good evening, orchard road!

My mother and I arrived in Singapore on 8 December 2011 in the evening. We had just enough time to drop our bags off at our hotel, Royal Plaza on Scotts, before Ion Orchard closed its doors.

I was elated that Ginza Bairin in the basement was still open. And there were no queues.

The Japanese make plastic food displays so well, jeje.

Pork Loin Katsu Set, S$14.49 + 7% GST. I'd been craving this for over a year.

While waiting for my food, I bought a glass of iced matcha at the takoyaki place a few meters away.

They spell it as "maccha", price S$2.60. The last time I had this was in November last year.

Ma did not order tonkatsu.

Ebi Fry Curry, S$13.83 + 7% GST. Meh.

Normally, there's a crowd in front of Ginza Bairin. Now I know that the best time to go is after 9pm.

Fast, (relatively) cheap, hot and yummy. Ginza Bairin has a lot of fans.

After dinner, we emerged from the bowels of the earth and beheld the Christmas light show that is Orchard Road.

Silver and blue. Who says Christmas has to be red and green?

At the intersection of Orchard Road, between Takashimaya and Paragon.

Tangs bedecked in gold. Somehow I've never been inside this particular shopping mall.

Paragon's monumental Christmas tree with a carousel around it.

Ma models for Hitachi.

Verdict: J'adore Ginza Bairin! What can I say, I'm a fried pork chop person. The pork loin smelled heavenly and the meat was tender, juicy porklicious. There was just the right amount of melt-in-your-mouth fat and the whole thing was crisp and not greasy at all. And this wasn't even their special Black Pig Loin Katsu, which I have to try next time, naturally. And as for the sidings, I couldn't stop eating the shredded cabbage drizzled with sesame dressing. 

The Ebi Curry was not bad, but this restaurant has been perfecting the art of the tonkatsu since 1927. Just order the danged tonkatsu.

Ginza Bairin Singapore is in Basement 4 of Ion Orchard. They're open everyday from 11am to 1030pm.