st and 2nd storey.

Another view from the 2nd storey.

No prizes for guessing. Yes, this is a silver coloured dustbin which doggie took a pic for fun.

Perth City Centre

Within the Perth City Centre CBD area, there are a few major retail outlets like Target, Myer, Woolworths and Borders etc. You can refer to the map below which I kapo from some other website for reference on the City Centre layout (its the area where word PERTH is indicated with the 2 roads coloured in yellow).

Blur blur image of Perth City.

Basically, doggie did not see any Medicom Kubricks or Bearbricks or Playmobils around the area when he was shopping. However, there were Lego sets found in the major departmental stores like Target and Myer, but the prices were not cheaper than Singapore. There were a few promotions on some sets like the Lego Police Station etc in Myer, but due to the strong Australian dollars, the savings were not substantial.

Here's the streets in the Perth city centre.

London Court. A stretch of shops inside, but doggies couldn't find any toys.

Inside London Court. The architectural style is based on the Tudor period. Quite cool.

Doggie couldn't resist. Another London Court pic. 😛

Another shopping stretch in Perth city centre, Trinity Arcade.

Borders. Nothing much inside...

Woolworths. Only good for aunties shopping for groceries.

The Central Post Office. Good if you collect stamps or coins.

Fremantle

Doggie also went to Fremantle, which is a port city located about 19 km away from Perth. The city is renowned for its well preserved architectural buildings from the colonial era. Toy shopping there is similar to Perth City Centre and doggie can only find some Lego sets within the major departmental stores like Target etc. Due to the lack of toys around the area, the bulk of doggie’s time was spent munching on french fries. Yummy!

In order to get to Fremantle, you can take the train from Perth. Think it costs a few dollars (doogie can't recall liao).

Train sign. If you pay peanuts, then you should give up your seat. 😛

The shopping area in Fremantle is located near to the train station and consists of shophouses and major retailers like Coles, Target etc.

The Fremantle flea market. Only open on weekends hor.

Nothing interesting inside the market for toy hunters. Mostly selling food, fruits and other stuff that doggie is not interested in.

In the end, doggie did not buy any toys back from his Australian trip as the selection and prices of the Lego sets were not great. Doggie also did not find any Medicom Kubricks or Bearbricks in the city. It would be great if anyone who has more information on toy shops in Perth can drop doggie a note. Woof woof! 🙂

Tags: Australia, Bearbrick, Kubrick, Lego, Medicom, Perth, Playmobil, Toy Shopping, Xiao Huang