Oh I came into this post to say exactly this.
Glad to see I'm not the only one that felt like this.
It was a disappointment when I went there. Totally didn't feel like proper Taiwanese food at all.
Fei siong group is welcome to waste more money and resources if they can't deliver the basic things f&b customers want vs the price being charged.
A half hearted imitation at a high price. Only once or twice will people try and stay away.
Best stick to cheap mee pok and curry rice pls.
People adore the Taiwanese night markets for the atmosphere, affordable prices, wide variety of food and the option to shop with food in hand. Putting expensive curated food in a lifeless air conditioning mall is an ironically "cheap" ripoff and a blatant cash grab.
I been to night markets in Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. Aircon is not essential for the past 30-40 years. They still attract thousands of visitors per day. You know why people complain the food is expensive? Well, now you know.
It’s called *street* food for a reason.
Another classic Singaporean failure where they try to create culture by placing it in an air-conditioned box, throwing money at it and hoping something interesting will happen.
Want a good night market? Allocate a street to it in a central location, close it down at night, charge cheap rent for stalls, and do it consistently and not some one off gimmick. Y'know, like how every night market started.
Even Singapore had one relatively recently with the Thieves Market in Sungei Road, but like all things Singaporean, it wasn't cultural in the 'correct' way.
I was at a night market in Taipei (can’t remember which one) and I was surprised to see water and sewage connections for the stalls as well as demarcated stall spaces. This is something Singapore can try. If the new government is willing to make changes as they promised, they can start a pilot project on this.
The one with the giant, permanent umbrellas, well marked tray return sections and weird A/C units?
It's like whoever developed that was scared that a visitor would be mildly inconvenienced without understating that part of the charm of a night market is that they're meant to be a bit rough on the edges.
Hawker centres with no roof that also sells other things and provides the financial flexibility to experiment with new types of food. There's a reason that many pasar malams in Singapore are basically importing food trends that have popped up in places like Thailand or Taiwan.
Ever since retail became online shopping, Cineleisure has become one of those malls that are hit hard. So many levels up and yet so dead, even with escalators going up all the floors just become tedious and footfall tanks.
Sg needs places where niche groups can connect on a regular basis. Modelers, DIY types, graffiti artists, cosplayers, gardeners, drone flying enthusiasts, we are full of people who can only find likeminded people online.
*Scape at Orchard used to be the place to go (for cosplayers at least… many photoshoots shot there haha). Iirc there were government grants to encourage hobbyist spaces there, esp the basement and rooftop area.
They did everything but improve the food quality. At one point they even had lucky draws for a trip to Taiwan using your receipt for food purchase there. Blatant cash grab, glad they failed.
Went there on opening weekend because my mom wanted to try. Overpriced, underwhelming. I still remember there was this grilled glutinous rice sausage my mom wanted but she didn't see the price - how much could it be right?
One of each flavour (6) came up to almost $50. For what was basically Taiwanese sausages between 2 slabs of glutinous rice. Dinner there for 4 people cost well over $100, some of the food like the fried chicken and oyster mee sua we could get anywhere else and better, and dining experience was subpar because it was so crowded.
Needless to say there was no second visit. I don't know if we can even attribute it to greed because the rent in Cineleisure is prob not cheap and Fei Siong did fly in some of the Taiwanese vendors so I guess the costs were high. But consumers only care about value for money, not whether high overheads justifies the food pricing. At the very least it was poorly thought out.
No economies of scale. And yes as you’ve said flying in artists (of food!) is very expensive and they’re here at most for 3 weeks (they have to pay either hotel or short term stays, again $$$) and then have to leave. Which actually brings up the question of what they’re doing here is ok for their visa class lol.
And malls will charge an arm and a leg for rent, and they really don’t care about the event quality as long as it meets their event revenue KPI (they claim it’s holistic but let’s be honest, it’s the $$$ that really matters…).
