Comfort Food

It was Sunday and we were up on Orchard Road, suffering from been-out-too-much-lately syndrome. What we needed was comfort food – something plain-ish and soothing. My initial idea was Dim Sum, lots of steamed dumplings to soothe the soul, but the thought of standing in a queue anywhere swiftly popped that little thought-bubble, and so we ended up in the Project Shop Café in Paragon shopping mall.

This is another ‘only in Singapore’ place – nowhere else in the world would I consider eating in a café within a clothes shop, within a mall! I’ve had lunch here before with a friend and their Turkey and Cranberry sandwich was awesome… but today it was all about the Chicken Burger.



Now, usually when you order a chicken burger it comes as a dried up grilled chicken breast or, god forbid, a McDonald’s-style deep-fried patty. Not here – this was fresh chicken mince mixed up with all sorts of herbs, spices, peppers… and there was even a hint of banana in there… no, really… made up into a burger and fried ‘til it was nice and sticky on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. It came in a fresh, warm, soft, chewy ciabatta roll, with lettuce, melted cheese and mushrooms. In short, it was probably the tastiest chicken burger I’ve ever had. Even the side salad was good – beautifully dressed leaves with roasted cherry tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms.



Alongside the food is an interesting selection of drinks – from coffees and milkshakes to iced teas and fresh juices. In my current form, I tried their iced ginger tea, which was an inspired decision – I could feel every spicy, zesty mouthful healing my bruised body from within.

They also have a sumptuous selection of pies, cakes and desserts on offer… and I have vowed to return for coffee and cake… and undo all that good done by the ginger tea…

Project Shop Café – 3rd Floor, Paragon S.C, Orchard Road

Spizza Pizza

There are times when only a pizza will do. Something to line your stomach before you head out for a night of drinking is one of those times – it’s not too heavy so that you leave the restaurant feeling bloated, like with a curry (and yes, I know that’s because I always overindulge with a curry), but leaves you satisfied and ready to soak up the alcohol.

We were headed to a party on Club St, so Spizza at the bottom of Club St seemed like an appropriate meeting point… they serve chilled glasses of Pinot Grigio too, so we definitely chose well. I love how they name all their pizzas after girls’ names – I assume this was inspired by the Margherita, but I may be wrong of course. I ended up opting for the ‘Pamela’ – a straight-forward ham and mushroom.

I like that their bases are crispy and thin, and they certainly don’t scrimp on the toppings – in fact I would probably even say they overdo the toppings, and slightly less ham and mushroom wouldn’t have disappointed. My vegetarian friend opted for the ‘Elisa’ which came with pesto, olives and pine kernels and I have to say, it looked a bit of a winner, while Mr Greedy Glutton chose the ‘Olivia’ with salami and fresh chillies (and as usual had to pick off his chillies half way through, will that man ever learn?!)

It did what was required though and filled us up… and left room for a few more glasses of wine later in the night… perfect….

Spizza, Club St - http://www.spizza.sg/

Simply Shwarma

Saturday night, and we were on our way to a party in Clarke Quay. Having unashamedly pigged ourselves on Dim Sum at Yum Cha in the early afternoon, we couldn’t really justify a full meal in the evening. So, continuing the Middle-Eastern theme from last night (see Turkish Delight below), we stopped off at Marrakesh for a Shwarma and a beer.

It was never going to match up to the culinary ecstasies experienced at Alaturka, but as far as bar snacks go, they were pretty good. The outside seating area was full, so I ended up on a swinging bench, surrounded by waterfalls, cushions and colourful tiles, eating to Middle Eastern pop (I presume) which made for novel surroundings… although the swinging seat wasn't particularly conducive to tidy eating…

Marrakesh - http://www.harrys.com.sg/Marrakesh.htm

Turkish Delight

When we lived in Edinburgh, there were two things we used to enjoy about our visits to London (apart from visiting all our friends obviously) - Dim Sum and Turkish food, both of which were sorely lacking in our hometown. Since moving to Singapore, we've had Dim Sum a-plenty, but we hadn't yet ventured into any Turkish restaurants.

Well, all that changed on Friday evening, as we made our way up to the Arab Quarter and settled into a table at the cozy Alaturka restaurant on Bussorah St. Unable to make a decision on the starters, we opted for the Mixed Mezze plate which came served with Lavash, their 'balloon bread with sesame seeds'. We were slightly disappointed with the mezze - the aubergine in tomato was delicious and their dolmades were pretty good, but nothing else stood out and half of it went back to the kitchen (partly because our main courses arrived before we were even half way through the starter and there was no more room on the table!)



