Chilli Crab

Like most people who live in Singapore, I have a particular love for Chilli Crab, and it is always on our ‘to do’ list when people visit from overseas. Our usual restaurant of choice for taking people is Long Beach at the East Coast Seafood Centre. This time when we had guests, however for one reason or another we decided it would be easier to grab our seafood feast in town, so we headed to Jumbo at Riverside Point.



You might find this amazing, but this was my first time going to any of the Jumbo restaurants. I can’t say I’m sorry about that – it really wasn’t anything to get too excited about. Don’t get me wrong, the dishes were perfectly adequate and I would probably return for a mid-week casual meal if I was in the area. But when we were trying to show case the best of Singapore to our out-of-town guests, this left us a little disappointed.

The Chilli Crab itself was actually pretty good (but still not as good as Long Beach)



it was the accompanying dishes that weren’t great – the Black Pepper Beef was a little bland



as was the Roast Chicken



and the Sweet & Sour Prawns, despite how stickily succulent they looked.



Most disappointing of all though was the Steamed Sea Bass, Hong Kong Style – this actually went back half-eaten which is just unheard of in our household.



This place is always mobbed, I guess because of its location… and if you’re in the area with a chilli crab craving, I’d say by all means, sit down and tuck in… if you’re looking for quality seafood to impress though, I’d keep on walking…

Jumbo, Riverside Point - http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/

Favourite Brekkie Joint

I have a new favourite place for Breakfast/Brunch in Singapore (I’m not talking about a Sunday champagne brunch, that’s a different topic altogether). Until recently my favourite weekend brekkie hangout was probably Graze at Rochester Park, but following a few recent visits to Privé at the Marina at Keppel Bay, my allegiances have firmly swung to the latter.

Privé is divided into three areas – a rather fancy indoor fine-dining restaurant, a rather fabulous outdoor bar, and a more casual bakery/café that also shares the bar’s outdoor decking. It is here in the bakery/café that they dish up a fine breakfast.

So what’s so good about it? Well, first there is the location – sitting out on the decking in the sunshine with the sea breeze on your face, and surrounded by expensive-looking yachts, you could be forgiven for thinking you had just landed in lottery-winner heaven. Chill-out tunes, bubbling water features and an abundance of leafy green plants complete the picture.

Then of course there is the food – hand on heart, I can tell you that they serve up the best Eggs Benedict and Pancakes I have yet had in Singapore. The Eggs Benedict are served on proper English muffins with good quality ham, the hollandaise sauce’s flavour, consistency and seasoning are all just right.

The pancakes are served in a generous portion, with slices of banana and strawberries nestling in the layers, and topped with maple syrup, honeycomb and cream.

The fresh orange juice is really freshly squeezed orange juice (unlike recently when we asked at P.S Café at Palais Renaissance if there ‘fresh’ orange juice was freshly squeezed, we received the reply “Freshly squeezed out of the bottle”) and is a generous serving, chilled over ice. They also have a range of coffees, teas and milkshakes, including a thick creamy coffee milkshake.

I’ll be honest, there is one small downside to this place and that is that the service can be somewhat erratic. They are normally pretty good, until you try to settle the bill. For some reason printing up the bill and dealing with payments seems to have been skipped from their customer service training regime…. My advice is to order the bill at least fifteen minutes before you are ready to leave… twenty-five if you plan on paying by credit card…

Privé, Marina at Keppel Bay - http://www.prive.com.sg/

Third Time Unlucky

After two weeks trekking in the Himalayas coping with average food, we were delighted to get back to Singapore and prepare to gorge ourselves once more. Any time we are away for any length of time, I return with desperate dim sum cravings, and so within a week of being back, I’ve managed to squeeze in not one, not two, but three dim sum feasts. Having already visited old regular Crystal Jade Dining In, and new favourite Dim Joy, come the weekend it was time to try somewhere new.

Lei Garden always seems to receive favourable reviews and as we had shopping to do in the area, we called in to Chijmes to give it a shot. There was an enormous queue when we arrived, always a good sign, and thankfully they were all waiting for large family tables, and so we swanned straight past them and were shown immediately to a table.

I have often walked past Lei Garden in the evenings and thought that it doesn’t look very enticing due to its stark lighting. I was pleasantly surprised therefore just how welcoming an atmosphere it has – nicely presented tables, tanks full of live seafood and not too brightly lit at all. They even had a chef station for preparing specials to order within the restaurant.

