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Food for Thought
was watching a repeat of Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum on TV and suddenly recalled a recent visit to Food for Thought at the National Museum of Singapore. we loved this place because it could still offer that all day breakfast experience in a not-so-overcrowded setting..
we remember walking into the museum at around 10 am on a Saturday greeted by their friendly staff and rows of retro-looking marble top tables. the outdoor area was air-conditioned and brightly lit from the skylight coming through the glass facade. most importantly, this being the third of the 3 Food for Thought concepts which opened only last year, the place was still relatively undiscovered and not swarmed by people coming for their brunch fix. 
the breakfast offering here blends standard kopitiam fare with cosmopolitan tastes that signifies our global city. even their typical all-day-breakfast options comes with local accompaniments such as kaya, mee chiang kueh butter, kampong eggs and soya sauce. their classic works of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast could be further customised with a selection of add-ons.. 
apart from adding on more sides, the classic works can also be modified to suit your own palette. the above is a vegetarian version of scrambled eggs, hash brown and tomato salad. for those with a more quirky taste-bud, do try their Croque Ma Ling, which is essentially a croque with fried eggs served with Ma Ling luncheon meat. if you're having a sweet tooth, their pancakes are not bad too. we had the mixed berries pancake for good measure. 
by now, you'd know that we would always like to rate our brunch options for their drinks. while the coffee here didn't stand out, we would like to give some mention to the hot chocolate. served with marshmallows, the chocolate taste was rich and creamy, a fine way to top-off a hearty breakfast. 
in all, the quiet and nostalgic setting, bright, cool and spacious environment as well as the simple yet heart-warming menu makes Food for Thought a great breakfast place for brunch gatherings and to chillax on a weekend. and when people started to stream in later in the day, we realised that this place appealed to everyone. it was spacious enough to bring strollers and wheelchairs, couples enjoy their little moment to themselves here, the tourists-cum-serious-museum-goers turn up while others have made this their regular weekend breakfast joint. we'd still visit the other highly publicised cafes to soak up the hype, but this is how one could really chill out and enjoy the day passing by.. 
Food for Thought 93 Stamford Road #01-04/05 National Museum of Singapore Singapore 178897 Opening Hours Mondays to Saturdays: 10 am to 10 pm Sundays: 10 am to 9 pm Kopitiam with a global influence.. Salt Tapas & Bar
** Disclaimer : This posting discusses only the executive lunch set menu for the month of May 2014. It makes no other references to the tapas and drink offerings that the restaurant is famous for. **
we were looking for executive set lunches of good value and came across an interesting proposition from Salt Tapas & Bar. the restaurant is part of the dining establishments of Australian celebrity chef Luke Mangan and is known for its Aussie-styled tapas done with an Asian twist. hence, we jumped at the opportunity to enjoy 1 tapas entree, 1 main course, a side dish and dessert all for $40++ 
located within the upmarket Raffles City shopping centre, Luke Mangan has brought the global brand of bite-sized offerings from the Salt franchise to this part of the world and blended it to serve the local palette, fusion-style. in his book, it says that the philosophy of his cooking is to source for the freshest ingredients, marry his French experiences with Asian tastes and to accentuate the natural taste of the ingredients. Something that the Singapore team kinda needs a little work on.. 
we started on the entree, served together with flat roasted garlic bread. each one of them had that fusion element, for example, the salmon sashimi had a dash of ginger shallot dressing together with feta cheese. there was the Taco of tempura prawn which was essentially tempura wrapped into a taco with pineapple salsa. we'd give A+ for creativity and presentation, alas, the cold-cuts weren't the freshest that we could have had. 
those who've tried their tapas before had many good things to say about Salt, hence, we were looking forward to the mains with relish. we enjoyed the Sumac spiced veal & pork meatballs, that was served in a hotplate of fontina mash. the more adventurous ones tried the roasted barramundi, this was served with warm potatoes, crab meat, cucumber pickle and a unique vegetable sauce. the fish certainly wasn't today's catch, and somehow, the mix of ingredients couldn't bring out its flavour. BBQ pork ribs served with mash and pickle can't go wrong, and it was another popular choice on the day. similar to the barramundi, they went easy on the marinate and BBQ sauce for the ribs, in line with the philosophy of "accentuating the natural taste". the texture of the ribs was a little tough, and this certainly isn't Tony Romas. 
