Central
The first time someone brought me to Cuppage Plaza, I almost walked past it. It sat there off Orchard Road, a little worn at the edges, nothing like the polished malls nearby. My friend just said, “Trust me,” and led me up a quiet stairwell that smelled faintly of grilled fish and soy sauce. Then…
The first time I ate sushi in Takashimaya, I was eighteen and completely broke. My aunt slid a plate of salmon across the counter and told me to eat slowly, because good fish deserves patience. I’ve never forgotten that. Over the past six years, I’ve eaten my way through nearly every Japanese restaurant and sushi…
The first time I really understood chirashi don in Singapore, I was sitting alone at a counter in Cuppage Plaza, rain on the old windows outside. I’d ordered it on a whim. What came back was a comforting bowl of cool vinegared rice topped with cubed sashimi, a spoonful of salmon roe catching the light.…
I wasn’t planning to eat at Food Opera Singapore that afternoon. I’d come down Orchard Road for something else, got ambushed by the heat, and ducked into ION just to cool off. The escalator brought me down to B4, and the smells started before I even saw the place: garlic, coconut broth, something charred and…
The first time I brought a friend from overseas to Orchard Road, we walked for forty minutes and ate nothing. We started at ION Orchard. Then someone said the food looked better at Ngee Ann City. So we crossed over. Then a queue at one place made us doubt ourselves, and we wandered toward Wisma…
The first time I met a friend at Plaza Singapura, we spent twenty minutes walking in circles. We had no plan, too many choices, and that very Singapore problem of being hungry but still unable to decide what to eat. By the time we finally reached a table, we were more tired from choosing than…
The first time I went to Cuppage Plaza, I got lost. Not physically. The building is small, tucked just behind Orchard Road near Somerset MRT Station, worn at the edges in a way that most malls have long since scrubbed away. I wandered up and down its floors expecting one grand restaurant, one clear reason…
Orchard Road doesn’t slow down. The shopping malls fill up fast, and somewhere between Takashimaya Shopping Centre and Orchard Central, hunger catches up with you. We’ve spent years eating along this stretch. From ION Orchard’s basement stalls to rooftop dining above the city skyline, from quick lunch sets to long shared dinners. We’ve tried the…
The first time I tried to eat at Marina Bay Sands, I ended up hungry and irritated. I’d walked in from Bayfront MRT with a friend, no plan, no booking, just the vague idea that we’d “find something.” Forty-five minutes later, we’d circled The Shoppes twice, argued gently about whether we could afford anything, and…
It was a Thursday, the kind where the office empties out slowly and you’re not quite ready to head home. I found myself walking into 100AM Mall in Tanjong Pagar, drawn by the promise of grilled skewers and a cold beer. The Public Izakaya by Hachi seemed like the right call. I’d heard it brought…