I12 Katong

my go to shopping mall. i use the market in the basment, the movie theater and the hair salons there. they also have some really cute boutique shops on L1

I was once a fan of 112 (not sure why it gets called i12 — their website is clearly 112), but it seems to have degenerated of late.
Numerous boarded up shops and a lack of a true anchor store.
The good news or bad news is that a new mall is scheduled to open in 2016 next door. This will either provide needed foot traffic to 112 or will kill it off. Watch this space!
There is though a cinema inside 112 which serves all of us Katongonians. A Food Republic and an overly expensive grocery store in the basement.

Okay, okay, okay. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned… I didn’t see the value of I12 in my initial review of this place. But now that I live here, I get it.
Not sure if it’s me, but I think this mall has improved a lot since I last reviewed. There is a Browhaus and Strip outlet here, which is very convenient so you don’t have to go to Orchard Road for hair removal. The eateries have gotten a lot better, too– although there’s no more Max Brenner’s, there is a Wine Connection Bistro, Din Tai Fung, and Nando’s, to name a few places.
And don’t get me started on the basement level! There’s the fancy Jason’s supermarket if you’re looking for high quality western ingredients. The J-​Mart is perfect if you’re looking for Japanese green tea kit kats and other yummy snacks. And have you seen that aquarium?! So awesome.
Throw in the Golden Village movie theatre on the top level, in addition to the Food Republic food court that has a Wee Nam Kee outlet, and well… I am now a fan. There, I said it!

Let me be up front here. I don’t like shopping malls. In Singapore I have to tolerate them due to them being just about everywhere and the fact that many great restaurants are located in the malls. I walk along Orchard Rd and wonder just how many Versace or Dolce & Gabbana stores can one street support? I guess I am not their target market. Anyway, enough of this meandering off the point. This mall is one of the better ones in Singapore. Not too crowded, even at weekends, great coffee shops and food courts, a guitar store and a great movie theatre. Maybe I do like some of the malls after all.

Once in awhile, though its a pretty long while in Singapore, a developer comes along and build a mall with heart. By that I mean, they actually put some thought into the process rather than churn out another boring, homogeneous building with the same shops just to eek more taxpayers money. Back in the 90s, Katong Mall was derelict. All it had going for it was Awfully Chocolate, Cold Storage and Mega Discount Store in the basement. Now, funded by Keppel and Breaktalk, its the posh new mall the district deserves. I like that fact that they preserved the heritage of the Katong area with Peranakan-​inspired motiqs on the glass façade. The carpeted floors and scented air-​conditioning though nice, feels a little overkill. To keep inline with the atas-​ness of the mall, there’s Cortina Watches first outlet outside Orchard while Cold Storage is now its upscale older brother Marketplace. To top it off, there’s Food Republic and GV Gold Class. But what I like most about the new Katong Mall is the sidewalk cafes. On the side of the mall facing Joo Chiat Road, the eateries like Baci and TGIFridays have sidewalk sitting which is a nice touch and perfect for people watching.

This is a compact but solid mall. Food picks are good and varied themall gives a very pleasant feel as compared to the older katong mall plgued by a stench in the air from what i could remember.
The foodcourt upstairs is the perennial fallback choice for lunch when worked across the street. It is afterall food republic, which means these hawkers are famous in one way or another. I especially love th yong taufoo and fishall noodles! Affordable eats and generous enough.
Being a mall that caters to all need, it’s also awesome that browhaus is there so I can get some maintenance work done too. Katong marketplace only adds to the awesomeness since grocery shopping is my favourite form of retail therapy.

The new and revamp Katong mall is home to many eateries and a cinema. Finally those staying at this neighborhood do not need to travel to tampines or orchard to catch movies on big screen.
I find that this mall is like a miniature parkway parade as it is filled with enrichment schools and kids centric shopping.
Some of the shops worth mentioning are:
Adidas
BoConcept
Challenger
Charles and Keith
Din Tai Feng
Golden Village Cinemas
Market Place
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar
Sushi Tei
A fresh alternative to the jammed pack parkway parade.

Once upon a time, us Katong people used to have Katong Mall, which was pretty much useless unless you have kids or really like tuition centres. There were a few coffee places worth visiting, Awfully Chocolate and Cold Storage, which was great to have right in your neighbourhood.
Now, the new Katong Mall (I refuse to call i eye want too) has a whole lot of designer shops, coffee places and other things most expensive for many too afford; the shops are akin to those at Paragon, where there’s a lot of stuff and no one who seems to buy it, but still they remain, a clever façade for the laid back Katong image that still prevails.
What I do like is that we finally have a cinema, and we’ve even got Gold Class. There are cool places like Max Brenner (awesome chocolate!) some nice cafes that I’ve also reviewed here and of course, the fancy MarketPlace, because a regular Cold Storage isn’t atas enough for the new and allegedly improved mall.
I’ll keep my shopping for Parkway Parade, but it’s cool to have options right at my doorstop. And most importantly, the cinema!