char, guillemard street

good caramelisation, great flavours, but very fatty meat at this upmarket version of your typical roast-meat stall.

straight up, it’s pretty expensive – you could argue that a slab of pork in a restaurant would cost much, much more, and you would be right. but value is relative, and the comparison is more accurately made with singapore’s (gradually less) plentiful good-and-cheaper hawker stalls.

but the flavours are worth a visit – if only just to see the hype – and you’d be eating in a modern bistroesque environment with air-conditioning.

n.b. all Chinese and dialect spellings are mere illustrations and may not reflect their true pronunciations (though they certainly reflect my imperfect grasp of the language).

ah lam’s abalone noodles and salt-baked chicken, jalan besar

quite a special bowl of noodles at this coffee shop in jalan besar – they might first incite interest because of the expensive mollusk, but this otherwise pedestrian-looking bowl of minced meat noodles would hold that interest with its flavours.

it’s a typical-looking coffee shop, but spruced up white and clean – with an impressively old-looking signboard and a photo of our prime minister up there.

dibs, duxton hill

good flavors of the rich and heavy variety at this restaurant along ann siang hill – it’s a trendy place run by young hipster-types, with a clientele that suits the dark decor.

this was shot AGES ago – so I apologise for the photos, but how else would I tell you about this place?

tiger radler, and a beef stew

my preferences for alcoholic drinks run toward sweet dessert wines, smooth whites, warming sake, and champagne. four years in England and I never picked up a beer habit, much less an affinity for the drink.

but that’s because most beers seem bitter and not quite flavorful enough (I’d rather have water, thank you) either for food-pairing or plain-drinking; and if you think the same – can I please introduce the tiger radler to you?

just in time for your lunar new year preparations, the can is decorated all festive-like – and the drink itself is redolent with the fragrance of mandarin oranges (which will go plenty well with thousands of the actual fruit actually being passed around over the 12-day celebration period).

and if you still don’t feel like you’d want to drink it (and I don’t see why, since it’s rather like a less-sweet, adult version of Fanta orange), it sure makes for a great base to a beef-and-carrot stew.

joie restaurant by dozo, orchard central

really, surprisingly, good vegetarian fine dining atop orchard central. I’m a big fan of vegetables, not so much of vegetarian eating – the latter with its not-always-positive connotations of overt ingredient manipulation, and the unhealthiness you often see in the Asian understanding of the cuisine (i.e. deep-frying and excessive use of gluten products).

I came here with absolutely no expectations – no review-reading, no foodie-asking – and they delivered a quite remarkable meal full of fresh ingredients and many surprises. and whilst the plates belie a care expected of the fine-dining standard they aspire to, the prices don’t (in other words, great for dates and impressing without being hard on the pocket).

may may, tras street

for all you resolution-makers, health-bunnies and aspiring yuppies, this place is for you. a modern, luxe restaurant that serves up balanced grain bowls at lunchtime and transforms into sexy bar at night – this place has been garnering more-than-decent reviews across the board (and I have finally visited something while it’s still very trendy).

AND, if you’re up for something sweet to balance all that healthfulness out, they’re known for their salted egg yolk donuts. there should be a law for so much overindulgence in a single form.

gajalee, esplanade

it’s the first day of the work-week (and work-year, if you want to be depressing about it). how did the holidays time pass so quickly?!

but to start things off on a very positive note, here’s a fantastic indian (specifically malvani, if that means anything to you) place we chanced upon the other day. situated terribly in a back alley between the esplanade and satay by the bay, this indian restaurant looks strangely posh for its otherwise uninteresting (read: shabby) exterior.

and the food is quite utterly fantastic, with a focus on seafood and tandoori offerings. the prices are high too, which is expected given its location, but I would say the experience well-worth worth it.

a (da paolo and cedele) christmas

let’s start the year off nicely – with a recap of a great meal last year.

it’s going to be nearly another year before you’ll want to think about christmas again, but I’d like to insert a little brainworm so you remember your options when the time comes to make your orders again.

happy new year!

first, an early happy new year to you! may it bring you everything you’re looking for, and more.

I do this nearly once a year – by which I mean I do a visit to the gardens by the bay, and marvel at the beautifulness of what we’ve created here.

there are more extensive sets of photos here, here and here – and I hope they make your day as much as they made mine.

xx

madrinaa italiano, chip bee gardens

it’s christmas! or rather, it soon will be christmas, as you would have noticed from the decorations being put all about town (somewhat precipitously, some might argue, BUT NOT I) since november. and as befits the end-of-year, our natural inclinations to slow things down invite opportunities for more extended lunches – and this place in holland village accommodates that sort of thing, if you’re so inclined.

located in chip bee gardens, enclave of the expat and yummy-mummy, this restaurant serves up rustico italiano – a direct translation (and language massacre, my apologies) of what I fancy is rustic italian home-cooking. it’s surprisingly good too, considering the lack of reviews and the empty tables we arrived to at lunchtime.