Malaysia Energy Drink Journey 2017

Malaysia: A Place Like This

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 6 AM! From the airport, I took a train to KL Sentral, which connects to the city center, and then headed to Bukit Bintang, where I stayed. If it’s your first time staying in Kuala Lumpur, I’d recommend Bukit Bintang. Most sightseeing spots are easily accessible by monorail and walking! ( ´∀｀)b

This area offers a mix of chaotic Southeast Asian vibes and modern entertainment buildings, so you can enjoy both. There’s a famous street of food stalls, several clean shopping malls, and easy-to-understand office building streets. If it’s your first time in Kuala Lumpur, this area might be the best.

I also visited more intense street markets and other places, but I think the average person can enjoy Bukit Bintang enough. (●´ω｀●) *The photos from here show some shops that might be unsettling, so I kept it low-key.*

As you know, Malaysia is a chaotic country with many ethnic groups, languages, and religions mixing together, but English is generally understood, and people are very kind. The cost of living is still quite low, so it’s easy to see why people consider it as a potential place to move. However, the humidity... Drin-kun is very sensitive to moisture, so if I were to move here, I’d probably spend most of my time inside buildings.

Energy Drink Hunting Begins in Malaysia

At first, I thought, "There probably aren’t many energy drinks in Malaysia," so I was mainly focused on sightseeing, with energy drinks being a side activity. Whenever I spotted a convenience store, I’d go in and check.

But to my surprise, I realized that Malaysia has quite a variety of energy drinks. It's not as widespread as in Japan, but I saw Monster Energy Original in about half of the stores. The fact that Monster isn’t the main focus is just great, right? Surprisingly, the official Monster Energy website doesn’t have product info for this. It’s always exciting to find something new when you’re actually in a place like this! ((o(´∀｀)o))

Red Bull from the EU and Thailand was available in almost every store, and there were also some one-off and series products, making it just as exciting as the 2015 energy drink boom in Japan. These days, Japan has more Monster Energy flavors, so it might look flashy at first glance, but the range of brands in each store is smaller. Considering that, Malaysia is much more vibrant and interesting compared to Japan.

Energy Drink Hunting at 7-Eleven, KK, and Supermarkets

7-Eleven is everywhere, as expected. It’s definitely the strongest. In addition, there’s a convenience store chain called KK, and occasionally there’s a FamilyMart. FamilyMart is rare, but it was the cleanest and most comfortable convenience store.

Although there are strict regulations for foreign businesses now, if they loosen up in the future, we might see more energy drink brands in convenience stores.

Supermarkets are somewhat limited, mostly found in the basements of shopping malls. You don’t need to bother with small local shops; they’re not worth expecting.

EU Red Bull Limited Edition Hunting

The big goal of this hunt was to buy the 250ml WAU Limited Edition Red Bull, which was released over a year ago exclusively at 7-Eleven, and the 473ml REPSOL Racers Limited Edition, which came out about six months ago. By the time I got here, I thought it would be nearly impossible to find them.

In the Bukit Bintang area and the famous KLCC area near the Twin Towers, I repeatedly went into 7-Elevens hoping to find the 473ml limited edition. Although the fridge doors still had campaign stickers, they were completely out of stock. The fridge was designed for smaller cans around 330ml-355ml, so the 473ml ones probably just didn’t fit. They were like Japan’s Red Bull bottles, a bit too big, right?

I didn’t see any in more local, Islam-centered areas either, and I was about to give up. But then, I found the holy grail in a local shopping street filled with activity!

They had a few REPSOL cans and one WAU left, so I bought them. The WAU was a bit damaged, but I was so excited to find it—I didn’t expect to find one at all! (*´艸｀*) This is why hunting is so addictive.

After leaving the shop and enjoying an intense street market, I found another holy grail on the way back!

They had nearly 10 cans of WAU left! ( ´∀｀)b
You can imagine the excitement when I saw this row of red cans stretching all the way to the back!

So, I picked out a nice one and bought it. It’s surprising how something like this can happen!

By the way, the reason the 473ml REPSOL Limited Edition disappeared from the shelves despite being a recent release is probably because it was priced almost the same or even cheaper than the 355ml cans. If you had to choose, you’d probably go for the larger, cheaper 473ml, right? That’s why I was so sure I wouldn’t find it. When I saw the fridge stickers, I thought, "It’s over, there’s no way I’ll find it." But when I did, it reignited my excitement for hunting!

Other Energy Drinks

I went into quite a few stores in Malaysia, so I think I managed to buy everything that was available.

DRIVE M7, which was also released in Japan before, now seems to have expanded with premium products in addition to the original 250ml. As for whether there’s demand for high-priced carbonated drinks in Malaysia, I doubt it, but... If you find them, it might be worth buying, as they could disappear soon.

There were also Thai Red Bulls and similar products. I was able to secure the Thai Red Bull Islam Limited Edition, which I had heard about before coming here, so I’m glad I did. (*´ｪ`*)

Before arriving in Malaysia, I thought I’d only bring back a few energy drinks in my suitcase, but in the end, I bought more than I expected, though not to the point of bursting the suitcase! My initial thought was that sightseeing would be 90% and energy drinks 10%, but that image was completely overturned.

Well, in Kuala Lumpur, it’s best to quickly hunt for drinks and then relax while enjoying the sightseeing. The humidity and temperature are intense, but the atmosphere is really nice.

I was able to buy almost all the types of energy drinks I wanted, so next time, I’d like to stay around KL Sentral during the time when new products are released and enjoy mosque visits as well. There are always super-cheap travel packages, so as long as you check the areas where you’ll stay, it’s a country you can enjoy 24 hours a day while keeping travel costs low. I highly recommend it! (●´ω｀●)