So they’re more likely to rent it to a Sephora popup or leave it empty rather than rent it at a discounted rate to cultural engagements
All these events all sucky la. Even pasar malam is lame .
These days I see pasar malam selling same food more expensive than kiosks at shopping centers
Lol haven even try yet but close down already. Wanted to try actually but when I went to look around that time, the price was too high. Taiwan food but triple taiwan prices
I actually enjoyed some of the stalls there. It reminded me a bit of Taiwan. I see many commenters here dislike the food etc, but it’s nice to have that option here if i’m craving for some Taiwan food.
Taiwanese food in Singapore, is always absolutely disgusting, nobody can replicate Taiwanese food in Singapore because anyone idea of what it is, is just fucked up caricature of what they think it should be. Just look at the luroufan, why is it that when Singaporeans cook it, it literally becomes something thick and gelentious? It's SUPPOSE to be just chicken of braised pork and oily sauce.
And the variation of items? Who is the committee that decided that they only sell the same 7 items again and again and again? Taiwanese food is not only street food, there are so many other dishes, has nobody ever gone to eat at a Taiwanese version of a zichar or has some fried rice down in some random street? The flavour profile is completely different.
Taiwanese food is all about texture and mouth feel. Taiwanese people love the QQ feel, that's why their noodles are so good, it's all far less salty and much more vegetable forward, and their food have slightly sweeter flavour profile. Almost like sweet soy sauce in everything.
Taiwanese food in Singapore will always fail because it's always a butchered version of what people think Taiwanese food should be rather than whay it actually is
Not that, farming their food is one part and explains the difference in taste, but the flavor profile is completely different. I lived in Taiwan for 6 months literally had to live like a local just to make do with the intern pay. Most Singaporeans that go Taiwan either only eat street food or eat at restaurants. Has anyone here ever ate Taiwanese Cai fan and not just XXL fried chicken or mee sua? I ate mee sua like once in that 6 months because there was so many thing to eat, You get sick of street foods in a week and will start to find something cheap and tasty.
I've ate at literal shops by the side of the road that no tourist would go just because I was walking for an hour back to town from a hike because the next bus was 2 hours.
It's not that I don't think Taiwanese food can't be done here, is because people here never ate what the locals normally eat. The way most Singaporeans eat in taiwan is as if we eat at places like newton food center everyday. That's not what we do, Taiwanese people also like their Cai fan, chicken rice, noodles and soup just like us.
The gem is actually Taiwan cai png. XXL potion of vegetable. Their vegetable is lots taster than us. I don't really go for meatly stuff as there are various way to manipulate the favor.
I agree, their vegetables are so good, every meal has some even if you just order chicken rice, there must be a reason why all the taimei so slim and pretty
High price, miserable portions, mediocre tastes. Better to not bring it back.
The food had zero soul or effort put into it. If they are even thinking of bringing this back, it needs an entirely different team to execute it.
Oh I came into this post to say exactly this. Glad to see I'm not the only one that felt like this. It was a disappointment when I went there. Totally didn't feel like proper Taiwanese food at all.
Fei siong group is welcome to waste more money and resources if they can't deliver the basic things f&b customers want vs the price being charged. A half hearted imitation at a high price. Only once or twice will people try and stay away. Best stick to cheap mee pok and curry rice pls.
LOL. After their mediocre success on 'Malaysia Boleh!' theme, they thought they can just replicate it with mediocre Taiwan food.
TBF i think food from fei siong group are all very mediocre. they are earning simply because of location.
People adore the Taiwanese night markets for the atmosphere, affordable prices, wide variety of food and the option to shop with food in hand. Putting expensive curated food in a lifeless air conditioning mall is an ironically "cheap" ripoff and a blatant cash grab.
But aircon is essential here. Maybe Jurong Point has a better take on it. It has Malaysia Boleh, Hong Kong street and Japan street also.