We put our dim sum order in and then, because we’re greedy, we also flagged down a waitress with a tray of specials to grab something while we waited. She just so happened to have one of my favourites – Prawn and Mango Rolls, so how could I resist? Well unfortunately I wish I had resisted, this was not a good start to the meal… not only were they cold and soggy, they were dripping in grease. The paper doily left on the tray was translucent at the end and the plate beneath completely sodden.

Not a good sign of things to come. Thankfully things did improve somewhat – but not significantly enough to convince me to return here. The old favourites Har Gao and Char Siew Bao were nothing to get excited about, neither was the Pork Dumplings in Spicy Sauce

the Crystal Dumplings with Assorted Mushrooms were slightly better,

as was the Shredded Beancurd with Spicy Sauce and Peanuts.

The Xiao Long Bao, however was very disappointing – no soup and very little flavour,

and the Egg Tarts were just average.

Mr Greedy Glutton finished off with some Pan Fried Pork Dumplings – after seeing him take a bite and the grease literally pouring out of it onto the plate, I politely declined to join him…

So having been for Dim Sum three times in one week, I think you could say I got my fix… I shall certainly not be returning to Lei Garden next time though, no matter how bad the craving…

Lei Garden – 30 Victoria Street, #01-24 Chijmes

A Nepali Banquet

We are just back from a two week holiday trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal. While in Kathmandu we stayed at the charming Dwarika’s hotel, which is home to Krishnarpan – one of Kathmandu’s most renowned Nepali restaurants.

So we thought, what better way to introduce ourselves to Nepali life and culture than a six course tasting banquet at a traditional restaurant? (They offer up to a 22 course banquet, so that was us being restrained!) Dwarika’s hotel is built from antique, traditionally carved wood and is as much museum as it is hotel, and Krishnarpan restaurant is no exception. It is beautifully decorated with traditionally carved mirrors and tables and the crockery and brassware is handmade.



All guests are invited to leave their shoes at the door, before having their hands washed and being shown through to the dining area, where dinner is served at floor level seating. We were first adorned with Krishnarpan aprons, to protect our clothes in case our food should go astray – and in case you are thinking of declining to wear yours, there are several photos of the good and the great on the walls all clad in theirs – Prince Charles, Jimmy Carter, Hilary Clinton to name but a few (and if it’s good enough for them…)

Once seated, we were presented with our personalized menus, made from handmade Nepali paper, outlining all of the dishes coming up in our six course banquet. We were also served some rather strong rice wine, which we forced ourselves to sip in between courses, to cleanse the palate (strip the coating off your tongue more like!)

Food kicked off with Samaya Bajee (an assortment of hors d’oeuvres traditionally served during religious ceremonies):



(but not before we had made our offerings to the Gods to ensure us a safe trip up to the Everest region - and if you'd seen the planes we had to fly on you'd understand why!)



Followed by Chyau Ko Sekuwa (pan roasted oyster mushroom finished with cream), Palungo Ko Saag (sauteed spinach with slivers of garlic and chilli flakes) and Roti:



Then came the Momo – traditional Nepali dumplings, and the closest they come to fast food in stalls around Nepal. Similar to Chinese Baozi but these had a bit of a kick almost like a samosa filling. We had these several times during our two weeks in Nepal, always with different fillings, often vegetarian, and the ones we had here at Krishnarpan were by far the best.

Next up was a bowl of Tarkari Ko Jhol (cream of vegetable soup)

And then finally the main course: Sada Bhuja (steamed rice to you and I), Dal Jhaneko (lentil tempered with Himalayan herbs), Kukhura Ko Masu (Nepali chicken curry), Aloo Ra Bodi Ko Tarkari (Stir-fried potato and white-bean), Pharsee Ko Tarkari (fresh pumpkin with Nepali spices), and Ramtoriya Tareko (Stir-fried okra)

All of the above was ceremoniously served by a stream of waitresses who spooned out helpings from their dishes one after the other as they made their way around the restaurant. This all came served with Golbheda Ra Til Ko Achar (Nepali tomato salsa with sesame) and Lapsee Ko Achar (Hug-Plum pickle) on the side.

Not that there was much room for dessert by this stage, but it was thankfully very light – Sikarni (fresh yoghurt flavoured with cinnamon and sweetened with honey).

All in all this was a fantastic meal and a great way to kick off a holiday in Nepal.

Krishnarpan, Dwarika’s hotel, Kathmandu - http://www.dwarikas.com/restaurantsnepal.html