Best Margaritas in Town?

I only really discovered the beauty of frozen margaritas just before we moved to Singapore a couple of years ago. Our first few months after we arrived, we would spend quite a lot of time at Café Iguana on Clarke Quay, especially after we discovered their Macho Margaritas – something which made us quite excited at the time I seem to remember. Unfortunately however, their margaritas quickly went downhill (or perhaps the novelty factor just wore off), and we stopped going there quite so often and eventually not at all.

I have recently re-discovered my love of the frozen margarita – strawberry in particular, at the fabulous alfresco Screening Room rooftop bar. If you haven’t been there yet, then get yourself down there – yes there’s a few steps to climb to reach the bar, but once up there you are rewarded with a cool chill-out vibe, views over the rooftops, pumping tunes and what I currently feel to be the best margaritas in town.

Here are the photos – you be the judge:



The only downside is that being an outdoor bar in Singapore, the margaritas do tend to melt very quickly, meaning you have to drink them rather quickly… wait, did I say downside…?!



Screening Room Rooftop Bar - http://www.screeningroom.com.sg/

Cozy Steak Place

I first read about Les Bouchons on The Travelling Hungryboy’s website, where he promised “an unpretentious French place specializing in Steak Frites”. Well that was enough to sell it to Mr Greedy Glutton and I, so we took our hungry stomachs off to Ann Siang Road.

This was actually the second time we tried to get in here – the first time it was fully booked (not surprisingly when you see the limited number of seats) so I rang ahead this time and booked a table. Well, I fell in love with this cozy little restaurant as soon as I walked in – it was exactly as we’d anticipated – unpretentious, undeniably French… and the food smells wafting through from the kitchen were amazing… There was even a table of Frenchmen on the table next to us, just to complete the ambience!

This is definitely a carnivores-only place, with a very limited menu of Steak Frites and very little else (well, with the exception of a couple of Lamb dishes, and a couple of Fish dishes). We dithered over whether to go for the 1kg “Cote de Boeuf” Prime Rib for two, but I eventually settled on the Grilled Rib Eye Steak with “Vigneron” Butter,

while Mr Greedy Glutton went for the Grilled Sirloin Steak with Herbs. All the plats here come with a free-flow of crispy frites, and a side salad.

Well what can I say? The steak was delicious, the fries were delicious, and washed down with a nice bottle of Red, we had ourselves a fantastic evening in this lovely cozy little hideaway.

I almost don’t want to tell too many people about it in case it becomes so popular that I can’t get a table… but Les Bouchons has definitely become my number 1 spot for Steak Frites in Singapore…

Les Bouchons – 7 Ann Siang Road

Why Wagyu?

It was Saturday night and we were due to meet some friends at the Screening Room on Club St. The Screening Room provides five floors of food and entertainment venues – the very cool basement Lounge; the ground level Bistro, which we have yet to try; a Studio available for private hire; the Film Theatre – a cosy little cinema room with comfy sofas; and our choice of venue for tonight – the Rooftop Bar.

The Rooftop bar is the perfect venue for alfresco drinks, with what they describe as “East meets West” views – offering a birdseye view of nearby Club St and Chinatown, with the skyscrapers of the CBD looming in the background. Add to this comfy sofas, a great cocktail list and chilled, laid-back tunes and you’ve got yourself a right little evening get-together hotspot.

We were running late and didn’t have time to eat before we got there at 8pm, so needless to say we were fairly hungry and immediately made for their food menu (ok, perhaps we ordered a mojito each first…) On the roof terrace they only serve their ‘Snack’ menu, which consists mainly of finger food and nibbles, so we both went for the one thing that looked capable of satiating the appetite – the Wagyu Beef Burger.

Now I don’t know about the rest of the world, but it seems that Singapore is obsessed with WAGYU. I’d never heard of it before I moved here, but now you can’t open a menu or read a restaurant review without the words jumping out the page at you (that and its porcine equivalent, Kurobuta Pork).

So Wagyu is known for its intense marbling, which not only gives a better flavour, but also improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats – so it’s apparently better for you. From a foodie’s point of view, it is famed to be the most tender, succulent and tasty meat in the world… I don’t know about that, but what I do know is it is always way more expensive than any other type of beef on the menu. This little bad boy set us back $25.00++ and that didn’t include the fries (an additional $11.00++).

