Singapore - revisited
I recently visited Singapore for work and, naturally, I took some time off to enjoy Singapore’s breathtakingly wide eating scene. These are my thoughts on some.
Brussels Sprouts: 80 Mohammed Sultan Road #01-12 The Pier @ Robertson.
As the name wittily indicates, the place specializes in Belgian food and beers. We went there to fulfill my friend’s eternal quest for small but juicy mussels she found, of all places, in Lausanne. She was suitably rewarded when our orders of mussels in white wine and creamy tomato sauce arrived. The mussels were a tad too small for my taste but they were indeed tasty. I was inclined toward the white wine sauce which was a gentle companion to the delicate mussels but the muscular tomato sauce was a more suitable dip for the to-die-for, gorgeously fat, powdery-textured french fries. And it was free-flow with each order of mussel, too!
Robertson Walk is a great place to see the Singapore River away from the touristy and crowded Clark and Boat Quay. Instead of tourists in bermuda shorts and flowery shirts, you’ll see the parade of neatly groomed Japanese housewives walking their dogs. I truly enjoyed the al-fresco dinner under the darkening Singapore sky and the warm, humid breeze.
Verdict: Great food, great beer list, great location.
Wiener Kaffeehaus: Neil Road and Cantonment Road.
As the name suggests, the place serves Viennese-styled coffees. The decor of dark wood and beamed ceilings scream Europe. I had double espresso and a piece of Sachertorte. The coffee was alright (but I’m pampered by the coffee-bar downstairs) but the Sachertorte was disappointingly dry! Food, Austrian, of course, were abundant in choice and incredibly tempting. Too bad we had had our dinner already.
Verdict: Worth a second try but for the food.
BK Fortune Sea Food: 855/887 Bukit Timah Road.
I went with some colleagues of yester years for lunch and my ex-boss brought us to this place which is famous for its salted-egg crabs. It is a well-deserved reputation. What a dish! The deliciously rich, not-overly-salty eggs crust the crab shells like a bride’s thin veil. To enjoy it, one has to peel of the crust with one’s teeth and then crack the shells to get into the juicy meat. My ex-colleague and I debated whether it was Srilankan crabs but she, the sea-food expert, decided that it wasn’t. Yet, they were so fresh that the meat inside was tender and sweet.
We also had a portion of Chili Crab which was great, too: the sauce wasn’t cloyingly sweet and thick as most Chili Crabs are. The oatmeal prawn was sadly not up to standard. The one at Gillman Seafood (No 2, Telok Blangah St 31 (Yeo’s Building) Singapore 108942) was much, much better.
Verdict: Go for the salted-egg crabs! GO! NOW!
Rejoining my friends at Borders (where I entered into panic mode over cook books and discount vouchers), I was delivered to the new and happening place of Dempsey Hill with the intention to lounge at PS Cafe (Harding Road). It is a beautiful cafe with dark wood and comfy sofas perched on a hillside overlooking a lush foliage with jazz playing in the background. However, the snooty service left us cold and we moved to Dome to watch the parade of luxurious cars with their snooty occupants.
Like any other happening places, Dempsey Hill used to be an army barrack turned ‘angmoh’s’ hang out place. You really get a feel of the old-and-new Singapore and it’s really a nice place: old single-storey buildings, wooden verandas and tropical foliage but, beware: if you aren’t dressed to the nines dripping with glittering jewellery, be prepared to be treated as shabbily as your clothing.
Tai Hwa Mee Pok: Blk 466 Crawford Lane.
I accidentally read about it in Wine and Dine. It is one of Ignatious Chan’s (of Iggy’s fame) favourites. Apparently my friend knows it too so off we went. Mee Pok has been a personal comfort food for many years. My fondest memory is the one from the school canteen in which the mee pok was done up plainly. This version was more luxurious with dark vinegar and soy sauce, a meat ball, minced meat mixed with tiny shrapnel of fried pork lard (ca yu), thinly sliced, perfectly cooked liver, and a few slivers of fried bilis to top up the al-dente, smooth noodles.
Verdict: Delicious! I’ll try the soupy version next time.
Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha: Keppel Road
What’s Singapore without Bakuteh, right? This stall is well-known as evidenced by the photographs of famous people who visited the stall. Open only for breakfast and lunch, the stall closes at 3 PM. When we arrived on Sunday morning, it was crowded but we could get our table immediately.
Menu is relatively simple but full of goodies for innards lovers. We settled for pork ribs soup, liver&kidney soup (mine), braised peanuts, salted vegetables, Yu Tiao, Tang O soup and three bowls of rice. For drinks, we opted for a lohan longan drink.
