Central Singapore Malls Rated: ION, Plaza Sing, Taka

Plaza Singapura 10, ION Orchard 9

Plaza Singapura, 10/10. It legitimately has everything: a cinema, a supermarket, a Daiso, food at every price point, and it connects straight into Dhoby Ghaut, which is three lines. There is nothing to complain about, and that is a rarer quality in a mall than being impressive.

ION Orchard, 9/10. The luxury one, and the best toilets in central, which sounds like a joke until you have needed one on Orchard Road on a Saturday. The basement food floor is the actual reason most people are there, not the boutiques upstairs.

We have done this for other parts of the island too: the northeast and the south.

313@Somerset 7, Bugis Junction 7, Takashimaya 6

313@Somerset, 7/10. Fine mall, and right now a large share of its crowd is one shop: the YO-CHI queue. Take that away and it is a solid but ordinary Orchard mall.

Bugis Junction, 7/10. Has everything and nothing at the same time. You can find whatever you need there and you will not remember a single shop afterwards. The glass-roofed street is still the nicest bit of mall architecture in the area.

Takashimaya, 6/10. The lowest score and an honest one: we only go for Kinokuniya. The basement food hall is good, the department store is not what brings anyone under 35 through the doors.

Scores are ours and they are about how often we actually go, not about tenancy mix or floor area.

FAQs

Which is the best mall in central Singapore?

In our rating, Plaza Singapura scored 10 out of 10. It has a cinema, a supermarket, food at every price point and it connects directly to Dhoby Ghaut MRT.

Which central mall has the best toilets?

ION Orchard, by our reckoning. It scored 9 out of 10 overall and the toilets are the best on Orchard Road.

Why did Takashimaya score lowest?

It scored 6 out of 10 because for most people our age the reason to go is Kinokuniya and the basement food hall, not the department store itself.