Enjoy Vietnamese, Spanish, Korean and other cuisines in one location at Orchard Central

If you are looking for somewhere in Orchard for food, look no further than Orchard Central. The Far East managed mall has a rich mix of F&B outlets, serving an assortment of cuisines from around the world. You will find yourself spoilt for choices.

Over the weekend, I went on a food trail at Orchard Central whereby I ate at four F&B outlets together with five other bloggers. We visited Tonkin Vietnamese Noodle Bar (unit #B1-02), Milagro Spanish Restaurant (unit #08-06/07), 49 Seats (unit #08-08), and Nunsaram Korean Dessert Cafe (#05-51/52).

Yes, Vietnamese, Spanish, fusion and Korean cuisines all in one day, in one destination!

1. 

Tonkin Vietnamese Noodle Bar

This is a new vietnamese restaurant which serves affordably priced quick eats. Their specialties are their beef noodles and banh mi (vietnamese baguette).

The restaurant is small, but cosy and food is prepared and served in a open kitchen:

These are the items we sampled:

Drip ice coffee (milk cold) – S$3.90, a specialty in Vietnam
Fresh Spring Rolls x 2 pieces (nem cuon) – S$6.90
Beef combination noodle soup namdinh style – S$9.90, light and refreshing, I love this dish
Braised beef golden coin noodle soup – S$9.90, this has a thicker broth than the other beef noodle soup
Green mango salad with shrimps – S$7.90
Banh Mi Pate Grilled Chicken – S$6.90
Rice flour rolls with pork x 4 pieces – S$6.90, my favourite dish at Tonkin

I would recommend this place for a quick, light meal. Some customers come to get their banh mi to takeaway. I quite enjoy the two beef soup noodle dishes and the rice flour rolls with pork. The latter has a nice crunch beneath the soft, smooth flour rolls.

2.

Milagro Spanish Restaurant

This is one of my favourite restaurant in Orchard and I have dined there many times. The owner is young and passionate about the food he serves and strives to keep the menu as authentic Spanish as possible. The prices are amazing, with no GST and service charges. Better still, they have one-for-one main menu item deals with the Entertainer app!

These are the items I sampled this time round:

Potatoes Bravas – S$8.00, these are a little spicy and goes well with the zesty dipping sauce provided
Arroz Negre (squid ink rice) – S$59, love this dish, serves up to 4 pax
Paella Valenciana – S$47, Miagro’s signature chicken paella, serves up to 4 pax
Fried Cauliflowers – S$4.00
Prawns al Ajillo – S$16.00
Freshly baked bread from Milagro’s kitchen to eat with the various sauces and condiments
Chicken Harisso – S$13
Cold Soup Chupitos (x3) – S$8.00
Catalan Chicken – S$11.00

3. 

49 Seats

This is a western fusion restaurant which always enjoy a good crowd during lunch and dinner time. The customers appear to be mostly hipsters and teenagers. Every time I walk by, it’s always packed.

The decor is spiffy and gives a K-pop vibe. The manager shared with us that they would describe their menu as focused on ‘comfort food’. I cannot agree more when they served out their lavish, sinful spread:

These are the items sampled:

Fish Bites (10pcs) – S$9.90
Old Fashioned Fish and Chip with tom yum sauce – S$16.90
Tom Yum Seafood – S$14.90
Classic Carbonara – S$12.90
Drinks are served in metal mugs like these
Cheese Fries – S$7.90, very generous serving
Smoked Duck Aglio Olio – S$14.90, their signature dish

This is a fun restaurant for large group gatherings to binge on comfort food while catching up. The menu items are good for sharing and the tables and chairs can be easily shuffled around to accommodate groups of different sizes.

4.

Nunsaram Korean Dessert

Nunsarum specialises in Bingsu (빙수), a popular dessert from Korea. A Bingsu typically comprises of ice or milk shavings, topped with ingredients such as fruits and nuts, drizzled with condensed milk or syrup. This is my first time trying Bingsu. It remains me of the Taiwanese ‘snow ice’ desserts, but the shavings are finer and the pricing is at least 2 to 3 times more. Though I must admit, they are really beautiful to look at and very foodporn-worthy.

The Bingsu are prepared in an open kitchen:

These are the items sampled:

Garlic Cheese Bread (best seller) – S$7.90, has both sweet and savoury, rather interesting blend of flavours.
Spicy Tteogkkochi (fried rice cake) – S$4.90, not as spicy as the ones in Korea which was a relief for me, love the crispy fried exterior
Injeolmi Toast – S$5.90, this is an interesting eat and I would recommend trying. There’s rice cake glued between the toasts.
Mango Bingsu (their top seller) – S$15.90, made with real, fresh mangoes and 100% pure milk
Injeolmi bingsu (their best seller) – S$12.90, topped with nuts and mochi, this is closer to the traditional Bingsu and a recommended order.
Oreo Bingsu – S$12.90
Strawberry Bingsu – S$15.90

If you have not tried Bingsu, here is a good place to start. 🙂

For more dining options at Orchard Central featuring different cuisines, visit their official website for the updated mall directory. I counted 48 restaurants from their directory, of which four are new! Both Tonkin Vietnamese Noodle Bar and Nunsaram Korean Dessert are new.

alvinology

Alvin is a marketer by day and blogger by night. He is a 100% geek who spends too much time surfing the web.

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