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Pu Tien
The Pu Tien restaurant chain is already somewhat like an institution back here with 10 outlets spread across the island. made famous from its original Kitchener Road outlet serving its brand of Xing Hua dishes, the restaurant has expanded quite rapidly in recent years. as its name suggests, Xing Hua dishes originated from the province of Pu Tian, China and is known for its unique style of savoury dishes..
if you ask regulars who patronise this restaurant chain, the most distinctive thing that many will recall is their signature chilli. definitely spicy with some kick, the sauce has a unique sweet and sour taste as well. in fact, it is so good that Pu Tien sells their chilli sauce by the bottle at their stores. certainly a must to accompany their food. 
another specialty that can be eaten as a meal on its own is the Pu Tien Lor Mee. probably not quite what you'd find at the hawker centres but rather a mix of seafood noodle in a very thick and aromatic pork broth. this is by far one of the better noodle soups we've tasted. 
a notable trait of the Xing Hua cuisine would be their unique range of pork dishes. from the whole pig-trotters to the little pig-trotter jelly cubes, they are all common dishes that regulars would order. We went for the sliced pork-belly with garlic this time around, a perfect dish to go with the chilli or eat on its own. 
we also ordered our regular favourites of the braised home-made beancurd and the Pu Tien oyster omelette, dishes that typically complete our Pu Tien fix. this time, we also tried the Claypot chicken in fermented red rice-wine. a little disappointing as the chicken pieces had alot of bones and lesser meat, although the red rice-wine gravy went well with our rice. i'm not sure what came over us to order the Pu Tien rice cakes for dessert, they are literally expensive kueh tu-tu, they are very good actually, just not expecting to eat that in a restaurant. In all, every Pu Tien outing always brings out the warmth of home-cooked food, the dishes are generally tasty and brings good value for the whole family. 
Pu Tien (Raffles City) 252 North Bridge Road, #02-18 Raffles City Shopping Centre Singapore 179103 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5.30 pm to 10 pm Weekends & Public Holidays: 11.30 am to 4.30 pm; 5.30 pm to 10 pm Tasty, Simple & Heart-Warming Comfort Food.. Naughty Nuri's
when we think of a chill-out bar with some good ribs, drumlets and drinks, an Indonesian styled concept rarely comes to mind. so when we heard that an Indonesian bar from Bali known for its "wicked ribs and killer martinis" are in town, we had to give it a try. Naughty Nuri's would sound a pretty cheeky name for an Indon bar and grill, but that was just one of the many small surprises we had for this place.
Naughty Nuri's is one of the many new-to-Singapore food concepts that opened at Capitol Piazza. It originated from Ubud, Bali and apparently has a very strong following there. Since its opening in Singapore, the bar enjoys pretty good weekday crowd, and reservations are certainly a must for Fridays and weekends. perhaps its Asian taste coupled with its blend of drinks gives it a unique appeal amongst the likes of Dazzling Cafe, Angelina and the nearby Tap Craft Beer Bar. 
while waiting for our food to arrive, we started off with a round of drinks. a local blend no less, with a bucket of Indonesian Bintang beer. it's pretty similar to local brews off the APB tap, and pretty smooth on the palette. if you'd like something stronger to kick start your night, the Nuri's Signature Martini would be one thing to try. our waiter joked that it'd be somewhat like a south-east Asian Baileys. 
as we came in a group, we went for their set dinner called Indo Pig Out which had pretty much abit of their popular dishes. in particular, their pork ribs (yes, pork..) are their specialty and the set dinner comes with a half-rack for sharing. the meat is very juicy and grilled to a level where you could lick it off the bones. the marinate sauce gives it a unique Asian flavour and the kechap manis sauce on the side to go with the ribs are superb. 
other bar food that came with the set included Indonesian Buffalo drumlets, fried tofu and Nasi Goreng with an assortment of sides amongst others. would like to specially mention that the Nasi Goreng can be also served with Maggi Goreng if you so prefer, and that's a popular choice as it turned out as good as probably a packet of instant IndoMee. another distinctive dish is the one above which they call Lemak Chilli Party. it's essentially chicken in lemongrass and coconut curry that will give your Nasi Padang stall a run for its money. If you like Indonesian food with your fix of Ayam Penyet or Nasi Padang, and at the same time would like a cold beer, Naughty Nuri's the place for you. 