once again, it was the freshness that was a little let-down. saving grace were certainly the desserts (as well as the earlier entree). the brew of coffee was excellent, aromatic and strong. the ice-cream and sorbet is an acquired taste, some find the sorbet a tad too sour, we thought it was just right. the panna cotta wasn't too bad, till today though, we are still somewhat puzzled at why it doesn't hold and falls apart the moment our spoons went into it. in all, Salt Tapas & Bar brings a chic fit-out and an excellent ambience for groups to meet and gather. there are enough reviews out there to suggest their Tapas can hold their own against the Spanish big-boys. we had glimpses of that with their entree and their meatballs, and although they slacked off a little in May, we wouldn't mind coming back to try their next fusion creations. 
Salt Tapas & Bar 252 North Bridge Road, #01-22A Raffles City Shopping Centre Singapore 179103 Opening Hours Mondays to Thursdays: Tapas 11.30 am to 10 pm; drinks till 11.30 pm Fridays: Tapas 11.30 am to 11 pm; drinks till 11.30 pm Saturdays: Tapas 11.30 am to 10.30 pm; drinks till 11.30 pm Sundays & Public Holidays: Tapas 11.30 am to 9.30 pm; drinks till 11.30 pm Unpretentious cuisine at affordable prices.. Red Pig Korean Restaurant BBQ
the shophouses along Amoy Street and Peck Seah Street (off Tanjong Pagar) has developed quite a following recently for Korean BBQ. and if you ask the regulars, one common recommendation would Red Pig along Amoy Street, which was generally unmistakable with its self-explanatory signboard.. the place can be packed for most weekday nights, and we were glad to have made a reservation.
the place is pretty much no-frills, wooden tables and chairs, the exhaust hanging from the ceiling and a simple two-page menu for the choice of meat. there was free-flow serving of green tea and a standard set of korean banchan (or side dishes). there was corn served with mayonnaise on a hot-plate, spiced tofu, kimchi, egg rolls, bean-sprouts amongst others, quite a spread. 
the only little issued we had with the sides was that we had to pay to refill some of those dishes that we'd liked to have more of. thankfully, there was an ample serving of lettuce and bean paste, which would act as the main accompaniment for the meat that was to come. there had been mixed reviews about the efficiency of the meat servings, i think it has something to do with the crowd for the day. our meat took awhile to come, and when they came, they came in droves.. all at once. 
anyways, their specially marinated meat was why we're here for anyway. their signature red pig barbequed pork, parked to the left of that image was really tasty when grilled to perfection. those who loved their beef tell me that this place had better quality meat, i guess thats why we pay a premium for this restaurant. i thought that the chicken was only pretty normal, but at least we could taste the seasoning and marinate. 
apart from the BBQ dishes, the hungrier ones of us poured into some of their ala carte selections. their army stew hot-pot was really delicious, the kimchi soup was not overly spicy, there was a really generous serving of ramen, vegetables, tofu and sausages and seriously, this is not an optical illusion, this pot is really huge-ass and certainly serves more than one person. and oh, did we mention the spicy rice-cake? this cheong-fun looking dish prepared in a unique spicy sauce will certainly lift your taste-buds.. in all, Red Pig does pride itself with a small selection of quality meats and some really good side dishes. for the drinkers, the makkoli is pretty good too. however, do expect to pay a little more here as their prices are a little steep (maybe due to their perceived quality?), and there's no free-flow of banchan. Probably a once-in-awhile treat for their superb red pig? 
Red Pig Korean Restaurant BBQ 93 Amoy Street Singapore 069913 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 11.30 am to 2 pm; 6 pm to 11 pm Saturdays: 6 pm to 11 pm Sundays/Public Holidays: 6 pm to 10 pm There are Koreans eating inside, means it's authentic.. |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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