Downtown East — Entertainment Hub For All

Downtown East — Entertainment Hub For All
The Straits Times Saturday, May 24, 2008
Entertainment is now BIGGER at Downtown East
Brought to you by
E!hub, the latest addition at Downtown
East, is a one-stop leisure centre packed with
activities for all collars, ages and nationalities
NOWHERE to go and nothing to do with
the family on weekends? Why not head
to E!hub? Located at Downtown East,
Pasir Ris, it is a five-storey, one-stop
centre packed full of leisure activities
that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.
Adding to the thrills and spills of
Wild Wild Wet, Escape Theme Park and
the ever popular BBQ chalets of Costa
Sands Resort, there is now E!hub for Exciting Entertainment for Everyone.
Here you can score a strike at Orchid
Bowl or let loose the little ones on a
never-ending adventure at Singapore’s
largest family play centre, eXplorerkid.
Catch a romantic movie at Cathay Cineplex or live the dreams of a superstar at
K Box. Savour the flavours of the world
from the wide variety of F&B outlets.
Ride the indoor 25m Cadbury Ferris
Wheel with a loved one. And for the
youth, there is nEbO City just for you.
When the night falls, be enthralled by
the LED lights on the building exterior,
programmed to display a multitude of
colours and designs.
Built at a cost of $70 million, the
five-storey integrated leisure and entertainment E!hub is beyond a mall. As
the latest offering for the labour movement and all Singaporeans, it aims to
be an affordable entertainment hub and
a place to engage and build communities — from families to youths to active
agers.
“E!hub is another platform for
NTUC Club to provide more recreation
choices to NTUC members and Singaporeans,” says Mr Yeo Khee Leng, CEO
of NTUC Club.
“This new kid on the block is also the
new block for the kids, the youths and
the active agers from all walks of life.
We hope E!hub will further engage and
entertain everyone as we work towards
an all-inclusive labour movement.”
Mr Bernard Yu, 37, a Pasir Ris resident with two young kids aged four and
six, says: “E!hub far exceeds what I have
expected. With a new cinema, FairPrice
supermarket, a larger eXplorerkid and a
bowling centre, I cannot express the joy
I get from this new entertainment centre. I find the price just about right and
it takes only three minutes for me to
walk to E!hub, so it has become a habit
for us to be here every weekend.”
Enjoy Downtown East
for Less!
If you are an NTUC member, you get
to enjoy Downtown East for less, at
lower members’ rates for NTUC Club’s
facilities. Come June, members also enjoy “Every day is a Member’s Day” deals.
There will be different offers for different days of the week, from $1 off movie
tickets at Cathay @ Downtown East
and $1 off per game at Orchid Bowl @
Downtown East to 1-for-1 play/ admission at eXplorerkid, Wild Wild Wet and
Escape Theme Park. NTUC members will
also enjoy free theme park admission
and bowling games at Downtown East
on their birthdays.
Plus, as members, you also earn
LinkPoints when you shop at FairPrice
or stay at Costa Sands Resort. For details on how to be an NTUC member,
visit www.ntuc.org.sg
This year, NTUC Club will be organising quarterly family-day outings for
low-income NTUC members and their
families. Free transport will be provided
at designated points island-wide to
bring people together for a day of fun at
Downtown East. This is the fourth year
that NTUC Club has set aside a Family
Recreation Fund to make recreation accessible to the low- income workers and
their families.
Begonia
Pavilion
B
3
2
C
A
Getting to E!hub
You can take the free hourly shuttle
services available from Pasir Ris MRT
station on weekdays. On weekends and
public holidays, they are available halfhourly. Bus services 3, 5, 6, 12, 17, 21,
89, 354 and 358 also take you to the
doorstep of Downtown East, or just take
a 10-minute stroll there from the Pasir
Ris MRT station.
