Sweet Peanut Dumplings

Address: Chinatown, Singapore

Singapore is well known for its hawker food and it only takes some research and perservance to locate some of the popular local favourites. This sweet peanut dumpling store nestled away in the busy hawker street in Chinatown is one of them. At night, the road is converted into pedesterian walkway with tables and chairs everywehre.

We came here in search of some late night dessert when the other dessert joints in Bugis have abandoned us. We chanced upon this store and it specialises in dessert dumplings. Unlike conventional dumplings that is served in a sweet rock sugar or almond milk broth, their handmade dumplings comes with a dessert soup made out of wholesome peanuts.

My companion opted for the original version while I was adamant on having the almond milk. I was thankful that I stay loyal to my childhood favourite because after having a taste of the peanut soup, it reminds me nothing more than just peanut boiled in some creamy and sugary water. However, my companion enjoyed it, so I guess it's a matter of preference. The handmade dumplings were lovely, the dough was very chewy and the filling was sweet, but all in all not outstanding.

Verdict: Cheap dessert joint for your late night sweet craving fix.

The China Club Singapore

Address: 168 Robinson Road, 52/F Capital Tower, Singapore 068912
Tel: +65 6820 2388

Built atop the 52nd floor of Singapore’s commercial building, Capital Tower, The China Club is an elegant, members-only, Chinese restaurant serving an amazing array of Chinese delicacies from morning congee to afternoon yum cha and dinner.

Old Shanghai style furnishing adorns the place which charmingly reminds you of the bygone era of cheong-sam (traditional Chinese dresses) and Shanghai nights. The ceiling tall glasses that surround the club offer an excellent view of Singapore, overlooking Chinatown and beyond (though not as spectacular as Equinox or New Asia Bar at the SwissHotel).

Service was impeccable. All the waitresses were well trained yet friendly and were extremely attentive. My colleague made a few requests and modifications regarding the tea and food, and they were all meticulously adhered to without any fuss or error.

The food was simply excellent. We ordered a few yum cha dishes as well as a seafood e-fu noodles. The steamed XO sauce crystal ball dumplings had a soft yet chewy transparent skin with minced pork, Chinese parsley and some other greens. The XO sauce flavour was rather faint, which is a pity, otherwise it was a very well steamed dish. My personal favourite was the eel fish heed soup with traditional Chinese herbs. The soup was pungent and double boiled, the eel was tender and neatly de-boned. We also ordered the steamed version of carrot cake which was served delicately in rectangular blocks. The dish was delicious, however I would prefer if they used more white raddish in the cooking.

The variety of dessert was somewhat limited and nothing really stood out so we picked the guei-lin-gao (bitter grass jelly). The guei-lin-gao soup was a very interesting twist to the original version which is eaten with honey and sugar syrup poured over the top. Instead, this jelly was served in a bowl of rock sugar dessert soup.

Verdict: Impeccable service matched with meticulously prepared food in a nostalgic old Shanghai setting and a beautiful view of Singapore’s skyline. Yum cha menu is somewhat limited.

Bill: Yum Cha dishes range from SGD$10 – SGD$20 per plate.

Toast Box

Address: Food Republic, 4th Floor, Wisma Atria, Orchard Road, Singapore

Toast Box is one of my favourite cheap breakfast joint in Singapore. They are all over the island but I usually frequent the Wisma Atria outlet simply because of its close proximity to home. It is also one of the larger outlets.

As the name suggests, the shop is popular for its roasted thick toast which comes with a variety of sauces ranging from kaya butter to chocolate and milo. Delicious for breakfast or morning and afternoon tea. They also sell hot pineapple bun with a slab of melting butter.

You can get them in a set with a hot drink and two soft boiled eggs for $3.50. I usually ask for my eggs to be fully cooked because the runny version of the eggs mixed with thick cameral soy sauce and white pepper simply does not appeal to me. Their hot milk tea (called “teh" in Singapore) is sweetened with condensed milk and it taste like teh-tarik (“pulled tea”). The coffee always smell nice and the lady who makes the coffee would “pull” the coffee from one pot to another until the coffee flavour is dense enough to make the drink. Try yuan-yang (mixed tea and coffee) as an alternative.

