Level guides
Level 1: the ground-floor strip
Thirty-five units wrapped around the Middle Road frontage. The fastest food in the building, and most of the Buddhist retail.
Level 1 is the floor most people never get past, and for good reason. It has the quickest food, the street entrance, and the shops that catch you on the way in.
The food run
Starting from the Middle Road end: Su Shi Piao Xiang (#01-01) opens at 7am and is tucked around the outside near the toilets — easy to miss, cheapest food in the building. Four Seasons Cafe (#01-02) does coffee and bread. Hong Kong Dim Sum Shop (#01-06) and Xing Hua Vegetarian (#01-07) sit mid-strip, with Syam Corners Muslim Food (#01-08) beside them — one of the few halal-oriented stalls here.
Ya Kun Kaya Toast (#01-09) needs no introduction. Yuen Kee Dumplings (#01-10) is the original outlet of a chain that has since spread across the island, and still draws a queue that stretches into the corridor. Wawa Lala Bee Hoon (#01-11/12) does clam bee hoon and clam pasta, air-conditioned, no service charge.
Herbivore (#01-13/14) is the Japanese vegetarian anchor. Yong Li Fruits Corner (#01-15) sells cut fruit next door. Tian Yuan (#01-16) and Chao Bing (#01-17) follow, then Onigiri Gon (#01-18), which is a small Japanese rice-ball counter with a devoted following.
Further along: Living Wholesome (#01-23), Xin Yuan Vegetarian Trading (#01-25) with its attached dim sum and mini hotpot counter, Killiney (#01-26) — which unusually runs a Burmese menu alongside the standard kopitiam fare — and Cookie & Coffee Bar (#01-28B) for cake and ice cream.
At the far end, Red Apple Veggie Cafe (#01-32), Nob's Kitchen (#01-33), Mama Patisserie and Tracy Juice Culture (both #01-34).
The shops
Kush Crystals by Kushinagara (#01-04) has been selling crystals and bioresonance products here for well over a decade. Han Yu Xuan (#01-22), The Lucky Shop (#01-28), Shinda (#01-29) and Rong Xuan (#01-30) cover jade, crystals and fortune goods. Delin Buddhist Artifacts Center (#01-36) and Yuan Zhong Siu Feng Shui (#01-35) sit at the temple end, which is not a coincidence.
My Optics (#01-27) is the optician. Chill Tea (#01-37) is the bubble tea.
Practical notes
There is one office on this floor — Pointers Human Resources (#01-21), a maid agency — which tells you something about how mixed the podium is.
Peak is 11.45am to 1.15pm and it is genuinely tight. Come at 2pm and the same food is available with seats.