Hua Li Xuan @ Illuma, Bugis

Another new mall which opened earlier this year in Singapore - Illuma over at Bugis. It also has the dancing lights which has invaded Orchard Road. Most of the shopping centers in Orchard has installed bright lights which flickered and dazzled people - all because STB or whichever government agency in Singapore has suggested, recommended or stipulated (or whatever the correct term is, I forgot what I read in the document :p) that there should be bright lights in Orchard Road to attract more visitors and make it a shopping destination a la those in other cosmopolitan cities.

So like the herd mentality, almost all the malls installed that and made it a driving nightmare at night along Orchard Road. Maybe they should come with warning that the dancing lights may cause epilectic seizeures for those prone to it like what they do in the States/Canada every time an advertisement containing spinning/fast blinking images will be shown.

The first time I saw the flickering lights on Illuma in the office, I thought what had happened. Why there were flashes of light in the office. And it did create headaches and dizziness so we had taken to lowering the blinds when that happened.

Anyway, despite working so close to Illuma, I never really bother to explore it or even want to check it out. It did not seem that interesting or exciting to me. So we were there a couple of weeks ago because there was no where else I wanted to go and gf suggested it.

Not all the shops were opened yet and the few we saw were ok. Lots of clothing stores with clothes that came from China, Korea and Hong Kong. Some were not too bad but just not my style at all. There was a cineplex on the upper level and the restaurants were also there, just a level down.
We decided to try Hua Li Xuan which I recalled reading about in the papers about its mini Asian burgers. Also we did not want to be in Illuma and try the usual restaurants which you can find in other places.

The mini burgers sampler set. Quite affordable as this was less than $5. You could choose any 3 burgers from the selection available. We decided on sweet and sour pork, chicken teriyaki and black pepper beef.

The teriyaki chicken which was average. It did not give a wow effect. We also chose steamed buns.

Sweet and sour pork which was not too bad.

The best of the lot was the black pepper beef which tickled the senses and packed a punch.

My main - dan dan mian. I was told to order the dry version as apparently the soup version was not great. It looked boring but it sure looked deceiving. The sauce underneath was flavorful and you could taste the seasame in it. It also felt healthy with the generous serving of cucumbers and carrots.

Another bestseller was the chili crayfish noodles which gf ordered. It sure was spicy.