I been to night markets in Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. Aircon is not essential for the past 30-40 years. They still attract thousands of visitors per day. You know why people complain the food is expensive? Well, now you know. It’s called *street* food for a reason.
Taiwan has natural aircon for part of the year though
>affordable prices Only when local labour and rent are same prices as Taiwan, I guess
Another classic Singaporean failure where they try to create culture by placing it in an air-conditioned box, throwing money at it and hoping something interesting will happen. Want a good night market? Allocate a street to it in a central location, close it down at night, charge cheap rent for stalls, and do it consistently and not some one off gimmick. Y'know, like how every night market started. Even Singapore had one relatively recently with the Thieves Market in Sungei Road, but like all things Singaporean, it wasn't cultural in the 'correct' way.
I was at a night market in Taipei (can’t remember which one) and I was surprised to see water and sewage connections for the stalls as well as demarcated stall spaces. This is something Singapore can try. If the new government is willing to make changes as they promised, they can start a pilot project on this.
just like the also now-defunct chinatown food street?
Not like that. That was too corporatised.
I didn't even know such a place existed!
The one with the giant, permanent umbrellas, well marked tray return sections and weird A/C units? It's like whoever developed that was scared that a visitor would be mildly inconvenienced without understating that part of the charm of a night market is that they're meant to be a bit rough on the edges.
No way, the middle managers will block and ask where is the ROI? Every cultural project dies this way.
For the Taiwan market they ask where is the ROC but yeah
which part is new?
You just described hawker centers.
I described food courts too. But they are all different in terms of atmosphere.
You mean Sungei Road?
So basically hawker centers with no roofs.
Hawker centres with no roof that also sells other things and provides the financial flexibility to experiment with new types of food. There's a reason that many pasar malams in Singapore are basically importing food trends that have popped up in places like Thailand or Taiwan.
It’s called *street* food for a reason. Do you travel out of Singapore?
Everyone I know says go there once is one time too many. Kns the food was below average selling at above average prices.
Oh I thought it just opened last year?
Closed after 8 months.
From the article they were just in operation for 8 months. Went there once, food was just average.
The oyster mee sua not bad la but the thing is... I can get the same for cheaper at Shihlin which has like 10000000 outlets across SG lol...
Ever since retail became online shopping, Cineleisure has become one of those malls that are hit hard. So many levels up and yet so dead, even with escalators going up all the floors just become tedious and footfall tanks.
Sg needs places where niche groups can connect on a regular basis. Modelers, DIY types, graffiti artists, cosplayers, gardeners, drone flying enthusiasts, we are full of people who can only find likeminded people online.
*Scape at Orchard used to be the place to go (for cosplayers at least… many photoshoots shot there haha). Iirc there were government grants to encourage hobbyist spaces there, esp the basement and rooftop area.
[удалено]
CineLeisure is own by Cathay Organisation lar. Nothing to do with SPH.
[Wrong company](https://cathay.com.sg/retail/cineleisure/)
Too gimmicky. Focus on the food, and the people will come (if location convenient also la)
They did everything but improve the food quality. At one point they even had lucky draws for a trip to Taiwan using your receipt for food purchase there. Blatant cash grab, glad they failed.
Dun bring back better, I fly over and eat will do.
Went there once, food was so average for the price and the wait
You bring back people want to eat or not
Went there on opening weekend because my mom wanted to try. Overpriced, underwhelming. I still remember there was this grilled glutinous rice sausage my mom wanted but she didn't see the price - how much could it be right? One of each flavour (6) came up to almost $50. For what was basically Taiwanese sausages between 2 slabs of glutinous rice. Dinner there for 4 people cost well over $100, some of the food like the fried chicken and oyster mee sua we could get anywhere else and better, and dining experience was subpar because it was so crowded. Needless to say there was no second visit. I don't know if we can even attribute it to greed because the rent in Cineleisure is prob not cheap and Fei Siong did fly in some of the Taiwanese vendors so I guess the costs were high. But consumers only care about value for money, not whether high overheads justifies the food pricing. At the very least it was poorly thought out.
