It is a matter of time before you find yourself at a mall in Singapore, and these eight best restaurants at Great World City will satisfy when hunger strikes.
Located in River Valley, Great World City takes its name from Great World Amusement Park, which used to sit where the shopping centre is today. The mall was first completed in 1997 and underwent a few revamps before transforming into its current guise of around 200 shops. In November 2022, it was connected to the Thomson-East Coast Line via Great World MRT Station.
Great World City has a large number of Japanese restaurants, and some standouts include Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai and its dishes from the country’s south, while Sapporo Nishiyama sees ramen through a northern lens. There are also multiple dim sum eateries, but Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine takes the win thanks to its formula of refined classics and a sumptuously decorated space.
While on the topic of dumplings, perhaps it is time to revisit Din Tai Fung. While the brand has been in Singapore for a long while, their version of xiao long bao is still far ahead of its competitors. Meltingly tender lamb shank biryani and other northern Indian dishes can be found at Zaffron Kitchen, and Elemen Classics puts a vegetarian spin on popular items. For Western food, it is burgers and exclusive custards from the ever-reliable Shake Shack, and PS.Cafe’s comforting fare of pizzas and truffle fries.
Great World City is located at 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Singapore 237994.
(Hero and featured image credit: @mogu9428/Instagram)
8 best restaurants at Great World City to dine at:
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1 /8
Even after all these years, Din Tai Fung never fails to deliver a stunning meal. The iconic xiao long bao still arrives scaldingly hot, with luscious pearls of pork wrapped intricately in a delicate skin. The fried rice is still silky with egg, then topped with juicy slices of fried pork chop. Crunchy shoots of dou miao is made fragrant with garlic, capped off with a nourishing steamed chicken soup.
(Image credit: Din Tai Fung Singapore / Facebook)
2 /8
Elemen Classic ensures that vegetarian cuisine is not boring. They offer meatless versions of classic dishes like ramen, sushi, pastas, and pizzas, amping up them instead with truffle, seaweed, mushroom, and tofu. Dishes can be ordered separately, or as part of a five- or eight-course menu that includes soup, salad, breadsticks, dessert, and a drink.
(Image credit: elemen 元素 / Facebook)
For a celebration – or just a very refined meal – head to Imperial Treasure. The upscale restaurant serves Cantonese classics from roast meats to seafood, including suckling pig, Australian abalone braised in oyster sauce, fried soon hock, and deep-fried frog with sliced ginger. During lunch, they roll out dim sum such as siew mai and barbecued pork bun, but if you can’t decide, the chef’s recommendation set menu is a straightforward way to enjoy some of their top dishes.
(Image credit: Imperial Treasure / Facebook)
4 /8
Great World City has numerous Japanese restaurants, and Okinawan Diner stands out for focusing on Japan’s southwestern Ryukyu Islands. Nirai-Kanai means ‘the world of gods beyond the sea’, and the flavours are similarly maritime, ranging from sea grapes to grilled stingray. Other popular dishes include goya champuru (stir-fried bitter gourd with egg and pork), simmered pork belly, and beef katsu. On certain evenings, the restaurant hosts performers who play folk music.
(Image credit: @ailinlim / Instagram)
5 /8
Housed in a bright and airy space with lots of greenery, PS.Cafe is the ideal place to abscond from the frenzy of the mall. The dishes span breakfast items like avocado toast, mains of smokey Margherita pizza and Kashmiri lamb chops, as well as local flavours such as crab and prawn laksa, and prawn noodle soup. There is also a selection of spritzes and sangrias, which are best paired with their signature truffle shoestring fries.
(Image credit: PS.Cafe)
6 /8
Despite being more counter than restaurant, Sapporo Nishiyama deserves a mention. The ramen eatery inside Meidi-Ya supermarket is part of Hokkaido-based noodle manufacturer Nishiyama Seimen, which invented the curly yellow ramen in 1955. The signature here is the miso corn butter ramen, which has a rich and hearty miso broth packing chewy noodles, plus a heaping of corn and bamboo shoots. There is also the option of gyokai noko tsukemen, a dry ramen style meant to be dunked in a chicken-seafood dip.
(Image credit: @_whatsuppunk / Instagram)
7 /8
The sixth iteration in Shake Shack’s takeover of Singapore, the Great World outlet has the chain’s signature smashed patty burgers, fries, and local craft beer alongside exclusives like the Poppin’ Good Time concrete, where vanilla custard is blended with Pop Rocks, Plain Vanilla brownie, salted caramel sauce, and topped with gold sprinkles. Another special is Berry Ferris Swell, a concrete made of vanilla custard, raspberries, and cheesecake.
(Image credit: Shake Shack Singapore / Facebook)
8 /8
North Indian specialities get the limelight at Zaffron Kitchen. Crowd favourites including the Hyderabadi-style lamb shank biryani, dahi puri, a tandoori platter of kebabs and tikkas, as well as the smooth palak paneer. Mop the sauce up with aromatic sheets of garlic naan.
(Image credit: Zaffron Kitchen)
Jethro enjoys wine, biking, and climbing, and he's terrible at all three. In between them, he drinks commercial lagers, and eats dumplings and gelati.
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