The Centrepoint

I remember when I used to live across the street from here in the 90’s it was a pretty good mall. Fast forward nearly 20 years later and it is amazing how this place manages to stand the test of time.
By modern standards this place looks modest in terms of size and scope. Like many locals who lived here, we used to come here primarily to buy food at the Cold Storage below (which is still there, by the way, along with the decent McDonald’s). There’s also some decent places to eat downstairs and also on the back of the first floor. If you want to get your laksa fix, it’s good to know you can find it here.
As for the stores, it’s not high-​end but the stores are okay. I still enjoy coming here in favor of Plaza Singapura nearby. Even though the latter is more convenient thanks to its proximity to the Doby Gauht MRT station, I like this place because of the spacious walking area compared to the tight quarters of Plaza Singapura.
It’s too bad the old cuppage hawker center here is long gone, but it’s still nice to see the mall itself maintain is value in the current age of mega malls all over Singapore.

Review of the food court only…
We came to the Centrepoint mall on our first night in Singapore. We were starving and this was the first mall we came across. We went down to the basement and there was a decent sized food court. It wasn’t anything fancy but they had a fair amount of food to choose from. There was Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, a café etc. We ordered a pork noodle soup with a side of dumplings from the Chinese vendor ($ 7), laksa from another stand ($ 5), and chicken and onions ($ 5) from the Korean joint. The noodle soup was ok and the dumplings were definitely better than they looked. They were filled with soup and the meat was flavorful. My favorite dish was the laksa. It was hot and had a lot of seafood in it. I loved the cockles, fish cake, tofu and spicy broth. The chicken and onion dish was fine but a little on the sweet side. Overall, a decent food court but nothing compared to some of the grander malls like ION or Paragon.

Centerpoint is an A-​OK mall like most malls in SIngapore. There is a cold storage and food court downstairs, so many people do their grocery shopping here. There aren’t any high-​end stores at centerpoint, but there are nice boutiques, restaurants and specialty stores. It also isn’t very crowded normally. The Robinsons is currently having a moving sale though! I’ll be sad to see Robinsons go, but you can find one at almost any of the other malls on orchard.
I saw a sign at centerpoint about a foreigner savings card thing. It was super easy to get one – you just have to show your passport at customer service. They give you a pamphlet of specials that different stores have. I mean, the savings isn’t spectacular, but at least it’s something.

Whenever I’m here, I’m with friends who want to eat ‘cheap’ at Long John’s Silver (hardly think that $ 8 for a pile of badly fried fish ‘cheap’ or even worth it, for that matter), or the ATM — I generally avoid the upper floors — but a pleasant surprise was the United Colours of Benetton (I got a sweater there once when I was in Rome) — probably one of the only remaining stores here since the Raffles City one went down.
Sanur is a very good go-​to place for Indonesian place, and the Aston’s here is o-​kay. I’d go to Orchard Central for more fun.

A mall that has definitely stood the test of time. Centrepoint does not have a wide selection of brands but the retail layout is one that is spacious making browsing a joy for shoppers. Familiar brands you can find here include Gap, Mango, Lacoste and United Benetton of Colors. Centrepoint doesn’t get much traffic so if you’re looking for a particular piece from these brands, they just might have in stock here at Centrepoint! If you’re in the mood for food, give Sanur a go, an authentic Indonesian restaurant that is probably just as old as Centrepoint!

Centerpoint is an old people’s mall. Kinda. I mean, if you look at the anchor tenant, Robinson’s, you will have a pretty good idea of the Target Audience they serve. This is definitely not a mall to hang out at if you want to see and be seen. That said, I do like Centerpoint because it’s quiet and peaceful. It’s unpretentious and comfortable and it’s the best Family mall that is located in town. You don’t have to be afraid of cool friends spotting you with your not so cool parents when shopping at Robin sons.
What’s cooler is that there are hidden treasures in this mall of course. 1. Payless shoe store is hidden in an obscure corner in this mall and you would be able to get great shoes at low prices. Plus you’ll still find your sizes. 2. No queue at Garrett’s Popcorn! 3. My yoga studio is here as well (Real Yoga). It’s practically the best place to do some quiet shopping and then work off all that calories from lunch. There’s also a quiet Starbucks here too!