Verdict: Cheap & delicious, great for breakfast or tea time.

Bill: SGD$3.50 for a set.

Thye Hong @ Food Republic

Address: Food Republic, Wisma Atria, Orchard Road, Singapore

The fact that I have gained 4-5kgs since coming to Singapore in Feburary goes to show how delicious the local fares are in town. My favourite dish is the fried Hokkien Prawn Mee. I was first introduced to the Malaysian version of this dish when I was in Melbourne. Subsequently I frequent ABC Cafe in Glen Waverley for the Singaporean version which is only avaliable on Tuesday. But ever since I came to Singapore, I've never looked back and have long forgotten how (not up to par) the dish is in Melbourne.

The best Hokkien Mee can be found conveniently and surprisingly at Thye Hong at Food Republic which is a modern foodcourt concept in Singapore aimed at bringing back all the old local favourites. There is always a queue at Thye Hong round the clock, every day (not exaggerating). They used to be elsewhere and have opened up a shop in Canada, but the old store has closed down and moved to Food Republic ever since.

The noodle dish consists of yellow egg noodles and a thicker version of vermicelli which are fried till light brown together with some prawns, beanshoots, and green onions. What's magical about this version of Hokkien Mee at Thye Hong is that they use a really pungent and delicious prawn broth and soy sauce to cook up the noodles after it is being fried. The noodles dish is served on a beige-coloured opeh leaf which is the inner sheaf of the bark of a betel nut palm. The leaf infuses the food with a subtle, woody fragrance that enhances its taste after being left to sit for a while. Top it up with some homemade chilli sambal - yum!

I've had plates after plates and I'm still coming back!

Crystal Jade Palace

Address: 4th Floor, Ngee Ann City, Orchard Road, Singapore
Tel: (+65) 6735 2388

Crystal Jade Palace, not to be confused with Crystal Jade Kitchen in the basement (which serves up no-frill Hong Kong style cuisine) or Crystal Jade Golden Palace in Paragon (which does Teochew delicacies), is one of the busiest restaurants in the Ngee Ann City complex; and if neighboring high-end restaurants and boutiques were to judge by, one would have thought that it does pricey Cantonese cuisine. However, as modern and sophisticated as the crystal decor may look, the menu is priced very reasonably.

The seven of us opted for the a la carte menu for our Mid-Autumn Festival dinner. I should point out that I was dining with a bunch of overseas born/bred Chinese/Chinese descendants and two Singaporeans who have absolutely no idea what this festival is all about. So immediately, I am sure for those Chinese-at-heart, it would take little for you to imagine what dishes we ordered.

That aside, the dishes were fresh and delicious. The deep fried salt and pepper squid with minced batter was crisp, the squid is chewy yet soft, and the minced batter added an interesting twist to the original S&P squid. Another memorable dish was the prawn sautéed with ginger and onion sauce. The prawns were peeled, fresh, fried briefly in oil before leaving it to simmer with other ingredients. Boys being boys (meat eaters), the only vegetable dish we ordered was broccoli with bamboo fungus and mushroom. It was nice, albeit a very standard dish that you can’t go wrong with unless if they failed to use the freshest greens available. It is yet another dish where we see how oyster sauce can work magic.

The manager has recommended the sautéed snapper slices which was nice but me being as biased as I maybe, I felt that nothing taste better than steamed whole fish which is the only way of cooking fish that is capable of sealing the fresh fishy essence. However, I suppose the sliced fish was a good choice given the demographics (and thus culinary preference) of my companions. For a start, I don’t want to have people complaining about bones in fish. The Peking duck, roasted in whole, looked extremely palatable but unfortunately it was ordered by our neighboring table. There was a point where I wished I was at the other table (for the food). I comforted myself by munching on the roast bbq duck that we ordered but unfortunately it was not as piping hot as the Peking duck, and the skin was not crisp.

It was a pleasant experience overall, though I started to reminisce about my first visit to Crystal Jade. I came along with companions who were more culinary advanced on the Chinese side, and we ordered a meal of scrumptious classic Cantonese dishes. Nothing fancy (as in fusion), but simply good food with presentations appealing to the eyes.