Naughty Nuri's 15 Stamford Road, Capitol Piazza #01-84 Singapore 178884 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm; 5.30 pm to 11 pm Saturdays & Sundays: 11.30 am to 11 pm Synonymous with communal dining with friends and family.. Anti:Dote
it had been like a birthday wish to have tea here one day, so you could probably imagine the feeling when some friends suggested Anti:Dote for our next high-tea outing. stepping into the lounge bar at Fairmont Hotel, i was like a child in a candy shop going trigger happy at everything instagram worthy. they say colours stimulate your palette; at Anti:Dote, they surely epitomizes this.
as the tea outing was planned on a Saturday afternoon, we took the advice of several food reviews and made a reservation well in advance. fortunately we did, as there are only 2 seating times for the afternoon tea and limited tables for each seating. the dining period for each seating is also relatively short at 2 hours, and the staff may start to move you along if you took up the first seating. the tea sets come in 2 selections, the Oriental Tea or the Anti:Dote Tea - where the difference mainly lies in the starter. while the Oriental version comes with a selection of dim sum, the Anti:Dote Tea starter was a more unique serving of organic egg. 
the organic egg starter not only comes in a presentable tray of pebbles, the inside of the decorative plastic eggshell is filled with scrambled eggs, salmon roe, caviar and a small serving of sea urchin. not only very exotic ingredients, but this unique first dish sets the tone of the lounge's style - beautiful presentation. 
the main course comes in a pretty drawer set, filled with a range of sweet and savoury items. the sweet selection sits at the top of the drawer with dishes that create a cornucopia of colours. everyone had a whale of a time taking photos of the various desserts of which we thoroughly enjoyed the traditional Paris brest, the vanilla chiboust, the strawberry cake and the chocolate praline best. Personally i have a sweet tooth for macaroons, so that tops my list followed by the strawberries wrapped in melted chocolate. 
the inner drawers are filled with the savoury sandwiches and hot scones, with the last drawer being the different jams that can go with the scones. a couple of Anti:Dote cookies accompany the jams at the base. of the 3 jams, my personal preference is the yellow lemon curd which makes a good spread for the scones. of the sandwiches, the ones that stood out for me were the cheese and Ikura roe wrapped with smoked salmon, the Iberico ham truffled tart as well as the duck confit/foie gras terrine. the portions are just right for sharing and the small size of the scones help to leave stomach room for more desserts. Of course, we must not forget to mention the wide selection of teas. one slight draw-back is that unlike other high-tea restaurants where they entertain a change of tea selection over the course of the serving, Anti:Dote mandates all patrons to stick to one selection. the range of white and red teas offered here comes from TWG. i ordered a white tea called Holiday in Paris which serves as the best prelude to my upcoming trip. as the water simmered, the aroma of Yin Zhen and sweet vanilla can be tasted. Overall, we truly enjoyed our experience and for myself, checked-off my bucket list of finally going for this colourful high-tea.. 
Anti:Dote 2 Stamford Rd Fairmont Singapore, Level 1 Singapore 189560 Opening Hours (Afternoon Tea) Mondays to Thursdays: 3 pm to 5 pm Fridays to Sundays: 12 pm to 2 pm (first seating); 3 pm to 5 pm (second seating) Anti:Dote bar transforms into a wine lounge at night Curious Palette
Prinsep Street is having some kind of a renaissance lately with quite a few interesting dining concepts forming a little cluster there. after walking down the entire stretch, we settled for the corner-most unit to satisfy our curious palettes at an interesting looking cafe that came with a chalk-board written signage.
