Well, I had to pop by Orchard Central along Orchard Road to pick up my freebies, goodies, basically free things that I want but don't wish to spend money on. Seems like my route along Orchard Road is always and almost in this order:

• CK Tangs / Ion Orchard
• Takashimaya Shopping Centre
• Metro @ Paragon
• Orchard Central
• Plaza Singapura

I didn't even know Orchard Central is that high, much less know about the fact that there's a Roof Top Garden right at Orchard Central too. I think I'll just blame the little fact that I'm short and see things from a short perspective. And even the lifts don't go where you want them to, you need to take different color lifts to go to different levels/parts of Orchard Central.

Was aimlessly walking around in circles until I came across this "Opening Soon!" display. It's rather cheeky and I think it does made a shopper stopped to take a second look and find out what's going on.

Supposedly called Tanuki Raw, and it's an up-and-coming new concept Martini Bar and Raw Bar, which I understand what a martini is but have absolutely no idea what on earth does the term "raw bar" means. Maybe Martini + Raw Sushi (a.k.a Sashimi) bar perhaps? I wonder how much they charge at their other standingsushibar outlets though, as it seems pretty unique and popular, but I haven't actually tried them yet.

Lo and behold! I finally found my way to the Roof Top Garden at Orchard Central via the lift. The esclator doesn't seem like a good option, after I found out and realized that it's by the side of the shopping mall, I had to wobble down to the Concierge at Level 1 with wobbling and shaky legs and ask for the lift instead. Trippy.

It didn't help that Orchard Central itself is "quite" a tall shopping mall, which pretty much meant that you will be looking at the roof-tops of other shopping malls and buildings near and around Orchard Central itself. The good part is that it overlooks a nearby swimming pool. Bad part? No hunks swimming in the early afternoon at all D:

At one corner of the Roof Top Garden is this art installation called Let's Go to a Paradise of Glorious Tulips by Japanese doyenne of visual art, Yayoi Kusama. You can actually see her trademark polka dots and this sculpture acts as a stark contrast to the grey backdrop of the peaking buildings giving a perspective that creates a heightened awareness of the visitors’ location.

Honestly, there's still a lot of vacant lots within Orchard Central itself and I happened to know about the various art installations throughout the maill itself. So, I was expecting to be able to see this particular installation without having to look too hard for it. On the right, swimming pool with zero hunks swimming in it. And on the left, Let's Go to a Paradise of Glorious Tulips by Yayoi Kusama. Granted that it's not really a huge roof top, so it's actually easy to navigate around.

The mini water-fall adds a nice touch to all the concrete gray that you can see all around the roof top garden. The lush sounds, I wish I had this just outside my house too :x There's actually eating establishments around, but I personally thought these crappy eating places just mar the beauty of a supposedly magical roof top garden that's meant to give a respite from all the shopping and spending.

What kind of visit to Orchard Central is complete when this pizza place is left out?

So far, I've already tried Margherita Pizza previously, so this time round, I went for Regina. And unfortunately for me, MPC opened at 11am, so had to wait. CozyCot doesn't fare that better too. They were supposed to open at 11am sharp, but the person-in-charge only showed up at 11:18am. What's worse? She answered a phone call from a customer (I presumed) who wanted to know the exact location and unit number of their only outlet in Singapore and also the opening time. When the person-in-charge said that their outlet opened at 11:00am, I did raise my eyebrows, considering she was 18 minutes late.