4 shopping malls in S’pore so empty, you won’t need to queue for food during peak hours

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:54 pm

Usually, we go where the crowd is but sometimes, the other way is the way to go. Think about it, no more jostling with the crowd, tch-ing that irritating guy who stands in the middle of the walkway and looking for seats to rest your legs and have a meal.

Do you feel the same way we do? If you do, here are some shopping malls which are not swamped with the frightful crowds of Orchard Road/major heartland malls.

Though limited in the range of goods and services they offer, their small food outlets can prove a real gem for good food with no queues.

Katong Shopping Centre (Mountbatten Road)

Opened in 1973, it was Singapore’s first air-conditioned shopping mall. It sports a blue-and-yellow facade that faintly reminds me of IKEA’s colour combination. With most people in the area flocking to the nearby Parkway Parade or Roxy Square, here is where you go for cheap, tasty Singapore food with no queues.

Bukit Timah Plaza (Jalan Anak Bukit)

This shopping mall used to have many shops specializing in computer hardware and software and household goods. It is now home to many maid agencies. The small food outlets and supermarket there mainly serve the residents who live in the housing units located above the shopping centre.

Beauty World Plaza (Upper Bukit Timah Road)

Opened in 1983, its name is derived from Beauty World, an amusement park that once existed in the area. After World War 2, the amusement park was converted into a market place.

Before this shopping mall was constructed, the area was home to the Beauty World Park Market and Beauty World Town. However, both places were destroyed by fires in 1975 and 1984. Some of the affected stallholders and shop-owners were relocated to Beauty World Plaza to continue their businesses.

Many stalls in its hawker centre give out generous amounts of noodles and extra servings of homemade chilli. The hawker centre is well-known for its mutton soup and ban mian.

Far East Plaza (Scotts Road)

Despite being known as a clothes-shopping haven, its food outlets often fly under the radar. It has a good range of Korean, Japanese, halal and street food on the basement and the top floor of the mall.