Staring at the rows of swish restaurants along Orchard Road, it’s reasonable to conclude that meals in the shopping district can be costly. Yet there are plenty of affordable dining options in Orchard, and most of them happen to be in Far East Plaza.
Don’t be fooled by its plain appearance. Step through its doors and you’ll find cheap Thai food, value-for-money chirashi, and delicious salted egg yolk pork ribs. Bookmark this page the next time you visit Orchard Road and check out this list of best Far East Plaza food places!
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Nothing seems to go wrong with salted egg yolk, and New Station Snack Bar has long proven that with their Salted Egg Yolk Pork Ribs ($15++/$22++). Redolent of curry leaves, the creamy and savoury sauce adds depth to the meat. Don’t worry about the dish being jelak, as the chilli padi cuts through the rich gravy with a fiery kick.
Read our New Station Snack Bar feature.
Unit number: #05-95
Opening hours: Daily 11:30am to 8:45pm
Tel: 6734 2862
Website
New Station Snack Bar is not a halal-certified eatery.
Drop by Far East Plaza during lunch and you’ll notice a snaking queue outside Maddie’s Kitchen. This homely eatery has built a growing fan base with their Hainanese curry rice sets. Special mention goes to their Pork Chop Rice ($6.80), coated with hand-crushed cream crackers and boasts a resonant crunch.
Read our Maddie’s Kitchen feature.
Unit number: #02-10/11/12/13
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 9pm
Tel: 6365 0501
Website
Maddie’s Kitchen is not a halal-certified eatery.
Even if you aren’t a regular at Far East Plaza, you probably would have heard of Hainanese Delicacy. Their Chicken Rice ($6) is fluffy and fragrant, while also lacking a greasy aftertaste. Although some may find the dish rather bland, it pairs well with both their garlicky chilli sauce and their signature Salted Vegetable Duck Soup ($7.50).
Unit number: #05-116
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 10am to 8pm
Tel: 6734 0639
Hainanese Delicacy is not a halal-certified eatery.
With most mains priced below $10, Kra Pow Thai Street Food is my go-to place for legit Thai fare in Orchard. Their Drunkard Noodle Pork ($10+) offers a potent slew of flavours, as the fiery chilli blends with the sweet fish sauce and savoury oyster sauce. What completes this full-bodied meal is the distinct wok hei aroma, which elevates the other elements of the dish. Else, go for their signature Minced Pork Kra Pow ($10+) which will not disappoint.
Unit number: #03-26/27
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11:30am to 3pm, 5pm to 9:30pm
Tel: 6734 1946
Website
Kra Pow Thai Street Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
If bubble teas aren’t your cup of tea, check out these fruit teas at Hi Tea instead! Their cold brews are prepared from freshly pulped fruits, so gulping down these treats comes without a cloying aftertaste. Wash away the heat with their signature Mix Fruit King ($5.80), which features a refreshing hodgepodge of watermelons, passion fruits, pineapples and more.
Unit number: #01-14B
Opening hours: Daily 11:30am to 10:30pm
Tel: 9339 2822
Website
Hi Tea is not a halal-certified eatery.
The Kaisen Chirashi Don ($27.90++/$31.90++) dished up at The Sushi Bar is anything but normal. This palate-pampering rice bowl includes thick and fresh cuts of salmon, yellowtail, swordfish, and tuna. The unsung hero of the set is their yellowtail, which is both fatty and flavourful. For a high-SES treat, opt for their Premium Chirashi Don (seasonal price), which tops up the dish with uni and other seasonal catches.
Unit number: #04-28
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30am to 3:30pm, 5pm to 9:45pm, Fri to Sun 11:30am to 9:45pm
Tel: 9653 6464
Website
The Sushi Bar is not a halal-certified eatery.
With more than thirty years of history, Nanbantei stands as one of Singapore’s oldest yakitori restaurants and one of the best Japanese restaurants in Singapore. If you feel spoilt for choice, check out their Yakitori Bento ($19.50++), which features negina AKA chicken with leek and tsukune AKA chicken meatball. As their skewers are grilled with Japanese-imported charcoal, they possess a unique smokiness.
Unit number: #05-132
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11:45am to 2:30pm, 6pm to 10:30pm, Sun 11:45am to 2:30pm, 5:30pm to 10pm
Tel: 6733 5666
Website
Nanbantei is not a halal-certified eatery.
Walk into Puncak Best Noodles & Halal Food and you’ll notice their Honeydew Chicken Noodle ($7) resting on most tables. The candied sauce neutralises the charred bitterness of the roasted chicken, creating a cohesive medley of flavours. If that isn’t enough, complete your meal with their crunchy Fried Wantons ($7/$10). With diced carrots mixed into the filling, these dumplings carry a well-balanced taste.
Unit number: #05-94
Opening hours: Sun-Mon 11:30am to 9pm, Wed-Fri 11:30am to 9pm, Sat 11:30am to 9:30pm
Tel: 6738 4348
Puncak Best Noodles & Halal Muslim Food is a halal-certified eatery.
Cahaya Muslim Halal Restaurant is one of the few local eateries dishing up halal Hokkien Mee ($7.50). Sponging up the copious amounts of robust broth, these noodles are brimming with umami. If you can handle the heat, request for an additional dollop of their sambal chilli. This relish brings the dish up a notch with its volcanic heat.
Unit number: #05-91/92
Opening hours: Mon-Tue 8am to 8pm, Thurs-Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat-Sun 11:30am to 9pm
Tel: 9169 9482
Cahaya Muslim Halal Restaurant is a halal-certified eatery.
