Okay, it's only my little local shopping centre, but I'm quite fond of old Fairfield Gardens. It's…read morevery small, as shopping centres go, but surprisingly useful and always seems to have what I need. In addition to the classic supermarket, pharmacy, bottle shop and cafés, there's important services like a post office, cheapie shop, doctor's surgery and a computer repair shop. But the things I REALLY love about this place are the things you don't find at every (especially small!) shopping centre: the library, op shop and fruit shop. I would like my local to be a little bigger - one glaring omission is a shoe repair place (I would patronage the heck out of that!) but it's pretty great and never crowded!

Not bad - there is the bus stop right out front, a post office that is open Saturdays, a $2 shop,…read moremassage, sports store, travel, real estate, Coles, cafes, bakery, Lifeline (op shop), fashion stores and knick knack stores. The only thing really missing is a butcher and fruiterer. You can get quite a bit done here. There is a pizza store and liquor store just a walk across the carpark.

The thing that really grabbed me about this place is that they actually have a section where there…read moreare market stalls. Look, honestly, shopping centres really don't come anywhere close to the charm of the main street, but they do have a purpose. Like many of the Westfields, you pretty much know what you are going to get here, though the issue that I had was that sometimes getting out in certain directions (such as a direction that doesn't involve the bus stop) requires you to maneuver your way through a car park, so yes, this place really isn't all that pedestrian friendly.

Garden City's not my local, but every now and then we drive there for a change of scenery. It's big…read moreand busy and has a different feel to some of the other Westfield's in Brisbane. Take the piazza area, for example; Dicey Riley's in the afternoons and evenings is always buzzing with loud and happy people taking in the afternoon sun in the beer garden; Toscani's al fresco dining is doing a roaring trade and the cinema is attracting a crowd. Inside, there are some places we don't see in the other centres, small one-off clothing boutiques and jewellery stores, and big box retailers like Toys R Us, so yep, Garden City's worth a visit every now and then just to keep up and make sure we're not missing out on anything.

I love Westfield Carindale! I don't think, from memory, I've ever visited and not enjoyed the…read moreexperience. I bypass three other closer, smaller shopping complexes and drive straight to Carindale. Took my kids, now 40 and 37, often and now take my grandchildren. I love the renovations, major stores and specialty shops. The parents' rooms are always clean and well appointed. Love the Event cinemas. Plenty of great coffee shops. Late night Christmas shopping is always a favourite time for me. Thanks Westfield Carindale.

The love of Carindale (like all the biggest stars, it's only known by one name) has been handed…read moredown through the generations of my family. My Mum passed down her passion for this place to me and my sister in law - and now we're handing down the pleasure to my 3 year old niece, Olivia (who loves it) and 14 month old Renzo (distinctly unimpressed). So why does this slightly ugly (from the outside) building inspire so much devotion in the female members of my family? Well, for those times we can't be bothered traipsing into town, Carindale pretty much has everything we could need. Except, perhaps, a chic cocktail bar. But I live in hope. Myer, David Jones, Sportsgirl, Dotti, Portmans, Witchery, cinemas, grocery stores, mobile phone shops, sports stores...it's like a one-stop-shopping-utopia for all our needs. With carpet. Yep, to this day, it's the only Westfield I've been in that has carpet. It's not particularly nice and occasionally gives you static attacks but I kinda like that it gives Carindale a strangely unusual USP. Even my friends in London laugh at my Carindale obsession (I've recently relocated back home after a lengthy stint living in London). Every email they send me usually starts with "so, how many times have you been to Carindale this week?" (I don't usually answer as I'm slightly ashamed that sometimes it's so often I feel I should take a sleeping bag and just move in). As Westfields go (and there's a gazillion of them in Brisneyland) this is not the biggest (yet) but it soon will be. I'm positively giddy at the fact they're spending $300m making it even more ginormous. For me! According to the website, it's due for completion in late 2012 and "will include a new parallel mall over two levels, a new full-line Coles supermarket, a relocated larger-format Target and a new dining precinct. Plus approximately 120 new stores including a range of Australian and international designers." Readers, dreams can come true.

If you're tired of screaming children, stalking drivers for a car park or fighting the crowds at…read moreWoolworths, then consider bypassing Westfield Garden City and heading across the road to The Village the next time you need to do the household shopping. The Village is a small shopping complex with a three level car park, medical centre, pharmacy, Coles, Bossy Hair and all your basic amenities. It's fast, fuss-free shopping. This is the place I go if I've forgotten an ingredient in the middle of cooking. It's so easy to get a park directly outside Coles and get out again within ten minutes. Plus this place has a hold on my heart that cannot be supplanted for another 7km radius. It is home to Baskin and Robbins with its classic pralines'n cream. The next closest B and R is at Greenslopes on Logan Road. For coffee drinkers, there's a decent Coffee Club here. This Coffee Club is a great meeting place for mums with young kids as there's plenty of space for prams and a relaxed atmosphere. For all you gym junkies, there's also the 24 hour gym Jetts in the complex. With something for everyone at this shopping mall, who needs Westfield Garden City anymore?

From the owner: The Village Upper Mount Gravatt gives you hassle free shopping with plenty of parking.read more

What is with this strange shopping centre! There is nobody here! It is a ghost town, although there…read moreis a Coles supermarket, the Reject Shop and a Michels Patisserie cafe. A gym is also downstairs. Most of the other shops are always closed. It's good because it's very easy to find a car park. But I don't understand why you would be extremely lucky if you could see 10 people at the most.

Finally after years of indifference and wasting away, the owner of Sunny Park has injected money…read moreand fresh shops into this ghost shopping centre. Local residents have said for years that it was a shame for Sunny Park to be wedged between Market Square and Sunnybank Plaza yet have practically no tenants. I think the only thing keeping it afloat during those dark years was the Woolworths in the centre. Perhaps it was everyone using Sunny Park as a free car park for a night out at Market Square that finally roused the owner to action. Well, whatever the reasons Sunny Park is back with a vengeance. New shops, new fittings and a spanking new karaoke bar have transformed this derelict dump into an exciting shopping and dining experience. Nowadays, the neon lights from Newway Karaoke and Cucina of Italy beckon the young and hungry as they drive down McCullough Road. Parkland is the new Chinese restaurant by the same owners of Landmark, and offer late night yum cha. Top Hot Pot and Soman are also worth trying out. During the day, a brand new food court has cropped up with Korean, Turkish and Chinese fare. Plus for all your Chinese grocery needs, Fantastic Food is around the corner from Woolworths. Nowadays I do most of my grocery shopping here because of the easy undercover car park, plus it's fantastic having a Chinese grocery shop so close to Woolworths so I can top up both my Asian and Western pantry in one go. If you want easy, convenient shopping with lots of yummy food options, Sunny Park Shopping Centre is the place to go. NB: The official opening hours of the shopping centre doesn't reflect the opening hours of the restaurants or the Woolworths, Aldi and some of the individual shops.

This shopping centre does not offer a lot. Although, it is convenient for nearby people living in…read morethe Acacia Ridge area, it still hosts a Woolworths, Zarraffas Coffee, hairdressers, fruit shop, bank, medical centre, petrol station & bakery. A Cellarbrations bottle shop is nearby as well as a KFC restaurant. This shopping centre is truly desperate for a renovation or a clean up. It looks dodgy and off putting. Although, there is a brand new ALDI supermarket opening Yay!