Sea Cucumber Soap at the Famous Central Market
One souvenir that often comes up in conversations with friends planning their return from Malaysia or in guidebooks is "sea cucumber soap." Apparently, you can buy it at the Central Market.
One peculiar thing about Malaysia is that obscure local souvenirs somehow become popular among the Japanese. About sea cucumber soap, even a university student interning at my language school didn't know about it—quite amusing!
I usually visit trendy shops in shopping malls and see chic Malaysian souvenirs, but I've always been curious about the quintessential Malaysian souvenirs. So, I decided to check it out myself.
Central Market (Pasar Seni)
Operating Hours (Daily): 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Once you exit the Pasar Seni LRT station, the blue building you see is the Central Market.
By the way, Pasar Seni station is just one stop away from KL Sentral station, and the GOKL bus Purple Line also stops there. I know it can be a bit confusing when riding the GOKL bus, as it's sometimes hard to tell where the bus stops. However, this one usually boards and disembarks at the station's bus terminal, and it's usually the starting point for buses headed to Bukit Bintang. So, you can likely stay on it without any problems.
When I went on a weekday afternoon after language school, there was a group of Japanese high school students buying souvenirs. The staff prioritized helping them, which worked out perfectly for me because I got to explore the souvenirs at my own pace.
My usual shopping style involves window shopping first, getting an overview, and then returning to my preferred stores. So, Central Market was a place I wanted to take my time in.
By the way, on the second floor, there's a food court where you can have lunch or dinner.
Recommended Souvenirs?
At the sea cucumber soap shops, they approach you in Japanese once they figure out you're Japanese. Back in Japan, I used solid soap, but now I use a massive bottle of Malaysian body wash, and I have no place to put solid soap, so I didn't buy any.
What caught my eye personally was a shop called "Paper Adventures," which sells postcards.
I took the picture after returning to the dorm, so there's some reflection, but they're colorful postcards featuring Malaysian tourist attractions and dishes. They're adorable. You can send them to people or even buy frames to decorate your place!
Other shops sold similar postcards, but this shop had a promotion: buy 5, get 1 free, which made it a slightly better deal. Prices varied depending on the design, but most postcards were around RM3 to RM5 each.
Since they don't take up much space and don't weigh much, I highly recommend them if you happen to visit Central Market.
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