The food at Lot One is split between two ends of the building, and if you don’t know that, you’ll end up walking the wrong way. Food court and sit-down places: Level 4, next to the library. Counter food you can grab and carry onto a train: Basement 1, which is where we are, at #B1-K2. Depends whether you’re staying or just passing through.
Where is the food at Lot One?
Most people assume the food court is in the basement. It used to be — it moved up to Level 4 during the mall’s renovation, along with the public library, which took over the old bowling alley. So if you’ve come in from the fare gates and headed straight down looking for a tray and a seat, wrong way. Though you’re in exactly the right place for something quick.
Here’s how it actually splits:
Basement 1 — grab and go, no seat. This is your level if you’ve got a train, a bus or an LRT to catch. Order, take the bag, leave. No queue number, no bill to settle at the end.
Level 4 — food court and restaurants, with an actual chair. Worth the escalator if you’ve got half an hour. It’s also the library level, which is why it fills up with families mid-afternoon on weekends rather than at lunchtime.
The roof garden. There’s a playground up there. Parents already know. It’s also why “quick stop at Lot One” somehow turns into ninety minutes.
The geography is really the whole point. Lot One sits right next to Choa Chu Kang MRT, the LRT and the bus interchange — three ways in and out, all meeting at one building. CapitaLand describes the catchment as residents from Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok and Upper Bukit Timah, plus uniformed personnel from the camps nearby and students from the surrounding schools.
Which explains the 6pm queue. Half of it is people who just want something hot before the ride home — and people passing through need food that doesn’t need a table.
What to order at I Love Taimei, Lot One
We’re at 21 Choa Chu Kang Ave 4, #B1-K2 Lot One, Singapore 689812, open Monday to Sunday, 11:00 to 22:00. One of our 14 outlets island-wide.
What we do is Taiwan night market food — Shilin and Raohe, not the sit-down restaurant version. Fried chicken you eat standing up, tea shaken when you order it. What to point at:
- XXL Taiwan Fried Chicken — $6.90. Four versions, same price: Original, Extra Crispy, BBQ, and Taiwan Popcorn Chicken. All of them chicken thigh, not breast. Thigh holds the marinade longer and stays tender even when it’s fried hard enough to shatter when you bite it. Costs us more than breast would. We go into that trade-off properly in our piece on thigh versus breast.
- Taiwan Popcorn Chicken — $6.90. Bite-sized, fried with basil leaves in the oil. That’s the night market detail people taste before they can name it — it’s what makes 鹽酥雞 taste like 鹽酥雞 and not just fried chicken. More on it here.
- Tofu Fries — $3.90. The most under-ordered thing we sell. Fluffy inside, crisp outside, and meat-free if someone at your table needs that.
- Golden Sweet Potato Fries — $4.60. Get these with Sour Plum powder. That’s the house pairing and it’s not a compromise.
- Brown Sugar Milk Tea — $3.90 medium, $4.90 large. Goes with everything fried on the board.
The rest of the sides run $3.90 to $5.30 — Shake Shake Fries and Mini Hashbrown at $3.90, Enoki Mushroom at $4.60, Mushroom Combo at $4.90, Taiwan Seafood Tempura at $5.30. Dessert bowls are $5.30 if you’re still going.
Seasoning’s free, so ask: Mala, Seaweed, Cheese, Garlic Seafood, Sour Plum. Spice level is a separate thing — non-spicy, mild, hot, extra hot. Two different dials, which trips people up: you can have a mala chicken that isn’t spicy at all. Sour Plum is the one people don’t expect and then come back for the following week.
One thing we say plainly, because the counter gets asked this every single day: all our food is prepared with no pork and no lard, and we are not halal certified. That’s the honest, direct answer, and the longer version is in our halal article. We’ve been women-owned since 2009, co-run by Phoebe and Yadah, and that kitchen rule has held the whole way through.
Frequently asked questions
What time do you close at Lot One? 10pm, every day. Orders go through the counter, so turning up at 21:57 is cutting it a bit fine.
Is there bubble tea at Lot One? Yes — we shake ours to order at #B1-K2, Brown Sugar Milk Tea from $3.90. We’re in the basement, so we’re the closer option if you’re heading for the fare gates rather than the escalators.
Is I Love Taimei halal? No. We don’t hold halal certification and we don’t claim to. All our food is prepared with no pork and no lard, and there’s no beef either. It’s a genuine middle ground, but it isn’t certification.
What should a first-timer get? Original Chicken and a medium Brown Sugar Milk Tea — $10.80 the pair. Original is the plainest of the four, which is exactly why it’s the right first order: you taste the marinade instead of the batter. Add Sour Plum if you want to find out what the fuss is about.
Any other outlets nearby in the west? Hillion Mall is the closest one if you’re coming from Bukit Panjang, and we’ve got a guide to eating at Hillion. West Mall in Bukit Batok and The Clementi Mall are the other two nearby — there’s a separate guide to Clementi. All fourteen outlets, with addresses and hours, are in the outlet directory.
Before you head down to B1
Lot One works best when you’ve decided before you get to the escalator. Transferring? Basement 1 gets you fried chicken and a tea and still puts you on the platform in time. Got the afternoon? Go up to Level 4 and take the chair.
Taste it for yourself — 14 outlets island-wide. No pork, no lard.
