If you have not been back to City Square Mall lately, the food situation alone is reason enough to make the trip.

The mall was officially relaunched on March 10 by Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Law, and Ministry of Social and Family Development Eric Chua and City Developments Limited group chief executive officer Sherman Kwek.

A new mascot, Eco Mama, a cheerful green globe with her own jingle and dance, was unveiled at the event, alongside a new logo and a commemorative video titled Transformation.

What used to be a regular food court on Level 4 is now Gastro Square, a 24,000 sq ft dining floor where the big draw is Kok Sen Restaurant, the Keong Saik Road legend with the Michelin Bib Gourmand nod and the famously long queues. This is its first shopping mall location. Also in the international mix at Gastro Square: Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and more.

And that is before you factor in the rest of the mall, where independent names like Super Dario Lasagne Cafe (#04-17), Lai Lai Taiwan Casual Dining (#03-39) and Hankang Pocha (#B1-04) are quietly worth seeking out floor by floor. 

On the lower floors, Sanook Kitchen (#02-33) brings modern Thai cooking to Level 2. Familiar names Canton Paradise (#02-51) and LeNu (#02-53) are also here to continue serving up comforting favourites.