By Felix Cheong

FOR someone who makes her living as a clothes horse, Ms Andrea Fonseka is surprisingly down-to-earth when it comes to shopping.

Fonseka, 24, says she's a bargain hunter and is an expert in sniffing out cheap buys in her hometown, Kuala Lumpur (KL).

"The best part about shopping in KL," she enthuses over a cuppa at Borders café at Wheelock Place, "is you pay in ringgit!

"I compare prices a lot because - and it always happens to me, four out of five times - I find the same thing cheaper elsewhere after I've made a purchase!"

Fonseka, recently named as FHM magazine's sexist woman, will star in her first feature-length film, The Carrot Cake Conversations.

Due for release here on Nov 13, the indie production, directed by Singaporean Michael Wang, revolves around four people stranded in the Lion City a few days before Christmas and how they bond over a plate of carrot cake.

Surprisingly, the 2004 Miss Malaysia says she doesn't pick stuff off the racks in "uber-branded shops".

Her favourite haunt is Mid-Valley Megamall, particularly during sales.

"I have a soft spot for Mid-Valley Megamall," says Fonseka, whose mother is Chinese and father is of Portuguese, Spanish, Sinhalese and Filipino descent.

Bangsar is another hotspot for the law graduate from the National University of Singapore.

"Lots of boutiques there, with funky, cheap clothes," she says, adding that her most extravagant shop-till-she-drops trip to date was splurging RM1,000 (S$421) on Triumph lingerie during the sale.

"There's a shop called Blook in Bangsar. Four years ago, I was on my way to a date. Dinner and then clubbing.

"But in the car, I decided I didn't like what I was wearing. This sales staff at Blook literally went through the whole shop to help me find the right dress.

"I didn't want to carry a bag with me to the date, so I left it at the shop and picked it up the next day. It's good to know such service exists.

"In KL, the salesgirls are helpful, to the extent they'll make sure they help you find what you want. But you don't feel obligated to buy anything, unlike, say, in Los Angeles."

As for the Malaysian capital's best-kept shopping secret, Fonseka says: "If you want good suits made, both for men and women, with full lining, using Italian fabric, go to State Petaling Jaya.

"The owner - I call him Uncle Michael - has been making suits for 40 years now. And it's fast service, in three to four days, for RM900. In fact, he's made 15 suits for my family.A suit of that quality would've cost us about £750 ($1,923) each in London!"

Fonseka, who flies home twice a month to visit her ailing father, says: "Shopping is best when you're with friends you grew up with, when you don't go out of your way to look for something and then you find it."

This article first appeared in The Straits Times special, "Travel Malaysia 2008", on Oct 18. It is published by the Special Projects Unit, Marketing Division, SPH.