Unfortunately I didn’t really see how they could justify this price tag – the burger was pretty bland, not that juicy and not that big either. I’m really struggling to understand – for a burger on a snack menu, why use Wagyu at all?

This was my first time to try Wagyu and I wasn’t all that impressed – but I realize that a burger may not be the best vessel on which to base my judgement. So I shall obviously have to sample a wider range, before I decide for myself whether it’s worth all the hype... or a restaurateur’s licence to print money…

The Screening Room - http://www.screeningroom.com.sg/

Healthy Lunch

I had a lunch date with the girls, so we headed to Club Street where we could combine lunch with some funky boutique shopping. We ended up at the Eden Café – a small restaurant with a big heart. The focus of the Eden Café is on simple, healthy, fresh, well-cooked food and we certainly weren’t disappointed with the results.

The lunch menu included a select few main course specials – in addition to the standard sandwiches and salads. Although the menu isn’t particularly explanatory, Clement, the owner was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all the dishes and ingredients.
We managed to sample a wide variety between us – the Roast Pork with Caramelised Onions and Apple,

the Pasta with Bacon and a Poached Egg,

and I went for the Chicken Salad which came with a zesty dressing and orange segments, making a tasty, light lunch.

Even the drinks made for an interesting adventure – none of your standard Pepsi-Cola-style drinks here, the Cola is organic

and the Soda with Lingo Berries made an interesting (and quite delicious) accompaniment to my salad.

The coffees and hot chocolates were served in funky glass mugs and the herbal tea list was the most extensive I have ever seen.

The desserts were another cause for delight – I opted for the Hibiscus Cheesecake

and the others went for the Crème Brulee which was torched at the table,

and the Chocolate Fudge Brownie which was deliciously and wickedly rich and came served with vanilla ice-cream and scattered with rose petals. (yes we were all a little jealous of this one…)

All in all a fantastic little spot for lunch… and soon there will be a sister restaurant at Rochester Park… so soon to be another lunch spot for lunch with the girls… fantastic…

Eden Café – www.edencafe.com.sg

Vietnamese Dinner

Ever since we went travelling in Vietnam in 2003, and I succeeded in my quest to have Spring Rolls every day of my trip (often twice a day!), I have been a huge lover of Vietnamese food. Strange then that we haven’t really eaten much of it since we moved to Asia… well… apart from the odd lunch and takeaway from the Orange Lantern… and the odd plate of Spring Rolls from the various Indochine bars…

Anyway, tonight it was all about a proper Vietnamese sit-down dinner (although strictly speaking it was South-East Asian, not just Vietnamese), and fabulous it was too. This was our first time upstairs at the Indochine on Club St. We’ve spent many an evening in the downstairs bar supping cocktails and nibbling on the aforementioned spring rolls, but never ventured up the narrow staircase to the restaurant. It’s a beautiful space with white linen tablecloths, and large Buddha heads adorning the walls, and the menu is full of mouthwatering dishes.

Believe it or not, we gave the Spring Rolls a miss this time (unheard of!), and dove straight into the main courses – Pepper Beef with Garlic and Butter – big thick chunks of tender beef sautéed in herbs, spices and butter, which were really delicious, especially when dipped in the accompanying sour-sweet dip

Tiger Prawns in Lemongrass and Chilli Sauce – this sauce was so zesty and spicy and tasty that I just couldn’t stop spooning up those juices

Stir-fried Vegetables with Basil and Chilli – even these were delicious, especially the baby corn (although when I mentioned that to Mr Greedy Glutton, he said he hadn’t had a chance to try any before they all disappeared… oops!)

I am adding this restaurant to my list of favourites… yes, that ever-growing list of restaurants… that I seem to add to every week….

Indochine Club St - http://www.indochine.com.sg/

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/

Current Cocktail of Choice

I don't only eat you know - I've also been known to enjoy a drink or two...

Here's my current cocktail of choice:

It's called a SaVanh 49 and is served at the Indochine bars across Singapore. I'm assuming it's named for their bar called Bar SaVanh which is at no. 49 Club St, which is in fact where I first ordered one while I was here on holiday a couple of years ago.

I just re-discovered it on Saturday while having a break from Shopping at the Indochine Sanctuary at Wisma Atria on Orchard Road.

It's made from Vodka, Martini Bianco, Lychee Liqueur and Grenadine... it's much stronger (ie. better) than your average Lycheetini you get in all the bars here.

Mmmm... makes you feel all warm inside....

Indochine - www.indochine.com.sg