A Open Air Carpark A
B Open Air Carpark B
1
C Multi-Storey Carpark
1 Bus-stop 1 - Bus Service 354 (Loop from Pasir Ris Interchange)
2 Bus-stop 2 - Bus Services 3, 5, 6, 12, 17, 21, 89, 354 & 358 (From Pasir Ris Interchange)
3 Bus-stop 3 - Bus Services 3, 5, 6, 12, 17, 21, 89, 354 & 358 (Towards Pasir Ris Interchange)
eXplorerkid
Orchid Bowl
Orchid Bowl, located on Level 1, isn’t just any 32-lane
bowling alley. It also boasts South-east Asia’s first
coin-operated lanes which are about half the length of
a normal lane. No bowling shoes are required and the
bowling ball weighs just over 1kg. Think of it as lawn
bowling. Just slot in two one-dollar coins and try to
knock the 10 pins down, over five frames. You have
two throws per frame and 30 seconds to complete
each throw. Great fun for the whole family.
Orchid Bowl
Off peak
10am to 6pm
Public NTUC members nEbO members
$4
Peak
$4.50
6pm to closing
$3
$3.50
$2.50 per
game across
all time-belts
Bowling shoes for rental at $1.20 and socks for sale at $1.50.
Fun activities for all (clockwise from top left):
Kids having endless hours of entertainment;
friends enjoying a bowling session at Orchid
Bowl; parents relaxing over DVDs at eXplorerkid;
unlimited food choices for families and youths
chilling out at nEbO City.
Feb
May
Pasir Ris Bowl, a 28-lane bowling centre, opened.
Construction of
NTUC Pasir Ris Resort completed.
Jan
Officially opened by former prime
minister Lee Kuan Yew.
144 chalet units
upgraded into superior
rooms.
1994
Sep
A three-storey
building with childcare
facilities, a children
indoor playcentre and
offices was added.
The Aranda Country Club, an
executive membership club,
opened. Conference facilities
such as Begonia Pavilion with
five function rooms, housing
up to 550 persons were added.
eXplorerkid
Full day off-peak
play rate
Public NTUC members eXplorerkid members
$20
$17
$9
Per hour peak rate $22
$20
$11
$6
$6
$4
Subsequent hour
2000
May
Escape Theme Park,
Singapore’s only
amusement park,
opened. NTUC Pasir Ris
Resort redeveloped and
renamed NTUC Lifestyle
World – Downtown East.
Spread over 35,000 sq ft, nEbO City, located at Level 4, is a one-stop
integrated youth entertainment outlet which includes a café, Zone X,
Funky Balls, X-Scoop and a six-screen Cathay Cineplex. This latest cool
hangout place for youths has a café with a seating capacity of 150. It
boasts a vibrant look with six Plasma TVs that play music videos and
movie trailers. A multi-purpose room with a movie projector for private
events or parties is also available. Youths may also rent board games or
surf on any of the five internet kiosks at the nEbO café.
nEbO is a lifestyle membership club for non-working youths aged
12 to 21 and full-time students aged 21 to 25. A one-year membership
costs $29, and a three-year membership, $59, and it comes with exclusive benefits and privileges, such as discounted prices on the nEbO café
menu, free top-up value at Zone X, $6 and $8 movie tickets at all Cathay cinemas for off-peak and peak periods respectively
and a host of discounts island-wide.
But nEbO offers its members more than just benefits and privileges. Communities such as Lifestyle, Care,
Sports, Entertainment, Gaming and Entrepreneurship
are established to nurture, engage and connect the
youths through these areas.
The café at nEbO City, for example, is an Entrepreneurship initiative. A group of youths, all below 25, is
given an opportunity to run the café. They are in charge of
the entire café’s operations — from ordering food supplies
to menu promotions to hiring of staff. To further promote
entrepreneurship among the youths, there are also five
kiosks for youths to sell their merchandise. This is the
second such initiative after nEbO Hub of AMK Hub was
set up nearly a year ago.
