Our little island is known to be a food paradise and so, it's hardly any surprise that Cathay Cineleisure Orchard is filled with a wide range of restaurants! Japanese cuisine, pasta, chicken rice... You name it and Cine has got it!
Here are some of the restaurants which Fel and I checked out! (:
Pastamania fixes your pasta craving in a jiffy! The restaurant is decked out in its bold, fire engine red and black, making it pretty difficult to miss! With its warm brown tiles, it seems a lot cozier to me than its other fast food counterparts.(:
My favourite dish is the Prawn Aglio ($8.90). Prawns, chili, garlic and diced tomatoes are tossed into healthy olive oil quickly to satisfy you craving ASAP. That day, mine was a mixture of spaghetti and fusilli.
The prawns were a little powdery to me, not exactly the way I like them to be. But I liked the chili, garlic, tomato and olive oil mixture. The spaghetti and fusilli were nicely cooked, making the dish pretty enjoyable overall.
Pastamania is the place to go to for a quick fix of your pasta craving. Besides pasta, the Italian restaurant also offers pizzas, appetizers like chicken wings and delectable desserts (Try their Banana Dessert Pizza!). Most dishes are below $12 and with the combo sets, it is very friendly towards your wallets. For students, hurray! There is a 30% discount on all pastas and pizzas on weekdays, from 2 to 3pm. (:
PASTAMANIA
Location: #02-23/23A
Contact: +65 6276 3009
Website: http://www.pastamania.com.sg/
Operating Hours:
Sun to Thu: 10am - 10.30pm;
Fri, Sat & eve of PH: 10am - 3am
It was only earlier this month that I was introduced to Shokudo Japanese Pizza & Pasta. With walls adorned with bright yellow stripes and the restaurant facing the huge windows of Cineleisure, one can't help but smile! It is such a cheery and bright place and I would love to stay there for hours!
I had the Kinoko Wafu Aglio Olio ($12.90) and this is my 3rd plate for the month! The shitake mushrooms are juicy and succulent and the spaghetti is just spring-y enough. I'm no food connoisseur but I think this plate of pasta is what 'al dente' means. (:
Shokudo Japanese Pizza & Pasta adds a nice twist to the usual Italian dishes. The Japanese spices adds a complexity to the dishes, making the dishes completely different from the Italian counterparts, but they are definitely not any less delicious.
SHOKUDO JAPANESE PIZZA & PASTA
Location: #02-06A/B
Contact: +65 6238 0525
Website: http://shokudoconcepts.com.sg/
Opening Hours: 12pm - 12am
A.venue Bistro is divided into the 2 areas; the kitchen and the dining area. Long, black chairs looking all luscious and rich line the dining area on one side. It looks like the inside of an Old English train. On the other side, a row of London street lamps cast a dim light on the tables, making meals cozy affairs.
Fel and I both ordered the Pan Roasted Smoked Salmon Steak with Terriyaki Sauce ($13.90), which came with a dollop of mashed potato and ratatouille. The salmon was nicely cooked, with no lingering fishy smell and the skin was crispy and a complete delight to eat. The mashed potato made a nice companion to the salmon, balancing the rich terriyaki sauce that the fish was topped in.
My dinner ended with a dome of tiramisu. The tiramisu was made with balanced layers of mascarpone cheese and sponge cake. The liqueur didn't overpower the flavours of coffee and chocolate dusting, making the dessert perfect for completing my dinner.
Though A.venue Bistro looks slightly ostentatious, the menu is a list of dishes that are priced below $15. The restaurant promises a cozy affair with scrumptious Western food.
A.VENUE BISTRO
Location:#03-06/06B
Contact: +65 6733 2270
Website: -
Opening Hours:
Sunday to Thursday : 11am - 11pm
Friday & Saturday : 11am - 2am
Old Town White Coffee hails from our neighbour, Malaysia, and it is the largest kopitiam restaurant chain there. Tucked away in a corner on level 1 of Cineleisure, its menu of classic dishes is a hit among the working crowd.
When Fel and I were there, there were several tables of people in office wear, discussing animatedly about work (Or their bosses/ colleagues... Hmm...).