Verdict: Delicious Cantonese food in a restaurant with elegant crystal décor. Crowd is noisy as usual. Service is smooth, but can be choppy at times.

Bill: SGD$246 (includes 10% service charge & 7% GST plus tea) for six dishes. Most mains are around SGD$20-40. Exquisite dishes and seafood are >$40+ or market price.

The Marmalade Pantry

Address: Unit B1-08 to 11, Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Road, Singapore 238871
Tel: (65) 6734 2700

The close proximity of this hidden jewel from my apartment has finally compelled me to make my way down the stairs for a Sunday brunch. The Marmalade Pantry’s motto “good things to eat” has neatly sum up my brunch experience at the open café nestled in the atrium of Palais Renaissance.

The modern and minimalist design by Albano Daminato created an airy, bright and cosy open space dining experience for the Sunday brunch goers. Imagine modern wooden furnishings, milk chocolate leather sofa, beige wood table, oatmeal hand-glazed tiles and designer chairs – what a simple yet charming combination for a gentle lazy Sunday wake up call. The crowd was vastly different from PS Café which tends to attract a lot of young families with toddlers and prams and making it a more vibrant (or noisy – depending how you look at it) atmosphere.

The sign of an Illy coffee bean grinder was comforting to see, and I immediately ordered a cup of latte without hesitation. The coffee was nice but still not on par with Melbourne. I leisurely flipped through Harpers Bazar and Vogue (I can never understand cafes which does not have their own newspaper and magazine racks) while sipping my latte. The service was standard but the extra credit goes towards the waiter who was both witty and cheerful. The french toast with caramelised apples fig & honey ice cream was heavenly. I have never remembered having such a delicious french toast before. It was think, crispy yet soft, and was totally scrumptiously sinful when drizzled with maple syrup and matched with figs and ice cream. It was so nice that I wanted to order another one!

Verdict: Lovely and cosy open space surroundings with piles of magazines for your leisure readings. Illy coffees and an interesting all day brunch menu. Definitely an excellent Sunday brunch with a very reasonable price tag. Must try the cupcakes from their pantry (recipes from the New York cupcake queen, Joanna Corsaro) – Cloud 9, Limonata, Chocolate Deluxe and Elvis – take your pick!

Bill: French toast SGD$11++ and Coffee SGD$5++.

Kuriya

Address: No.1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #05-01, Singapore 228208
Tel: (65) 6735 5300

Kuriya is a massive Japanese restaurant group that first established its Singapore flagship restaurant in this modest space on the fifth floor of Shaw Centre. As you exit from the lift, you see nothing but closed shops and it almost felt like as if you were visiting a deserted building. However, as you walked inside Kuriya, you’ll find groups of Japanese men cheering and pouring beers down each other's throat after a hard day’s work.

Unlike its contemporary, chic, black and marbled outlet at Raffles City, the vibe in the flagship restaurant is basic and no-frill Japanese. Furnishings are wooden, lights are soft and yellow, and the restaurant manager is a serious but hospitable Japanese man. They ran out of tables on the Tuesday night but the manager offered us a table in a private dining room. So thumbs up for the excellent service.

We ordered a sushi moriawase (which was pretty nice but the sushi rice could be a bit more firm), a few yakitori (very standard), and some tamago slices (they were okay). Kuriya has a Japanese tasting promotion every month whereby they bring in seasonal specialties from Japan. This month’s special was Japanese mushrooms. There were a few varieties, but we ordered the steamed salmon and mushroom with grated yam dipped in a sweet chrysanthemum sauce. The mushrooms were chopped up so finely that none of the salty and pungent flavours came through, which was a pity, but having said that, the mushy grated yam complimented the salmon perfectly. The sauce tasted like thickened nabeyaki broth infused with light flavours of white and yellow chrysanthemum petals. We ended our meal with black sesame ice cream, and green tea ice cream with adzuki bean paste and mochi. The former was rather plain and resembled a mixture of vanilla ice cream and coarse sesame. My green tea dessert was, fortunately, pretty nice though I figured you can’t really go wrong with ready-made green tea and mochi together with adzuki paste from a can. As the movie Ratatouille has it: Everyone can cook (that dessert).