More on nEbO at www.nebo.sg
2002
2006
Event Square upgraded
into a super-sized airconditioned D’ Marquee,
capable of holding
capacity of 2,000.
D’Tent, a smaller version of D’ Marquee, was built.
Cadbury Ferris Wheel
Ready to get high? Hop onto Singapore’s first indoor Cadbury Ferris
Wheel for a six-minute spin that takes you up to 25m, or about four
storeys, high. There are 16 carriages in all and each carriage can seat
up to six people. It is ideal for the whole family.
The Cadbury Ferris Wheel is open
from Monday to Friday, noon to 9.30pm,
Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to
9.30pm. Children with minimum height
of 75cm require tickets, which can be
purchased at the information counter on
Level 1, at $6.50 a ride. Family packages
are available too.
Cadbury’s partnership with NTUC
Club started 10 years ago. And as the
proud sponsor of the Ferris Wheel, Cadbury gave away free rides during the May Day Family Carnival as part of their Corporate and Social
Responsibility agenda. Cadbury believes in playing a part in helping
to build a positive and lasting impact in the communities, workplace,
marketplace and the environment it operates in.
LED Lights
Another attraction at E!hub will be watching the LED lights on the
building’s exterior at night. Highly animated colour images seamlessly
flow around virtually the entire building. The LED lights are programmable to music as well. Tonight will be the best time to catch the
lights. At 8pm today, the E!hub Musical Light-up will show off Singapore’s first dancing building and its full capabilities, with the LED lights
synchronised to a musical piece.
This is possibly the first LED display of its kind in Singapore, and it
uses more than 10,000 fixtures to achieve the dazzling effect.
2007
May
Commencement of operations
of the six-storey carpark, offering more than 650 lots.
May
Dec
Mar
1991
Oct 29
Foodies will be spoilt for choice at E!hub, with eateries on every level, including American fare, New York New York, at Level 1. You can
choose Chinese (Man Jia Le on Level 1), Korean (Fresh Bulggogi on
Level 1), local (Kopi Alley on Level 2) or Western (PastaMania on Level
2). A must-try is Mr Chicken Rice on Level 2, which is operated by Chef
Steven Loh, the man responsible for making chicken rice such a hot
seller at Chatterbox. At E!hub, there’s something for everyone.
1995
1988
STORY
OF
DOWNTOWN
EAST
Food outlets
nEbO City
eXplorerkid is Singapore’s largest indoor family park.
Located on Level 3, this is a 35,000-sq ft playground
with 10 play areas for children up to 12 years. Have
a blast with 2,000 super-soft foam balls inside Ball
‘O’ City, a two-level play area equipped with vacuum
cannons, blasters and play buckets. Or make your way
through the three-level world of mazes and tunnels at
Mega Play.
For the adventurous, trek the Adventure Highlands, skate round The
Rink and climb The Cliff. It’s safe and guaranteed to give hours of fun.
For parents who just want to lay back and relax, have a cuppa
at The Café, get a massage at The Mound or catch 40 winks inside
Slumberland.
eXplorerkid is open from noon to 10pm on off-peak days of Mondays to Thursdays; 10am to 10pm on peak days of Fridays to Sundays,
eve of public holidays, public and school holidays as well as PSLE marking days.
Sign up as an eXplorerkid member at $8.50 (public) and $5.50
(NTUC members) to enjoy discounted admission charges. Standard play
rates exclude play at Ball ‘O’ City, Adventure Highlands, The Mound,
Slumberland and The Rink.
Jun
2004
Aug
Wild Wild Wet, Singapore’s
only water theme park
opened. NTUC Lifestyle
World - Downtown East
renamed Downtown East.
Pasir Ris Bowl demolished to make way for the construction of E!hub.
Aug
Opening of The Spa @ Aranda, the first spa to be set up by the Labour
Movement.
Sep
Groundbreaking ceremony: laying of foundation stone for E!hub.
2008
Apr 27
E!hub opened its doors to
the public.
15