With the new SMRT Circle Line, it is so much easier to go to places like Telok Blangah, Pasir Panjang and Labrador Park; it has made lots of eating places more accessible. I can go on and on about all the food places, but I think it’s a better idea to read my guide to restaurants near SMRT Circle Line.

As part of the campaign by SMRT to let more people know about the eating places near to the new Circle Line, I hosted two food outings at one-north and Botanic Gardens MRT Stations where twenty readers joined me and dined for free.

For those of you who are not familiar with the two areas, I’m sure you would want to find out where to go for yummy food.

Two weeks ago, we had the food outing at one-north MRT Station and we went to Shin Nichi (1 Fusionopolis Way, #02-20/21 Fusionoplis Tel: +65 6466 3511) for Japanese food.

Many people probably have not been to Fusionopolis since it is situated in a business park, but there are a few dining options  there – like Penang Place Restaurant, Koryo Korean Restaurant and Eighteen Chefs – that are worth a try too.

I had a wonderful time, and it was lovely to meet people who love food. I’m thinking about doing more food outings for this year, we’ll see how that goes!

Another SMRT food outing was held at Botanic Gardens MRT Station, which is located along Bukit Timah Road. I always go to the area, as there are lots of good food places.

With the new Circle Line MRT Station at Botanic Gardens, you can easily get there and eat the famous Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak at Adam Road Food Centre, or go to Cluny Court to have burgers at Relish Restaurant and Serene Centre for ice cream at Island Creamery. Further down the road is Coronation Plaza, where there are eating-places like Burger Shack, Choupinette, En Japanese Dining Bar, and Swiss Grill – the place we went for the SMRT food outing.

I hosted the food outing at Swiss Grill (587 Bukit Timah Road, #01-05 Coronation Shopping Plaza Tel: +65 6463 8080) because I wanted to introduce a restauarant, which serves good food at affordable prices.

Most of the items on their menu – burgers, sausages, and salad – are priced reasonably below $15; and you can get a 200g Angus Ribeye for $39.90. Everyone agreed that Swiss Grill has really good burgers, so do check it out when you are in the area.

I’m sure you know this by now, but in case you’ve missed out on the news: Bayfront and Marina Bay Stations are finally opened on 14th Jan 2012. I love going to the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands to walk around, so this is great news for me as it will be easier to go to MBS via the new Circle Line MRT Station. To get to Bayfront MRT Station, you can transfer at either Marina Bay or Promenade MRT Stations.

That’s it folks. I had fun at the food outing, and I hope to do another one soon. Meanwhile, Qiuting will be organising the last SMRT food outing in February, you can join her by registering at the SMRT Circle Line page.

Advertorial

The Circle Line (CCL) is Singapore’s fourth Mass Rapid Transit line, operated by SMRT. With the opening of the final 11 stations last month, running from Caldecott to HarbourFront, it marks the completion of the entire Circle Line.

The new additions are really great as they link us to places like the up-and-coming one-north, and the ever popular Holland Village. Food lovers may now rejoice for travelling to Holland Village is made so much more convenient and travelling time is easily halved with the dedicated station!

Since the Circle Line has opened up more opportunities for us to explore the various parts of Singapore that we wouldn’t have otherwise gone before, I thought it would be interesting to do up a post featuring some of the restaurants at the vicinity of each station! Yay to new reasons for us to venture out for more food!

Here’s my Guide to the restaurants near Circle Line Stations.

Let’s eat our way through Circle Line!

CC17 Caldecott

It is no secret that I am a fan of Hokkien Mee. Tian Tian Lai Hokkien Mee is so good that I’d gladly go all the way to Toa Payoh just to satisfy my craving. Luckily for me, the new Caldecott MRT Station will cut down my travelling journey so that I will have more time for my food adventures!

Tian Tian Lai Hokkien Mee
Blk 127 Toa Payoh Lorong 1
#02-27 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 Food Centre
Tel: +65 6251 8542

CC19 Botanic Gardens

Botanic Gardens MRT station is located along Bukit Timah Road, not to be confused with the more familiar Napier Road entrance to the gardens. Previously, the only way to reach places such as Cluny Court, Serene Centre and Coronation Plaza is by buses which can be confusing at times!

Relish is a gourmet burger speciality restaurant at Cluny Court, which is situated outside the new Botanic Gardens station. Try their signature Wild Rocket Burger!

For desserts, you should go to 3 Inch Sin – a dessert shop that serves different freshly-baked warm chocolate cakes in unique flavours like orange, coffee, and peanut butter.

Relish Restaurant
501 Bukit Timah road
#02-01 Cluny court
Tel: +65 6763 1547

3 Inch Sin
501 Bukit Timah Road #02-27
Cluny Court Singapore
Tel: +65 6314 1217

CC20 Farrer Road

When you ask around for the best Kong Bak Pau (Braised Pork Belly Bun) in Singapore, chances are, people will mention Westlake Restaurant at Queens Road. The good news is, with the opening of Farrer Road MRT Station on the Circle Line, Westlake Restaurant is a mere 5 minute walk away.

Westlake Restaurant
Blk 4 Queens Road #02-139
Tel: +65 6474 7283

CC21 Holland Village

Lorong Mambong, or more commonly known as Holland Village, is a very popular foodie paradise in the West of Singapore.

