Walking on Sunshine at Orchard Central – Gorgeous Korean Beauty Salon & Cafe for $15 nett brunch buffet

Don’t you just hate it when you’re setting that much-needed appointment to fix your hair, and you realise you have to commit several hours to just sitting in the salon before you’re freed?

Newly opened Walking on Sunshine solves that dilemma for you, by combining a Korean hair salon and cafe all in one. The self-proclaimed beauty and dining hub occupies the third level of Orchard Central, and rocks an industrial meets floral interior, with colourful flora adorning its premises.

Fun fact: Walking on Sunshine is the brainchild of Chicken Up’s founder and bossman of LeeKaJa Beauty Salon in Singapore, explaining its quintessentially Korean-styled menu. While mains hover around the $18 – $21 price range, you can also sample a selection of Walking on Sunshine’s dishes with a Breakfast Buffet from 9am – 11am daily. Priced at $15 per pax, this three-hour period allows you to sample a lineup of salads, panini, and classic brunch items such as American Breakfast and Egg Benedict.

(Note that all photos taken are from Walking on Sunshine’s ala carte menu. The Breakfast Buffet dishes are slightly smaller versions of ala carte platings.)

While the heartier sounding panini and brunch items caught the table’s attention, the salads themselves are rather substantial and delicious. A bed of mesclun and sliced avocado half accompanies mouthwatering combinations of salmon & shrimp, chicken & quinoa, ricotta cheese, or bulgogi & mixed beans.

As for the Bulgogi & Mixed Bean Salad, it is an interesting one, with the slightly sweet aftertaste of the bulgogi meat adding a nice contrast to the other savoury toppings.

The Spicy Pork Panini fared well, while the Honey Ham Cheese Panini brought to mind a thin pancake paired with a slice of ham. The Beef Bulgogi Panini will delight Korean food addicts and makes a good accompaniment for the salads.

Classic Western fare graces Walking on Sunshine’s brunch section. The Eggs in Hell, which is essentially a fancier way of saying shakshuka, is best eaten piping hot.

Although the American Breakfast looked ordinary at first glance, we found the scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and hash brown perfectly cooked, with surprisingly pleasing flavours to further whet our appetite.

Not part of the Breakfast Buffet but still worth checking out is the Crispy Chicken Burger. While reactions were mixed across the table, I personally quite enjoyed the chicken, with its crisp fried skin on the outside and sufficiently succulent meat on the inside.

Craving something sweet and refreshing? Walking on Sunshine’s drinks range from frothy coffees and shakes, to zesty flower teas.

Otherwise, abandon your calorie counters and go straight for the Souffle Pancake ($23), a decadent stack of fluffy pancakes adorned with sweet cream and mixed fruits.