Greenview Cafe has been dishing out mee hoon kueh for the past 30 years, with their best-selling item being the Minced Pork Mee Hoon Kueh ($7.20). This dish is available as a spicy rendition, but there’s no need to be intimidated by the noodles’ red hue as the spice is tolerable. The noodles are sweet and chewy, and the ingredients were flavourful, especially the savoury deep-fried anchovies. You can also get a bowl of Fried Mee Hoon Kueh ($7.90), which is done char kway teow-style, or a serving of their Herbal Mee Hoon Kueh ($8.90) if you prefer something lighter.
Read our Greenview Cafe review.
Unit number: #04-96
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am to 8pm, Sat-Sun 11am to 8pm
Tel: 6734 2312
Website
Greenview Cafe is not a halal-certified eatery.
Get spoilt for choice at All About Tiramisu, a specialty dessert shop with over 50 different types of tiramisu. Their dessert comes in four sizes: Regular ($27), Friends ($65), Family ($96), and Party ($180). Alcohol-spiked options are also available, such as the Classic Rum for those who like strong, punchy flavours, or the Bailey’s, which is a chocolatey dessert with hints of vanilla. Their tea-infused options are worth a try too, with refreshing flavours including Mango Yuzu and Rose Lychee.
Read our All About Tiramisu feature.
Unit number: #01-69
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 11am to 9pm, Fri-Sat 11am to 9:30pm, Sun 11am to 8pm
Website
All About Tiramisu is not a halal-certified eatery.
Get your zi char fix at Susan Chan Food, where you can dig into popular favourites with the likes of mixed vegetable soup, omelette, and sweet and sour pork. Their most popular item is their Deep Fried Chicken W Salted Egg Milk Sauce (price TBD). This sinful dish features fried chicken coated in a sauce that’s fragranced by curry leaves and sweet milky cream. Their Hor Fun (price TBD) is also popular but sells out fast, so be sure to drop by early for a plate of wok hei goodness!
Unit number: #05-112
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 4pm
Tel: 6733 5953
Website
Susan Chan Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
Sporting an industrial ambience and pink neon lights, it’s easy to mistake The Community Coffee for a bar. This indie coffee shop offers drip coffee and espresso-based brews from $5, with beans sourced from Brazil, Columbia, Ethiopia, and Peru. If you’re feeling peckish, get yourself some brunch bites such as the Toast and Jam (price TBD) or Smashed Avocado On Toast (price TBD).
Unit number: #02-94
Opening Hours: Daily 9:30am to 6:30pm
Website
The Community Coffee is not a halal-certified eatery.
Yan Ji Seafood Soup is touted as one of the best seafood soup stalls in Singapore, with over three decades of history. According to their website, the flavourful soup base is made using a slow and meticulous cooking process, resulting in rich seafood flavours. They have a variety of seafood soups to choose from such as Dory Seafood Soup ($8.55/$10.70) and the Batang Seafood Soup ($14). Otherwise, the Premium Seafood Soup ($38) offers a mix of all their seafood items, and is enough to feed two people.
Unit number: #01-16A/B
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 4pm, 5pm to 9pm, Sun 11am to 4pm, 5pm to 8:30pm
Website
Yan Ji Seafood Soup is not a halal-certified eatery.
Cafe-hopping can put quite a strain on the wallet in Singapore, but look closely, and you’ll find that there are affordable options such as Pancake and Friends. They are known for their souffle pancakes, rosti, and bagels which start from $6.
For their signature bagels, choose from flavours such as the value-for-money Smoked Salmon Cheese ($8), featuring generous slices of smoked salmon. But if you prefer something sweeter, go for the Banana Chocolate ($6), which comes with a decadent spread of chocolate hazelnut and banana slices.
Read our Pancakes And Friends feature.
Unit Number: #01-34
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 9:30pm
Tel: 9757 5322
Website
Pancakes And Friends is not a halal-certified eatery.
What’s unique about the Japanese bar Ume Maru is that they are manga-themed, which sets them apart from all the izakayas in Singapore. The very first thing that greets you is shelves carrying numerous copies of manga from popular series such as Bleach.
As you browse, sip on various interesting drinks such as the Light of Nara ($22++) inspired by Princess Mononoke, and the eye-catching Tiffany Sky ($22++) inspired by Land of the Lustrous. If you are feeling peckish, the bar has several bites you can munch on such as the Yuzu Soba ($24++).
Read our Ume Maru feature.
Unit number: #05-26
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 12pm to 2:30pm, 5pm to 11pm, Sun 12pm to 3pm, 5pm to 10pm
Tel: 8069 8055
Website
Ume Maru is not a halal-certified eatery.
Seoul Bunsik is a no-frills eatery serving up wallet-friendly Korean street food. Feast on a spread of tteokbokki, gimbap, spicy fried chicken, corndogs and more. There are lunch sets available here too, which are great options for those working in the area. Some popular picks are the Gimbap and Self Cooking Ramen Set ($12.90) and the Kimchi Fried Rice ($13.80).
Read our Seoul Bunsik feature.
Unit Number: #01-01
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 11am to 9pm, Fri-Sat 11am to 10pm
Tel: 9891 0188
Website
Seoul Bunsik is not a halal-certified eatery.
If you’re on a budget after your latest shopping spree, give the restaurants at ION Orchard and Wisma Atria a miss and check out these affordable food places at Far East Plaza instead.
For more value-for-money gems in Orchard, check out our guide to 111 Somerset food places for beef donburi bowls and halal takoyaki. For more great eats near Orchard, check out our Orchard Road food guide.
This article was originally written on 4 June 2018.
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