Not a bad choice. Joo Chiat Road has endless food options but it can get quite crowded in the evening (trafic can be quite bad). You can find anything from chinese, vietnamese, philipino, korean, japanese, western (italian, german, steaks/burgers) to singaporean fare. For example Tian Tian the famous chicken rice stall from Maxwell has a restaurant here. The area is currently changing a lot, Katong has become hip, and so the restaurant scene is seeing a lot of new fare popping up.
Not sure where you are staying, some places (Hotel 81 and Fragrance) are a bit sleazy. There are quite a few Karaoke Bars along Joo Chiat but to my feeling the area has improved seriously over the years. The Venue Hotel at the corner of Joo Chiat and Koon Seng Rd is probably the best option and the least sleazy one.
East coast park is easy to access from there, take a bus to Parkway Parade and walk through the underpass to the park.