49 Seats New Home at The Centrepoint Orchard

49 Seats has closed their outlets at Kreta Ayer Road and Bugis+, only to reopen bigger and better at the Centrepoint! Just a background introduction, when it first started out at Kreta Ayer Road, it had exactly 49 seats in the eatery. Now, at Centrepoint, it occupies a much bigger space at unit #01-49, and has more than 149 seats! Coincidence? I think not!

The walls of this casual dining place are decorated with recycled materials coated with a silver, metallic paint, reflecting (pun intended) a very cool yet quirky vibe.

Food wise, the menu is largely unchanged, focusing on Western food like pastas and main courses. For appetisers, the Cheese Fries ($7.90) is a popular choice, we ordered the Calamari ($9.90), which was crispy and comes with mayonnaise dip. Perhaps a little too oily, at least for my liking.

We had two soups – Cream of Mushroom ($5.90) and the Soup of the Day ($5.90), which was the Cream of Broccoli. The mushroom soup was thick enough and I appreciated the pieces of mushrooms inside to give more bite. The broccoli soup was nice as well and not too watered down.

49 Seats prides itself for its Western-tom yum fusion dishes. The Old Fashioned Fish and Chips with Tom Yum Sauce ($16.90) is one of them, which consisted of a huge slab of fish and chips, shoestring fries, salad, and a small bowl of tom yum sauce. I requested for the sauce to be separated, otherwise you can have it doused on the fish as well.

The fish was fried nicely, tender and moist. And true enough, their tom yum sauce didn’t disappoint. It had that spicy kick so similar to the authentic one, and strangely enough, it paired very well with the fish and chips! When dipping the fish into the sauce, the spice is actually muted down, so no worries for those who can’t take spicy food.

The Tom Yum Seafood Pasta (14.90) is also a bestseller, but having already had the main above, we opted for another of their recommended pasta – the Creamy Smoked Duck Pasta ($14.90). The smoked duck was very tender and flavourful, and the cream sauce was not that jelat. A hearty portion that would satisfy any cream pasta lover.

One good thing about 49 Seats is that it does not charge GST or service charge. Better yet, now that it has expanded, it can accommodate larger groups of diners, hence is a perfect place for gatherings with friends and family! With affordable food and decent service, 49 Seats makes for an attractive dining destination in the heart of town.