Come September, farmer's market PasarBella at The Grandstand will open a second branch at Suntec City.
The 8,000 sq ft space at the mall's North Wing will house 15 food stalls, including a retail shop that will sell produce from the flagship 30,000 sq ft Grandstand outlet.
Highlights include sandwich shop Porsena by Lolla's head chef Kyle Henderson; Wildbird, a quick- service yakitori stall with skewered items (meats and seafood) served on rice or salad; and two stalls by Mr Ben Lee of Sarnies sandwich shop in Telok Ayer - one selling coffee and the other a salad bar called Pimp My Salad.
Pop-up sliders stall South East Sliders by chef Damian D'Silva of Immigrants Gastrobar in Joo Chiat will also find a permanent home at PasarBella. Offerings include beef rendang in puff pastry, among other local twists on a slider. The stall is currently at Ion Orchard's basement three until tomorrow.
Other stalls include Stone And Dough, specialising in a "pizza burger" that is like a calzone with a burger patty inside; juice shop Squeezed; and an Israeli shop selling kebabs and pita bread.
The vibe of PasarBella will be tweaked to suit the streetscape, says its director Clovis Lim, 26. Instead of a market scene, it will look like a streetscape with cobblestone paths and a New York-style fire escape.
Two floors above PasarBella is the mall's Sky Garden, which houses more restaurants. The first few to open is Boat Quay stalwart Dallas Restaurant & Bar's second outlet and multi-concept Japanese restaurant Eat At Seven, which features seven food and beverage brands.
The 600-seat Eat At Seven is run by Global Retail Partners, which comprises the Komars Group, which operates the Ramen Champion chain; and ANA Trading, the trading arm of Japanese airline All Nippon Airways. Eat At Seven's founder is Mr Andrew Tan, 54, owner of Tomo F&B, which runs Tomo Izakaya.
So far, Enbu, a warayaki and charcoal grill izakaya, has opened. Warayaki is a traditional cooking method with roots in Kochi prefecture on Shikoku island. Food is grilled over straw on a charcoal grill, infusing the ingredients with a smoky aroma.
Three more restaurants, MaguroDonya-Miura-Kuo, NikuNoHi and Nigiro Cafe, will open on Wednesday, while the last three brands will open in the last quarter of the year.
Upcoming openings at the Sky Garden include eatery Terra; restaurants Saint Ma and Arn Nan by contemporary lifestyle group IndoChine; and Ethanol Bar & Dining, a few doors from PasarBella.
Recent openings include juice store The Shop by Hic; Thai cafe Tuk Tuk Cha and Japanese restaurants Kuishin Bo and Sumiya.
Suntec City and its convention centre, which have undergone revamps since 2012, is owned by Suntec Reit.
Financial analyst Jacob Koh, 39, says: "Now that most of the mall's revamp is complete, we're even more spoilt for choice. It was quite messy during the renovations and I'm glad that's over. I usually frequent the restaurants around the Fountain of Wealth, but now there are so many more to check out."