All was forgiven once the main courses arrived. We had chosen the Karisik Kebab, which was a combination kebab (lamb, kofta, chicken breast, chicken drumstick), served on an enormous copper platter, with chillis, rice, vegetables and salad. It was truly awesome, every mouthful was heavenly... the meat had been perfectly cooked and the accompaniments were also delicious.



Alongside the kebab, we had also ordered our old favourite, Imam Bayaldi - stuffed aubergine. Again, this was absolutely to-die-for, with its filling of tomato, herbs, onions and pine nuts (and what else, I'm not sure - I was too busy wolfing it down to take too much notice). Both dishes were also served with little candles underneath to keep the plates hot, which we thought was a nice touch.



We took a little wander afterwards to see what other potential dinner spots we could find, but to be honest it will be hard to see past Alaturka (although obviously for research purposes we will need to try a few others also!)

We left this restaurant very satisfied, and very excited to have found such a great Turkish restaurant... in the city we live in... no more visits to London to get our fix...

Alaturka - http://www.alaturka.com.sg/

A Burger Hunt

Mr Greedy Glutton came home from playing golf Sunday lunch time with a Burger craving... and we're not talking about a Whopper or a Big Mac here, we're talking home-made, ground beef, flame-grilled, with all the trimmings.

So, having read good reports in one of our restaurant guides, we set off to find Uber-burger. An hour later, having taken the MRT and shanks pony to Millenia Walk, we discovered that Uber-burger was in fact another victim of Singaporean catering and retail fickleness, and had closed down before we'd even had a chance to sample their 'gourmet' burgers. (We later found out that it actually closed down in February - that's 6 months before we even moved to Singapore, oops!)

So, we found ourselves in a bit of a quandry as to where to find a good burger. The closest place we could think of that has an abundance of 'western' bars and restaurants was Chijmes... so back we went for another 20 minute walk. When we eventually arrived there, it became a toss-up between the newly-opened Harry's 'Gastrobar' (their menu looks the same as every other Harry's bar, not sure what's so Gastro about it), Bobby's and Hog's Breath Cafe.... not the most inspiring set of choices.

We settled for Bobby's, having already experienced pretty poor meals at Harry's on Boat Quay and Hog's Breath at Vivocity before. As our burger hunt had now taken approximately an hour and half, there was little point in looking at the menu (and Mr Greedy Glutton knew better than to order anything else at this point), so burgers it was.

They weren't great... we weren't even expecting them to be... but they also weren't BAD - they were obviously home-made and had been seasoned well, but as seems to be standard here the cheese was of the 'plasticky' variety and the bun was stale. So burger craving only partly satisfied, and the quest for Singapore's best burger continues.

One thing I will say for Bobby's though - we were served by the most friendly and enthusiastic waiter I have yet come across in Singapore... he was truly full of the joys of Spring... so we may not have found our uber-burger, but we did find mr uber-enthusiastic... but unfortunately it didn't make our average burger uber...

Bobby's - www.bobbys.com.sg

A Seafood Feast with Friends

Friday night, and in an attempt to actually eat alongside Friday night after-work drinks, a group of us booked a table at No Signboard Seafood down at the East Coast Seafood Centre. We ordered up all the usual favourites – Chilli Crab (but, of course!)

with extra dumplings (naturally!),

Steamed Garoupa Hong Kong Style,

Drunken Prawns,

Honey Sauce Pork Ribs,

Beancurd on Hot Plate

and various veggies, rice and noodles.

Nobody at the table had tried the White Pepper Crab before, so we gave it a go…

it got the general approval for its delicious intensity, but for me, it was just a bit too… well, peppery! I’m obviously not as much of a pepper lover as I thought. Nobody at the table had tried Battered Bullfrog either, but we decided to save that little delicacy for another time!

It was an enjoyable meal, but really mainly for the company and the general East Coast vibe. I was a bit disappointed in the general quality and it certainly didn’t live up to our previous East Coast meal at Long Beach. Everyone agreed that the Chilli Crab sauce was too thin, and lacking in crab meat (although it certainly had a good chilli kick), and the Pork Ribs didn’t come close to the beauties we enjoyed at Long Beach.