Verdict: Nice place to go when you are running out of ideas because you can check out what’s in-season in Japan at Kuriya – something a little entertaining. Otherwise it’s just another decent Japanese restaurant. Price is above average, but service was smooth.

Bill: SGD$142 for a sushi moriawase, 4 yakitori, plate of tamago slices & steamed salmon with mushroom and grated yam.

Attica

Address: 3A River Valley Road, #01-12/13/14, Clark Quay, Singapore
Tel: (65) 6333 9973

Attica, one of the latest clubbing venues after Arena, is neatly situated in the heart of Clark Quay right next to the river. It boosts an outdoor river-side bar called the Lilypad (though I confess I never noticed it). The queue to the main room is usually packed after 11.30pm but the staff and bouncers are pretty friendly, and the ticketing is efficient. They even have a neat bag storage system (think no bags on the dance floor, woo-hoo). The main room is velvety decorated with the bar occupying half the space in the middle. From memory (ops, did anyone notice the alcohol effect), there’s a large vanity mirror at the ladies which took my fancy. The dance floor is pretty small and therefore extremely packed with clubbers grooving to the tunes of the top 40s.

Further down the hallway, there’s a door which leads to a striking Balinese courtyard with palm tress and fountains lit by warm candlelight. A great spot for your exotic gateway before you move upstairs with your partners to Attica Too – a place where you finally let your hair down. The dance floor at Attica Too is much larger, relatively less people, and plays mainly house and techno music. I love the laser beams and lights on the dance floor and made it look like as if I was transported to outer space or seeing stars in the skies. I was taken to the VIP area a couple of times, though I really think it's nothing special except it's a bit of eye-candy when you're surrounded by likes of models and air-hostess.

Final note, a local once told me Attica is the expat place for pick-ups (I think she meant it in a derogatory way). Well, my answer to that is I don’t know, I can’t judge, and I can’t tell, because for the most part, my focus was really on the music, the drinks, the dance floor, my companions and myself.

Verdict: Top 40s and House music, foreigners paradise, small and packed dancefloor, nice Balinese courtyard (but it's all fags and smokes). All very happening.

Bill: Cover charge approx SGD$18 for Attica; SGD$26 for Attica & Too (includes 2 drinks). Drinks - Forgot; half the time the guys picked up the tab.

Que Pasa

Address: 7 Emerald Hill Road, Singapore 229291
Tel: (65) 6235 6626

Que Pasa, a welcoming phrase meaning what’s up or how’s it going in Spanish, is a wine and dine establishment situated inside a Singaporean 1910 shophouse. The vibe is pretty much Mediterranean, and the moment you stepped inside into the atrium, you’re transported to a Spanish provision store. The walls are decorated with dark green and black wine bottles, and have dusted with time (either deliberately or lack of cleaning).

What’s new about their Sangria is that they actually make white Sangria which is a bit of a twist to the red originals. I have yet to try their Sangrias, one of my favourites, but I have pretty much given up my hopes to find some nice ones in Singapore. As to their wine list, it is quite a nice selection stocking most New World wines from US, Australia, Spain and the likes.

I can’t remember how many times I’ve been to Que Pasa, but the experiences varied from wonderful tapas and friendly staff to unbelievably poor attitude and spoilt wine. One night, I met up with a few guys for a bit and some late night drinks. It was about 11.30pm on a Thursday night but it was almost full-house, if that was to give an indication as to how good it is. We ordered thin-crusted pizzas baked from their wood-fired oven which were excellent and had two bottles of wine (I forgot what they ordered).

The test of customer satisfaction (or rather, hospitality) came when we ordered our third bottle. It was some Australian Shiraz which turned out to be spoilt upon our first tasting. The waiter reluctantly called the assistant manager who then persistently informed us the wine was not spoilt, and basically repeated what the bartender and waiter told us. That basically tells me two things: One, they are unwilling to pick up the tab (for the spoilt wine), and two, they do not appreciate that we are in for a few bottles (what a revenue maker, not that wines are cheap in Singapore).