The restaurant is really a treasure chest of Asian favourites. Old Town Nasi Lemak Special, Old Town Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun, Springy Noodle with Chicken Ham and Egg, Old Town Assam Laksa...
You have no idea just how long we took to decide on our lunch!
A slip of paper was given to us to pen in our choices. The above is Fel's dish, Old Town Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken ($6.20). You can check out her blog here for her review! (:
On top of our main dishes, we each ordered a plate of Omega Soft Boiled Eggs ($1.90). The eggs came all prepared for us (You don't need to crack them!) and though they didn't look as pretty as they do in the menu, they were nicely (half) cooked. (:
I had my eggs accompanied with Kaya & Butter Toast ($0.90). I need to have my half-boiled eggs with bread, otherwise the whole thing seems incomplete. But I realized that this isn't the norm. Haha.
Fel was asking me how I ate them together. Well, what I did was to shred my bread into pieces, dip them into the delicious mess of soya sauce and eggs before wolfing them down. This way of eating makes A LOT of difference to the eggs (Or bread. Depending on which your 'main' dish is.).
My lunch was the Old Town BBQ Chicken Egg Noodles ($6.20). It came with a bowl of dumpling in warm soup. Though it is a pretty simple dish, the noodles were neither too soft nor too hard... Pretty 'bouncy'. The chicken and dumplings were pleasant to eat, though they were nothing special.
The place was pretty spacious and brightly lit. Fel and I spent a considerable amount of time there, reminiscing the past... Very apt for the place (Though I'm starting to feel old now. GLOOM!)!
Old Town White Coffee offers a pretty wide selection of simple classic dishes. Prices are affordable and it's going to be my to-go place for Asian dishes from now on!
OLD TOWN WHITE COFFEE
Location: #01-04
Contact: -
Website: http://www.oldtownwhitecafe.com/
Opening Hours:
Sun to Thu: 9am - 2am;
Fri, Sat and eve of PH: 9am - 4am
I have heard a lot about Artease, though this marked the first time that I drank their beverage. Shame on me, considering how I'm such a big bubble tea fan (TSK, Charlene!).
The café has its wall covered in cute doodles and I would call it a 'cool hangout', except that makes me sound like a teenage-wannabe. Oh wells. A couple of tables, with bright orange seats, are provided for those who like to rest their legs for a while.
On the left is Fel's Peach Osmanthus Tea with coconut jelly($3.70) and on the right, is my Chocolate Mint Milk Tea ($3.50). I had mine without bubbles that day.
I usually drink almond or banana milk tea, so the Chocolate Mint Milk Tea was a nice change! Some of my friends say that mint tastes like toothpaste but I like how refreshing it is! The drink was a nice blend of mint and chocolate, with neither overpowering the other. I will certainly order this again!
The Chocolate Mint Milk Tea is part of a trio of Artease's First Birthday Month Specials. The other two are Salted Caramel Milk Tea and Cinnamon Milk Tea. According to the bubble tea man, the Chocolate Milk Tea is the most popular out of the lot!
Here's Fel, ever-smiling and picture-ready!
Artease is a nice stop for a drink and it separates itself from the many other bubble tea stores with its unique and creative flavours.
ARTEASE
Location: #01-03
Contact: +65 6235 6966
Website: http://www.artease.sg/
Last but not least, Sticky! The place is a burst of bright, cheery colours and even the gloomiest of the gloomy will find a small smile on his/ her face. The candies are all laid out in a neat row, in front of the counter and the table where the candies are made.
This is my second time to the store and this time I got to see how the colourful candies were made! As mentioned before, I love to watch how the food, or candies in this case, is prepared! It's like an art, to be appreciated. (:
STICKY
Location: #01-02
Contact: -
Website: http://www.sticky.com.sg/
And ah! Finally, the end of a super duper long post! I hope this mini food guide has been useful to you. (: Thanks for reading!
P.S.: Voting for Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation has started! Please click here to vote for Fel & Char (You can vote more than once!). Lots of appreciation and much thanks! :DDD