I practically inhaled the braised peanuts which was sweetish and very tender. The soups arrived and, at a glance, there seemed to be two kinds: the pork ribs, the fall-off-the bone kind, had lighter stock and the liver and kidney darker. They did come from the same base but I suspect the innards add colour and flavour to the soup. The soup, with free top-up from a water kettle, was sweetish and light with tinges of white pepper. I suspect that the use of MSG, though not liberally, contributes to the sweetness. The innards were cooked perfectly: kidney slices were crunchy and livers tender and sweet.
The meats, which had now become plain as their essence had been dissolved in the broth, were dipped into soy sauce and sliced red chilies mixture before consumption. On the tables, there were pots of dark soy sauce but the very dark, almost gummy variety was limited in circulation and available only to those in the know. We had to summon the waiter a few times to get them as it seemed that the precious pots were in the hands of only a few, perhaps senior, waiters.
My friend told me that people store their expensive teas with the shop like bars keeping unfinished bottles of liquors’ for patrons. While waiting for our order, we watched an old gentleman slowly disinfecting his eating utensils, tiny cups and teapot in a boiling water and then proceeded to brew his tea leaves ala ‘gong-fu cha’ sans sophisticated equipments. For tea drinkers, a trolley of gas cooker complete with its own LPG tank and a stainless-steel kettle was provided. We didn’t have our tea but the obviously SME made, fresh and herby longan lohan drink were quite satisfactory.
Verdict: I’LL BE BACK with hubby in tow who undoubtedly will go crazy.
Kok Sen Coffee Shop: around the corner from 1929, on Keong Saik Road.
Tucked in a quiet street, this place was packed when we arrived at about 8:30 PM on Sunday night. As a result, we were left with only a few choices: the lemony chicken in honey sauce (I forget its grand name) which was recommended by the nice uncle and prawn in sambal, my friend’s favourite. We were supposed to have the prawn and french beans in sambal but by that time, they ran out of all vegetables. They are supposedly famous for their spinach dish which was of course sold-out by the time we arrived.
My friend pronounced the chicken a perfect 5 out of 5 and I agreed: the tender fried chicken exuded fresh, lemony scent upon chewing. I suspect they are fried in some sort of lemon or lime oil. The thick, sweet-and-salty, brown sauce mixed with a little of the sambal and worked into steamed rice was truly a dish on its own. I just had to have another bowl of rice before I had enough.
Beware though that the service is slow and they seemed to prioritize larger groups. But with a little time management, I think the place is worth the hassle.
Verdict: I’LL BE BACK, too, albeit earlier to ensure ample supply of the famous spinach.
Din Tai Fung: Paragon & Wisma Atria
One night after work I felt unwell so we went to Din Tai Fung at Wisma Atria for a soothing bowl of La Mian with prawn dumplings. I was looking for their crab and pork Xiao Long Bao but it was not in the menu. Before departure, I wanted to have another dose to ensure a peaceful night sleep on the plane and went to the one at Paragon. To my surprise, the two have different menus. I found my crab and pork Xiao Long Bao there and more. The starter, seaweed with vinegar, was really cruncy, tangy, and delicious and was absent in their Wisma Atria shop.
As a bonus for a bank’s credit card holder, we were given a free plate of mochi with peanuts filling which my friend proclaimed as another perfect dish.
I love their La Mian which was of the al-dente consistency and their light broth. However, I must say that their XIao Long Bao is not as delicate as the one I tasted in Shanghai. The skin quickly became dry and rubbery when cold.
Verdict: it may be a better to reserve stomach space for something else. Crystal Jade’s version maybe?
Mooncakes: I left Singapore on the Mid-Autumn festival. Naturally, I was bestowed with a lot of mooncakes. One I tried was the white lotus paste with yolk from the Regent Hotel. Good, but it was nothing in delicacy and texture to the home-made ones provided generously by my colleague. Twelve dainty pieces of rich but not overly sweet paste with salty yolks and almond flakes enveloped in tender and moist snow skin exuding pure vanilla fragrance.
Like any red-blooded Indonesian female, I hang out at all the malls, too. No, I’m exaggerating. Besides restocking my supplies at the usual Takashimaya, I was shown the roof top park of Vivo City which was nice for a night stroll. My friends wanted to show that there’s more to Singapore than high-rise buildings and brought me on a private tour to the hilly section of the city to view the Black and White Houses set among the leafy compounds of Alexandra Road (I think…). These are colonial houses which sadly house only expats because the rent is expensive and such type is shunned by the locals anyway. A narrated tour by Geraldine Lowe of Singapore Historical Museum is apparently available. While there’s no website, my friend’s site here can probably of help if you are interested.
written on 27 Sept 07.