La Nonna Italian restaurant has an ongoing lunch promotion, 50% off their ala carte menu for weekday lunch. For late night supper, Crystal Jade’s steamboat buffet with free flow xiao long bao is the best way to end the night with a group of friends.

For more recommendations, read my guide to restaurants in Holland Village.

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
241 Holland Avenue
Holland Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6463 0968

La Nonna
26 Lorong Mambong
Holland Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6468 1982

CC22 Buona Vista

With the new Circle Line, people living in the Bishan/Serangoon area can now travel to Buona Vista station in just 14 – 21 minutes. That’s a time savings of about 20 minutes compared to previously where you will have to transfer train at Jurong East MRT station to get onto the East-West Line to Buona Vista.

Rochester Park – a five minutes walk away from Buona Vista MRT station – is a hidden dining enclave ideal for a romantic date. For a lazy brunch, Graze at Rochester Park is the perfect place. Otherwise, you can also go to Da Paolo restaurant for pizza and tiramisu.

For more recommendations, please read my guide to Rochester Park Restaurants.

Da Paolo Restaurant
3 Rochester Park
Rochester Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6774 5537

Graze
4 Rochester Park
Rochester Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6775 9000

CC23 One-North

If you do not want to go all the way to Penang just to satisfy your laksa and char koay teow craving, Penang Place Restaurant at Fusionopolis is the next best alternative. The Penang buffet is just $22.9++ for weekday lunch and $24.90++ for weekday dinner.

For a quick and affordable lunch, there’s Shin Nichi Japanese restaurant. There’s just something about Japanese food that makes me happy. Sushi and Sashimi, anyone?

Penang Place Restaurant
1 Fusionopolis Way
#B1-20/24 Fusionoplis
Tel: +65 6467 7003

Shin Nichi Japanese Restaurant
1 Fusionopolis Way
#02-20/21 Fusionoplis
Tel: +65 6466 3511

CC24 Kent Ridge

For those of you who want to reminisce your university days, why not make a trip back to the National University of Singapore (NUS)? There’s nothing like cheap and good campus food.

CC25 Haw Par Villa

Ju Shin Jung has always been known as one of the best Korean BBQ restaurants in Singapore. Besides East Coast Park, they also have a branch at Yess Centre, opposite Haw Par Villa. The Korean BBQ Buffet is $29++ for lunch and $35++ for dinner.

Ju Shin Jung BBQ
27 West Coast Highway
#01-18/19 Yess Centre
Tel: +65 6464 0872

CC26 Pasir Panjang

I am always on the lookout for cheap and good Thai food. One of the places that I always pass by but have never tried is E-Sarn Thai Corner along Pasir Panjang Road. I think it is high time I check out the Thai eatery since it is within walking distance from Pasir Panjang MRT Station.

Another favourite place of mine is Bistro One Zero Three. It is a cosy cafe that serves homely food at reasonable prices. It is a place that I will always go back to when I want a nice and quiet place for dinner.

Before the opening of the Circle Line, I had to take a bus from Harbourfront to get to Bistro One Zero Three. But now that there’s Pasir Panjang MRT Station which is a short 7 minutes ride from HarbourFront.

Bistro One Zero Three
103 Pasir Panjang Road
Tel: +65 6476 6373

E-Sarn Thai Corner
130 Pasir Panjang Road
Tel: +65 6473 3716

CC27 Labrador Park

Sometimes we choose to dine at a place because it serves really good food despite not having good service or ambience. Other times we focus more on the romantic ambience for special occasions.

One such place is Hosted on the patio at Alexandra Road, directly opposite from the new Labrador Park MRT Station. It is the perfect place if you want a sanctuary away from the hustle & bustle of our busy Singapore.

In the same area, there is also Himawari Japanese Restaurant that serves Japanese buffet at $34.80++ for weekday dinner and $38.80++ for weekend dinner.

Hosted on the patio
991B Alexandra Road #01-10
Tel: +65 6276 7337

Himawari Japanese Restaurant
991B Alexandra Road #01-08/09
Tel: +65 6272 1110

CC28 Telok Blangah

The dim sum at Peony Jade is pretty decent, but so far I have only been there once as Keppel Club is really inaccessible without a car. All that changed with the opening of Telok Blangah MRT Station.

Also, if you are craving for Nyonya food, PeraMakan at Keppel Club is one of the better Peranakan restaurants in Singapore.

Peony Jade restaurant
10 Bukit Chermin Road
Keppel Club
Tel: +65 6276 9138

PeraMakan
10 Bukit Chermin Road
3F Keppel Club
Tel: +65 6377 2829

I will be having another SMRT food outing session on the 14th January 2012. Twenty lucky readers will be chosen to dine with me for free, so register for the food outing at the SMRT Circle Line page now!

Till then, have fun exploring the previously forsaken parts of Singapore!

In conjunction with the opening of the Circle Line network stages 4 & 5, SMRT is hosting a makan session where 20 lucky readers get to join me and eat for free.

This is a great opportunity for me to show you where are the best food places near the Circle Line stations. I’ll be organising two separate food outings on the 26th Nov (Botanic Garden station) and 14th Jan (One North station).

Register here (remember to choose the right dates) and let’s go on a food adventure!