Everyone has their favourite place to go for Chilli Crab in Singapore… So far I would have to say Long Beach is mine…although I by no means qualify as experienced… so onwards I go in the quest for the best...

No Signboard Seafood, East Coast - http://nosignboardseafood.com/

A Hen Night

Thurday night, and it’s Girls Only as we say farewell to the single life of one of our friends. We started the night of fun and frolics with a meal at Sage, at Robertson Walk.

Sage is a small (30 covers only) and intimate, tranquil restaurant, so I’m not sure they knew what had hit them when 12 cowgirls joined them for the evening, Stetsons, water pistols, ‘Yee-has’ and all. But they certainly coped with us admirably – especially Rowan the waiter, who was subjected to a kiss from yours truly as part of the hen night challenges.

We were offered a set menu of three courses, with choices at each course, all of which were inventive and interesting. I kicked off with the Escargot & Prawns – A risotto of burgundy escargot and tiger prawns flambéed with pastis, parmesan crusted poached egg and Italian parsley foam.

This was really pretty good, although I confess the flavour of the Escargot became a little much for me by the end, as it was rather a large portion, and I’m used to those slippery little suckers being doused in garlic butter when I’ve ever had them before.

For the main course, I opted for the Beef Cheek – Caramelized Black Angus beef cheek topped with duxelle mushrooms and melted foie gras mousse, puree of butternut squash and reduction of its own braising jus.

The beef here was gorgeous, really melt in your mouth and the accompaniments were also extremely tasty, especially the butternut squash. My only complaint? The size of the accompaniments! There was approximately a teaspoon of the squash and four teaspoons of vegetables…

I finished off with the Crème Brulée – a Lavender crème brulée with blood orange sorbet on redcurrant jelly and Navel orange meringue. A fine end to a fine meal.

So from there it was on to Karaoke… where thankfully we had a room to ourselves… with no innocent bystanders to get caught in the water pistol crossfire…


Sage - http://www.sagerestaurants.com.sg/index.php

A Decadent Breakfast

Such decadence, brunch with friends two days in a row. This time we headed up to Whitebait and Kale... Only in Singapore would you find such a great restaurant tucked away in a Medical Centre.

I once again opted for the Eggs Benedict - I know, I know 'how boring', but I'm kind of on a mission now to find the best Eggs Benedict I can in Singapore. So far this is up there, although I'm sure I can still find better... although perhaps my judgement was impaired by the fact that it felt just a teensy bit samey from the day before. These had the unconventional addition of a mustard and dill sauce which was surprisingly good and really helped set them apart from the norm.


Mr Greedy Glutton went for the Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Egg and Cream Cheese on Rye Toast which I (of course) tasted and have to admit to being a tiny bit jealous of. None of us could resist the Mini Pancakes with Caramalised Bananas and Berries, which we shared as a dessert, and were truly scrumptious, but due to the sweetness of the dish, definitely better as a dessert rather than a breakfast. I was so excited about their arrival that I clean forgot to take a photo, but trust me, they were delicious.

I mean, really, dessert for breakfast... did you ever hear of anything so decadent....?

Whitebait and Kale - http://www.whitebaitandkale.com/

Brunch with friends

Saturday morning and we met up with a group of friends to chew the fat and chow some brunch at Epicurious at Robertson Quay. I'd not been here before but it has a great location by the river and has a nice laid-back vibe going on.


We had a table indoors - there are only three and as we were quite a large group we took over most of the room. This, coupled with the familiar little touches like the box of cutlery in the middle of the table to help yourself to, made it feel like we had all met up at a friends place for breakfast. I liked all the quirky little touches too - the elegant china that the tea is served in, a fine contrast to the beer mugs in which they serve the lattes, and the miniature jugs that the (freshly squeezed and delicious) fruit juices come in.


They had several different menus - a lunch menu, breakfast menu, snacks (?) menu and blackboard specials, but we mostly settled on the breakfast menu, with me opting for the Eggs Benedict


and Mr Greedy Glutton being true to his name and ordering up the Full Monty, a full fry-up with no less than 3 fried eggs!



Unfortunately I think we rather threw the chefs, putting in such a large order at once, as it took a long time for the food to come (not that this is so much of a problem when you're in good company) and then once it did, it sat on the serving station for so long that half of it was cold (and I have to say I wasn't really sure about the greasy little fried potatoes that came with the Eggs Benedict either). They did offer to replace any cold dishes, but we were too hungry by this stage to be waiting any longer!


