Dinner
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…
I almost walked past it. Fortune Centre isn’t the kind of building that makes things easy. The corridors are narrow, the lift is slow, and half the units look like they haven’t changed since the nineties. I took it up to the third floor, turned left, and found Izakaya Hikari tucked behind an unassuming door.…
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…
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…
I’ve eaten my way through Marina Bay Sands food more times than my wallet would like to admit. Over the past few years, I’ve explored the celebrity-chef spots, rooftop bars, and casual dining restaurants that draw a queue purely for the view. Some dishes were worth every dollar. Some were a lesson in managing expectations.…