Unfortunately, the situation turned ugly when an acquaintance got furious by their attitudes and demanded refund to which the assistant manager boldly told us that “the customer is not always right”. While I was already sick and tired of all the arguments, I was totally shocked to hear that! It was the first time that I’ve heard someone from a service industry to make such a remark in the face of the customer. In the end, thanks to my companions persuasion and debating abilities (that was about to turn into a drunken brawl), we were offered another bottle.

Another time, I went with a friend of mine and we had some really nice tapas ranging from meatballs, chorizo to Marguez sausage (Moroccan-style lamb and pork sausages in a lightly spicy sause). It fondly reminded me of my time in Sydney’s Spanish district - Liverpool Street. We had a nice evening and she even commented on how she loved the place.

Verdict: To be fair, despite the unforgiving remark from the assistant manager, Que Pasa is a nice and cozy place to chill out and have a couple of drinks with some good friends while nibbling some scrumptious Spanish tapas.

Bill: Tapas – SGD$16-22++; House Pour – SGD$10; Bottle – SGD$50 - 100 ++

Lei Garden

Address: #03-00 Orchard Shopping Centre, 321 Orchard Road, Singapore 238866
Tel: (65) 6734 3988

This is the place I visit when I crave for some proper Cantonese cuisine at a reasonable price. It’s one of the few offshore offspring of the Lei Garden Restaurant Group in Hong Kong.
We rocked up at 9.30pm to cure our post-movie hunger syndrome, and to our surprise the kitchen was still open. The waitresses were very efficient and polite, albeit the inability to speak Cantonese and even struggled to communicate proficiently in plain English. At that very second, I was thanking my parents for sending me to Saturday Chinese school (that I once dreaded of going).

The Orchard restaurant is less glamorous than its Chijimes counterpart, but I like the no-pretence vibe of the place. The interior is clean and modern, and very much resembles most Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong nowadays.

The herbal fish head soup was pungent and with its Chinese medicine and herbal ingredients, it proved to be perfect cure for a late night out. I must reiterate that the soup was boiled very thoroughly and is definitely a must-try. Our mains were chicken cubes slow cooked in a claypot with mini onions, red and green capsicums and garlic, and stir-fried beef and with gai lan. Both were equally delicious and the ingredients were fresh.

Verdict: No-fuss authentic Cantonese cuisine in a modern setting with a reasonable price tag. Great for calming down your Cantonese food cravings.

Bill: Approximately SGD$99 for two (Soup, 2 mains, tea & misc charges)

PS Cafe

Address: 28 Harding Road, Singapore
Telephone: +65 9070 8782

I've always been a frequent patron of this popular cafe situated at the foot of Dempsey Hill, Singapore's latest place to be. Despite its rise-to-stardom address, it is quite a nice hideaway surrounded by lush green trees and shrubs. There are two entrances to PS cafe, one of which is a winding board walk littered with countless delightfully spring-is-in-the-air frangipani.

Ever since it's first opening, PS Cafe has come a long way to making positive improvements. From mediocre coffee to not-bad-a latte (the froth is pretty consistent, but the coffee still lack crema, a pity), average poached egg (tasted like overnight boiled egg) and portobello stack (bacon so tough that you don't want to chew) to lovely coconut and caraway waffles (homemade, wholemeal, crispy) drizzled with maple syrup and accompanied with honey blasted bacon (deliciously sweet and savory) and topped with a cooked banana (just nice).

Judging by the popularity of this place (you can't book for Sunday brunch so it's either you come early or you can sit around it's old-school style lounge area for 15-30mintues before you get a table), it would be wrong for me to say it isn't one of the best Sunday brunch Singapore can offer. Personally, I think it does have a very relaxing get-in-touch-with-nature venue (it's trump card), the staffs are super doper efficient (thumbs up for that - though they could be a little more friendlier), and the food are better than average (I still think there's room for improvement before it can really impress me).

Verdict: Relaxing Sunday brunch amid a lush surrounding - a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of Singapore.

Bill: Brunch Main SGD$22-26++; Coffee/Tea SGD$4-6++; Milkshakes: SGD$9.90++