Happy Belated Birthday, Mlimani City!

Mlimani City Mall
Sam Nujoma Rd.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

According to the plaque at its main entrance, Dar es Salaam’s Mlimani City Mall turned 3 years old last Saturday (Nov.14). Happy Belated Birthday, Mlimani City – this one is for you!

For those of you who have never heard of Mlimani City, allow me to tell you simply that it is the mall in Dar es Salaam. Although Dar es Salaam has many other shopping centers, none other can truly be elevated to the status of a mall. Housed all on one floor, Mlimani City Mall is smaller than many other malls found in neighboring countries, such as The Village Market in Kenya or Garden City in Uganda, but still, this mall packs a punch!

Allow me to give you an idea of what can be found at Mlimani City. First, I’ll start with banks. Although it’s not the most noticeable thing about Mlimani City, the mall has not one, not two, but 6 banks on its premises: CRDB, Exim Bank, KCB, NBC, NMB, and Twiga Bancorp. If you bank in Tanzania, then there is a great likelihood that your bank (or at least one of your banks) has a branch at Mlimani City.

Beyond banks (which I listed first probably because a number of them straddle the main entrance to the mall), Mlimani City is built around three South African retail chain megastores – Shoprite, Game, and Mr Price. (The Shoprite at Mlimani City is laid out almost exactly like the one at Lugogo Shopping Mall in Kampala and had me tripping constantly about what city I was in when I first moved to Dar).

As can be expected, Mlimani City also has smaller stores. Among these are many electronics stores (BMTL,  Fone Shack, Hitachi, Phone One Limited, and Samsung), eateries (Chicken Hut Restaurant, Coffee Bar, Delightful Bakes Cafe & Restaurant, Fairy Delights Ltd., The Juice Parlour, Marrybrown, Samaki-Samaki, and Silver Spoon Fast Food), and telecom company agents (Tigo, Vodacom, and Zain).

Oh, and of course, let’s not forget clothing stores. Mlimani City has its share of these too. Among them are 4u2, AK’s, Giordano, Holliewood Fashions, Identity, Modern Day Boutique, Mummy’s, Tausi Fashions, and Truworths – all which sell apparel not only for ladies and gents but also for infants.

One of my favorite reasons to visit Mlimani City Mall is to buy cosmetics and toiletries. For this, I always head first to Shear Illusions. If I don’t find what I am looking for there, then I  make sure to visit J.D. Pharmacy and Lolita Parfyumerie too, both of which also stock a broad range of similar products.

If home and interiors are what you’re interested in, then Mlimani City has something for you too. For this, check out stores such as Frame World, Gerry Super Furniture, Home Shopping Centre, Interior Solutions, and Mr Price.

And yet, Mlimani City offers even more than I’ve mentioned so far. While you are visiting this mall, you can also process and print your photos at Photo Point, buy shoes at Footprint, or buy jewelry at Yakub Jewellers. If travel is what’s on your mind, then you can buy luggage at Samsonite, change money at Coast Bureau de Change One, or book a trip with Alesy Travel & Tours Ltd.

Photo Credit: Yalaminy

For book lovers like me, a stop at Scholastic book store is a must! If your clothes need laundering, then Alpha Dry Cleaners will be able to handle that for you. If you are in the mood to buy African artifacts, then search no further than African Art. And if at the end of it all something you purchased at the mall is very valuable to you, then maybe you might want to stop over at Real Insurance and check up on insurance policies.

At the end of the day, when you’re finally done with all the errands that brought you to Mlimani City Mall, take the opportunity to relax and unwind with a movie at Century Cinemax, Tanzania’s biggest cinema complex.

What can I say? I told you Mlimani City packs a real punch. So once more, from me to you, Mlimani City, Happy Belated 3^rd Birthday!

Until the next time,
Biche

P.S. Did you find this post informative? If so, subscribe to ChickAboutTown by email or in a reader and be sure never to miss another post again!