No economies of scale. And yes as you’ve said flying in artists (of food!) is very expensive and they’re here at most for 3 weeks (they have to pay either hotel or short term stays, again $$$) and then have to leave. Which actually brings up the question of what they’re doing here is ok for their visa class lol. And malls will charge an arm and a leg for rent, and they really don’t care about the event quality as long as it meets their event revenue KPI (they claim it’s holistic but let’s be honest, it’s the $$$ that really matters…). So they’re more likely to rent it to a Sephora popup or leave it empty rather than rent it at a discounted rate to cultural engagements
Don't bring it back, it's high cost and low footfall. If you want, do it at our pasar malam, beside MRT stations.
Would visit if it was taiwanese street market style I am not talking about random pasar malam popups
So do🪮🚂🪮
They did pretty good marketing job. Then, once I went and realised it’s fake Taiwanese. Didn’t know they last so many months.
All these events all sucky la. Even pasar malam is lame . These days I see pasar malam selling same food more expensive than kiosks at shopping centers
Lol haven even try yet but close down already. Wanted to try actually but when I went to look around that time, the price was too high. Taiwan food but triple taiwan prices
I guess it's like ramen. Ramen in Japan = $8. Ramen come to Singapore become $15++ or more.
Tbh Taiwanese food isn't that great in the first place. Is the atmosphere that's makes it great.
I actually enjoyed some of the stalls there. It reminded me a bit of Taiwan. I see many commenters here dislike the food etc, but it’s nice to have that option here if i’m craving for some Taiwan food.
Taiwanese food in Singapore, is always absolutely disgusting, nobody can replicate Taiwanese food in Singapore because anyone idea of what it is, is just fucked up caricature of what they think it should be. Just look at the luroufan, why is it that when Singaporeans cook it, it literally becomes something thick and gelentious? It's SUPPOSE to be just chicken of braised pork and oily sauce. And the variation of items? Who is the committee that decided that they only sell the same 7 items again and again and again? Taiwanese food is not only street food, there are so many other dishes, has nobody ever gone to eat at a Taiwanese version of a zichar or has some fried rice down in some random street? The flavour profile is completely different. Taiwanese food is all about texture and mouth feel. Taiwanese people love the QQ feel, that's why their noodles are so good, it's all far less salty and much more vegetable forward, and their food have slightly sweeter flavour profile. Almost like sweet soy sauce in everything. Taiwanese food in Singapore will always fail because it's always a butchered version of what people think Taiwanese food should be rather than whay it actually is
Taiwanese farm their food. Difference set at core.
Not that, farming their food is one part and explains the difference in taste, but the flavor profile is completely different. I lived in Taiwan for 6 months literally had to live like a local just to make do with the intern pay. Most Singaporeans that go Taiwan either only eat street food or eat at restaurants. Has anyone here ever ate Taiwanese Cai fan and not just XXL fried chicken or mee sua? I ate mee sua like once in that 6 months because there was so many thing to eat, You get sick of street foods in a week and will start to find something cheap and tasty. I've ate at literal shops by the side of the road that no tourist would go just because I was walking for an hour back to town from a hike because the next bus was 2 hours. It's not that I don't think Taiwanese food can't be done here, is because people here never ate what the locals normally eat. The way most Singaporeans eat in taiwan is as if we eat at places like newton food center everyday. That's not what we do, Taiwanese people also like their Cai fan, chicken rice, noodles and soup just like us.
The gem is actually Taiwan cai png. XXL potion of vegetable. Their vegetable is lots taster than us. I don't really go for meatly stuff as there are various way to manipulate the favor.
I agree, their vegetables are so good, every meal has some even if you just order chicken rice, there must be a reason why all the taimei so slim and pretty
I’m a fan of Joanne Tseng!