EVENTFUL GUIDES · PLAZA SINGAPURA
What to eat at Plaza Singapura
- Address
- 68 Orchard Road, Singapore 238839
- Mall hours
- 10am to 10pm daily
- Nearest station
- Dhoby Ghaut (NS24, NE6, CC1)
- In this guide
- 15 places, every unit number checked
Plaza Singapura is the mall at the quiet end of Orchard Road, the one attached to Dhoby Ghaut that people use as a shortcut and then never leave. It has been there since 1974 and it is built for actually getting things done rather than window shopping.
The floor logic is the thing to learn. Basement 2 is the cheap fast basement and it opens straight onto the MRT, so it is where you eat if you have twenty minutes. Level 6 and 7 are the sit down restaurants near the cinema. Everything below has its unit number, because eight floors is too many to wander.
In this guide
The list, floor by floor
1. Old Chang Kee
Curry puffs, halal certified, for when you want something in your hand in ninety seconds on the way to the train.
2. 85 Redhill Teochew Fishball Noodles
Teochew fishball noodles in a mall, which sounds wrong and is not. Cheap, fast, and exactly what you want after a film.
3. Café&Meal MUJI
The MUJI canteen: pick three or four dishes off the counter, pay by count, eat quietly. It is the calmest room in the building and the vegetables are the reason to come.
4. Tiong Bahru Bakery
Croissants from the local bakery that started the croissant conversation here. Halal certified. Get there early on weekends or the almond ones are gone.
5. CHAGEE
The Chinese tea chain that took over Singapore in about eighteen months. Fresh tea rather than powder, and the jasmine milk tea is the one everyone orders.
6. SEORAE JIB
Korean charcoal barbecue built around galmaegisal, the skirt cut between the ribs and the belly. Good value for a proper grill meal in town.
7. Din Tai Fung
The xiao long bao chain that needs no introduction, and the queue here moves faster than the Orchard Road outlets because most people walk past it on the way to the cinema. Go before 6pm on a weekday if you want a table without waiting.
8. Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice
The Bangkok Michelin Bib Gourmand chicken rice, halal certified here. Their own listing dates the original stall to 1960. Order the steamed and roasted mix and get the chilli.
9. Tsukada Nojo
Collagen hotpot, where the broth arrives as a solid jelly and melts into soup at your table. It is a bit of theatre and the bijin nabe is genuinely good.
10. Haidilao Hot Pot 海底捞火锅
Hotpot with the full Haidilao treatment: noodle dancing at your table, free snacks while you wait, and staff who will genuinely offer to look after your bag. Book ahead on weekends or accept that you are waiting.
11. Nando's
PERi-PERi chicken, halal certified, and one of the few sit down halal options in this part of Orchard. Reliable rather than exciting, which is the point.
12. Nunsaram Korean Dessert Cafe
One of the first places in Singapore to do Korean bingsu properly. Shaved milk ice, mango or injeolmi, big enough to share and usually shared.
13. Ya Kun Kaya Toast
Kaya toast, soft eggs and thick kopi. The default Singapore breakfast, open from mall opening.
14. Bashu Sichuan Cuisine
Proper Sichuan rather than the mala-for-everyone version. Order like you mean it and ask for the numbing level you actually want.
15. Kopitiam
The food court, and the honest answer to where the cheap food is. Local hawker stalls at food court prices, in the basement, a minute from the MRT gantry.
Quick answers
How do I get to Plaza Singapura by MRT?
Dhoby Ghaut interchange connects directly into the mall at Basement 2. That is three lines: the North South Line (NS24), the North East Line (NE6) and the Circle Line (CC1), which makes it one of the easiest malls in Singapore to reach without changing trains.
What time does Plaza Singapura open and close?
The mall runs 10am to 10pm daily. Individual shops set their own hours inside that, and the restaurants near the cinema on the upper floors generally serve later than the basement kiosks.
Where is the cheapest food at Plaza Singapura?
Basement 2. Kopitiam is a full food court of local hawker stalls, and the rest of the basement is kiosks and bakeries. It opens straight onto the Dhoby Ghaut MRT link, so you can eat and be on a train inside half an hour.
Is there halal food at Plaza Singapura?
Yes. Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice, Nando's, Swensen's, Tiong Bahru Bakery, Old Chang Kee, Wok Hey, Burger King, McDonald's and Yakiniku Shokudo are all flagged halal certified in the mall's own directory. Check the certificate at the counter if it matters to you.
Is Plaza Singapura connected to the rest of Orchard Road?
It sits at the Dhoby Ghaut end, which is the eastern end of Orchard Road and a walk from the main ION and Ngee Ann City cluster. Most people treat it as its own trip rather than part of an Orchard shopping day.
What is Plaza Singapura known for?
Being useful. It has a cinema, a supermarket, Uniqlo, MUJI, Daiso, a music school and a food court in one building on top of a three line interchange. The mall opened in 1974 and has been the practical end of Orchard Road ever since.