pagi sore indonesian restaurant, tanjong pagar

very-good indonesian food at tanjong pagar’s 100am – still very good, even after the first time we came here nearly a year a go (with many consistent great visits between).

they’ve gotten a little bit busier now than they were before, so it can actually get fully occupied on weekday dinners (which is both good for food turn-over and bad for waiting). but service is prompt, and the food comes out very quickly – so you’re fine once you’re seated.

the flavors are punchy and perky, and it’s a spice-iness that makes things interesting, and a spicyness that is just right for even moderate chilli eaters to handle. we tend to order up a storm – the butter prawns and curry fish head are favorites, as is the rendang, and it all goes very well with the rice that comes in a beautiful wrap of banana leaf.

good value, great flavors, and quick service. it’s the weekday dinner diner of dreams.

Pagi Sore Indonesian Restaurant (Amara Shopping Center Outlet)
#02-28 100AM (Amara Shopping Center)
100 Tras Sreet
Singapore 079027
tel +65 6636 1373
$$: one-zeho-zeho for four

chopsuey cafe, martin road

fantastic, fantastic space, and really good food – chopsuey at martin road is a jewel in the p.s. cafe’s trove of consistent-though-expensive restaurants, and is one of my new favorite restaurants.

the place revolves around a menu that supposedly dishes up the american take on chinese food – and I say supposedly, because while that class of cuisine comes with gloppy sauces, overcooked meats, and rather tastes overwhelmingly of orange and sesame (I admit though, that panda express can be pretty good in the right situation), chopsuey instead serves a refined version without all those rather overwhelming characteristics.

the food is well-executed (chopsuey is like the asian take on the american take on asian, and we are asian, after all), the portions are surprisingly big, and the space lends itself to more than a little bantering with friends. very, very, very well-done.

penang street, funan digitaLife mall

decent penangish, asian dishes at this (relatively) new cafe in the funan mall – great flavors and colours, but let down by the terrible rice. I’ve recently been into all these spice-y, exotic asian flavors, all potent examples of what long stewing and high heat can bring to food – and I really liked this place.

it is therefore (as some terribly formal people like to say in conversation) regretful that I can’t give it more than a cautiously pleasant review – I don’t take rice, so the bad quality makes no difference to me – to all you typically-asian rice-eaters though, that bowl of bad stuff will keep you from returning (and if you have a dad like mine, it’ll keep you from coming at all).

nando’s, serangoon nex

easy weeknight dinner – nando’s is always an easy-go-to post-work, both here and in london. I like the standard half chicken, the parents like the espetadas (rather impressive hanging skewer of chicken chunks), and we often get a bit of the garlic bread and hummus to share.

I love that they’ve open so close to me now – and this outlet does a roaring business without crazy lines. good, easy stuff.

so pho, serangoon nex

okay-for-weekday vietnamese food at the ever-crowded nex mall in serangoon. it’s only tuesday – and it already feels like a long week – and this calls for quick, cheap food.

if you’re into that for tonight, this is an okay choice for dinner – it’s something different from the local food you’d usually have on a weekday night for not much more money, and the flavors are adequate. not quite a destination restaurant, however.

2014 mooncakes from hua ting, orchard hotel

it’s mooncake season! for all you non-chinese out there – and I can’t imagine there are many of you, considering how quickly that nation is expanding – mooncakes are an annual confection that appear this time of year, to celebrate the mid-autumn festival (and its full, round moon).

traditionally, these were rounds of lotus paste surrounded by and baked brown with an outer pastry. like a meat pie, but with a sweet filling (the closest western reference being frangipane) and a sweet crust (reminiscent of fig newtons).

at most, there were nuts or salted egg yolks for interest.

mouth restaurant, chinatown

a much-lauded chinese restaurant especially known for their molten salted yolk pineapple buns (or liu sha bao, in short), this place is crowded to the rafters on a sunday afternoon – probably at least in part due to the at least average dimsum and pretty decent cooking.

violet oon’s kitchen, bukit timah

peranakan done up all fancy-like. it’s good food here, if you’re hankering for something a little out of the brunchordinary: local classics dished up pretty, as well as nonya interpretations of brunch classics.

I heard quite a lot about the food here before coming, and it’s gratifying that the food didn’t disappoint. especially since it’s rather a bit of pain getting here by public transport (try to cab or drive if you can).

indochilli restaurant, zion road

rather impressive indonesian food, and surprisingly cheap for being in this part of close-to-town. I’m no purist, if you haven’t figured, nor a connoisseur of indonesian food – so I treat it much the way I do thai: I like it spicy and tasty.

jumbo seafood restaurant, changi (take 2)

I’ve done this place before, but we came back here for another bout of seafood – and it was great – so here’s a reminder that though driving here makes you feel almost like you’re at the edge of the earth (I might exaggerate a little), there is fantastic food to be found.

good, fresh seafood cooked classic singapore-style, with all the flavor and none of the pomp – nothing to stop you from really digging in with hands and teeth.

remember to make reservations though – the place gets terribly packed, especially on weekends.