The Orange Lantern @ HarbourFront Centre

Singapore is an eating paradise. Everywhere you go, you will sure to find food establishments selling food from all sorts of cuisines especially Asian cuisines like Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and so much more. Right at the heart of HarbourFront, is a shopping mall called HarbourFront Centre which also doubles up as the Singapore Cruise Centre. In today's food review, I'll be talking about my visit to The Orange Lantern at HarbourFront Centre which is a Halal restaurant that serves a variety of delicious Vietnamese dishes. Let's take a closer look at some of their interesting offerings.

Frosty Lychee S$5.90

Before I start with the main dishes, let me talk more about the drinks. This beverage is known as the Frosty Lychee and it's basically a Lychee drink that is frosty. If you have tried Lychee before, it's that sweet fruit that closely resembles the Longan and it's a joy to drink it. Basically, the drink contains blended lychee fruits poured together with the lychee juice. That's why they call it the Frosty Lychee because when you sip it, you can taste the frosted lychee fruits. It's sweet and if I'm not wrong, there were lychee fruits in it but I can't fully recall if there are any. If you love lychee or just a fan of sweet drinks with fruits in it, do give Frosty Lychee a try. It's also a great beverage for those with a sweet tooth.

Iced Lemon Tea S$3.90

Here's another drink I got at The Orange Lantern. It's called the Iced Lemon Tea and unlike other lemon teas you are used to, this one's a bit on the sour side. Personally, I prefer sweetened lemon teas as compared to sour ones because I like sweet drinks (who doesn't?). I guess the sour lemon tea they sell at The Orange Lantern is natural and made with freshly squeezed lemons. I'm not entirely sure about that because there wasn't a description about this drink in the menu. The price is quite steep for a sour lemon tea so it's worth paying more for other unique sweet drinks like the Frosty Lychee which I just reviewed earlier on. Otherwise, if you like the idea of unsweetened and sour drinks, do give the Iced Lemon Tea a try.

Special Beef Noodle Soup S$11.90

Now let's go on to the food that's served at The Orange Lantern. This was the dish I got which is considered their Signature Dish and it's called the Special Beef Noodle Soup. Apart from chicken, I love beef. I got this dish not only is it quite popular but also it contains lots of beef which I really enjoy.

This dish contains lots of bite-sized pieces of beef and also beef meatballs. The pieces of meat found in this dish are chewy, moist and they melt in my mouth easily. Lots of spring onions, beansprouts and other small leaves can be seen scattered around the dish so it can be a considered a healthier choice (I'm not entirely sure if they have the Healthier Choice label). Another thing I like about the dish are the noodles. They're made of rice vermicelli and it's quite thin but not to the extent of being too thin that it breaks easily. It's kinda healthy because the soup's not salty, the noodles aren't those thick yellow noodles and the pieces of beef are not really that fattening. If you're looking for something slightly healthier, do get this signature dish, the Special Beef Noodle Soup.

Special Chicken Noodle Soup S$11.90

This dish was the one my mother got. It's called the Special Chicken Noodle Soup and just like the Special Beef Noodle Soup, this too has veggies, not-so-salty soup, rice noodles and succulent pieces of meat. Obviously, this dish does not have pieces of beef like the previous dish I mentioned so instead, there's pieces of chicken in it. The chicken is thinly sliced though and they're not huge chunks of chicken (I prefer the huge chunks). This dish tasted similar to my dish except for the meat used of course. It isn't really different except that I prefer the beef version so if you're not into beef, this is the best alternative to their signature dish. Both dishes are priced the same so don't worry about which one costs more or which one costs less. Just like the previous dish, it's also slightly healthier.

Beef Vermicelli S$11.90

Last but not least, there's the Beef Vermicelli which is a dish full of vegetables, beansprouts, pieces of juicy beef and a few veggie spring rolls all combined into one. Unlike the previous two dishes I talked about, this is a dry dish so you don't have to worry about getting hot soup onto your shirt or having to constantly wipe your mouth that's constantly wet with soup. If you are a big fan of salads, this is recommended for you because of the huge amount of vegetables found in this dish and also because of the veggie spring rolls.

The spring rolls are amazingly tasty. Unlike regular ones, this is slightly smaller and instead of it being fried, the spring rolls are made with rice paper and the fillings contain some vegetables and lots of shredded carrots. The inside and the outside of the spring rolls were crispy and the filling is a little bit on the sweet side mainly because of the shredded carrots. Let's talk about the beef now. The pieces of beef found in this dish are similar to the ones found in the Special Beef Noodle Soup but since this is a dry dish, it's not soaked in soup so it's not diluted and dripping wet. When it's not soaked in soup, it's much more juicy and tender. The meat easily melted in my mouth and it was a joy to eat. Too bad it was for my sister so I didn't get to eat all the pieces of beef found in the dish.

Price is a little bit on the expensive side. For three people, it costs S$54.30 and that doesn't include a drink for the third person, additional appetisers, desserts or plain water. These extras can add on to the cost. Another thing that we were forced to pay were the wet tissues. Every time you eat here, you will have to pay for the wet tissues. Each person will pay for one wet tissue and one wet tissue costs S$0.30. I guess if you want to clean up your mouth the proper way, paying an extra 30 cents is kinda worth it if you ask me.

All in all, The Orange Lantern is an awesome place to try out deliciously good Vietnamese food in a very pleasing environment. The Orange Lantern is located in HarbourFront Centre which is a shopping centre near VivoCity, Singapore Cruise Centre and Sentosa Island. The restaurant is a little bit small but there are some plenty of outdoor seating if you prefer to sit outside. (When I say outdoor seating, I meant seats along the passageway of the inside of the mall). The Orange Lantern also has plenty of dishes which were awarded with the Healthier Choice logo so if you're health-conscious, do consider trying those dishes. It's a great place for friends and family or for those who love Asian food. 

The Orange Lantern is HALAL certified

Getting Here 

Bus services available: Bus services from HarbourFront Bus Interchange

Nearest MRT Station: NE1/CC29 HarbourFront MRT Station (North East Line/Circle Line)

Website: www.orange-lantern.com


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