I'd go back to Epicurious for brunch for sure... it just has that nice homely feeling to it... but perhaps next time we'll stagger our order... or go in a smaller group....


Epicurious - http://www.epicurious.com.sg/

Mid-week Thai

Mr Greedy Glutton was working late so I met a friend after work at Vivo City for a drink and a bite to eat. We ended up in Thai Accent where we took a seat on their outdoor terrace overlooking Sentosa.

We opted for the old faves - Green Chicken Curry:


and Pad Thai:


and added a dish of stir-fried veggies to go with it.


The food was pretty good, not great, not bad. I'd say it was on a par with Thai Express, although quite a bit more expensive... although at Thai Express you don't have the option of sitting outside, which is always a bonus at Vivocity where the air conditioning can be pretty fierce.

However, given the choice between the two, I'd probably choose Thai Express for a mid-week, cheap and cheerful feed, for a couple of reasons (apart from the price). The service at Thai Accent left a little to be desired - our dishes arrived with no plates or cutlery to eat them with, we couldn't make eye contact with a waitress for love nor money to ask for the bill, and when we called out to one we were told (not particularly politely) 'in a minute'.

My main gripe about this restaurant though is that they charge for tap water, and this really irks me. It may only be .30c but it's a matter of principal - if they were to give that .30c to charity, that would be a different matter... but I really object to paying for tap water, especially when we were having it along side other drinks... (I mean, what is that .30c for? Rental of the glass they serve it in?)... and FYI Thai Accent, Thai Express provide iced water for free, as soon as you walk in the door....

Thai Accent - http://www.seacuisine.com.my/cms/restaurant.aspx?rid=1

A Hearty Mexican Meal

New Year’s Day and it was hair-of-the-dog time, with a few glasses of vino at Brewerkz. We then wandered along next door to Café Iguana to tuck into some hearty Mexican fare to soak up all our New Year’s booze.

I love Café Iguana with its funky latin music and fantastic margharita menu (see Macho Margharitas), gives you a real feel of being on holiday. Today we weren’t quite up for tackling the tequila, so we turned straight to the food section and ordered up some Beef Burritos, smothered in the carne de puerco en chile verde (pork green chile stew).

They were exactly what the doctor ordered – filling and delicious, the shredded steak and rice providing plenty of bulk to soak up the festive season’s excess of alcohol.

So that’s it, another festive season over… need to find another excuse to overindulge in food and drink…

Café Iguana - www.cafeiguana.com

Christmas Lunch

Christmas lunch, and as we were in Singapore and away from the family, we joined a group of friends at the Mandarin Oriental's Melt restaurant for a champagne-fuelled buffet, in place of the usual Roast Turkey and all the trimmings.

It's hard not to enjoy a meal that is accompanied by as much champagne as you can drink, but I have to say we were slightly disappointed with Melt's buffet selection. We've stayed at this hotel before when we've been in Singapore on holiday and their breakfast buffet is among the best I’ve ever had, anywhere in the World, so we were expecting great things. I’m afraid to say that it just didn’t live up to expectations, and their champagne brunch just wasn’t as good as the others we have tried at the Fullerton or at the Sentosa Resort.

They had a decent seafood and sushi selection, but there was nothing there that begged me to return for seconds, as has happened at other buffets, and I was told that the Indian selection was fantastic although I didn’t try any myself.

Being Christmas Day, we were keen to track down the Roasts and they had a choice of Beef, Ham and Turkey, all of which looked amazing and had been cooked perfectly. But the biggest disappointment of the day was the accompaniments – the main one being that there were no roast potatoes! No roast potatoes to go with the turkey on Christmas Day? How could they do this to me? I mean, seriously, that’s like having a burger without a bun… or fries without ketchup… to say we were heartbroken is an understatement. In fact I still don’t think I’ve recovered yet…

Anyway, onwards and upwards… We finished off with some nice cheeses (again a smaller selection than previous brunches we’ve sampled)

and desserts (again…) and did find solace in some scrumptious little chocolates reminiscent of Jaffa Cakes.

Next year, I’ll be back in the UK for Christmas, and my mouth is salivating at the prospect of Turkey with all the trimmings already… yes, including roast potatoes…

Melt, The Mandarin Oriental - http://www.mandarinoriental.com/hotel/509000167.asp