We later found out that Curious Palette is brought to us by the same people behind the successful Strangers' Reunion cafe at Neil Road. From the desserts to the mains, it was notable that quite abit of emphasis was placed on the presentation of the food. many dishes we observed from the patrons were pretty and certainly Instagram worthy.. and i guess on top of food quality, this aspect of a cafe is probably the way forward for any aspiring place that needs a social media push. 
let's also be quick to say that the food quality is pretty good too. we tried this Chicken confit (a good change from many places serving duck) that was not only elaborately designed, the meat was tender on the inside with a crispy layer of skin. the chicken leg comes with a small serving of risotto to complete the meal. not too heavy and just right for you to leave some space for dessert. 
we already said that the people who did Strangers' Reunion were behind this, so it's definitely no surprise that the coffee here would be good too. to add on to the drinks selection, there's a good mix of coffees, teas and some special craft beers and ciders to make this a neat chill-out joint. We were here for dinner, so while some could still afford a flat white at this time of the day, I opted for a Rose Cider to end a hard day's work. 
and then comes the main event, the signature hotcakes! Not those that comes with a happy meal but this pretty mixed berries Ricotta Hotcake made up of strawberries, blueberries, vanilla bean ice-cream and some maple syrup. the dish is served warm with a crispy crust that goes very well with all the toppings. the cupcake-like sponge base is very soft but it got abit tiring after awhile, maybe quite a mouthful of a serving for 2 persons. In all, we felt that alot of thought went into the creation of every dish here, Curious Palette certainly impresses and would be a great option for a nice little date. 
Curious Palette 64 Prinsep Street Singapore 188667 Opening Hours Sundays to Thursdays: 9 am to 10 pm (closed on Tuesdays) Fridays & Saturdays: 9 am to 12 am back making magic at another place.. Kok Sen Restaurant
if you look up the most popular Tze Char eateries in Singapore, this place within the Bukit Pasoh shop-house area will often be mentioned in several publications online. serving up Cantonese-styled dishes since the late 1970s, Kok Sen Restaurant along Keong Saik Road has enjoyed a cult following of patrons. it is no wonder that getting a seat here for either lunch or dinner can be a very challenging affair.
located right smack in the middle of rows of conservation shop-houses, the restaurant can be quite hard to find without a GPS. a helpful guide would be to look out for the iconic red and white Potato Head Folk building at the road intersection. a few more shops straight down Keong Saik and you'll be there. queues typically form once you hit the early parts of meal times, and if you're already perspiring from walking here and queuing, be warned that the restaurant itself has no air-conditioning.. 
but what's a little setback like this for famed Tze Char fare in Singapore? this big prawn bee hoon dish is one of Kok Sen's signature dishes and something you'd see on practically every diner's table. the broth is thick, flavourful and contains a tinge of spice with a very generous serving of bee hoon and prawns. another popular dish that most people go for is their claypot yong tau foo, unfortunately, it was sold out by the time we got there. 
there is also a popular chicken dish called the Dragon Chicken, however it too sells out very quickly. we tried the roast chicken instead and found a pretty decent interpretation of this common hawker offering. the skin was crispy and meat wasn't too tough. this sure gives our local chicken rice stalls a run for their money. 
nonetheless, the big prawn themed dishes are what gives this place its following. the specialty big prawn hor fun dish serves up big prawns, a strong aromatic gravy and eggs stir fried with hor fun. not many Tze Char stalls can whip up a good hor fun dish, but this combination is unique and extremely good. moreover, the prices for all dishes here are very reasonable despite the unwavering popularity all these years. local fare eateries sprout out all over our island, but only few draws a huge crowd and an ardent fan base. after trying Kok Sen once, we are pretty sure we knew why. 
Kok Sen Restaurant 30-32 Keong Saik Road Singapore 089137 Opening Hours 12 pm to 2.30 pm; 5 pm to 11.30 pm (daily) Cold beer is served here to go with the dishes.. d'Good Cafe
After the first wave of cafes that hit our shores, those that somewhat stand out would be the cafes that are both good coffee roasters and place-makers. it can be pretty interesting that although Holland Village boasts a few popular brunch joints, not many can absolutely come out and call themselves a cafe..
d'Good Cafe at Holland Village focuses on the third wave of coffee drinking, which places more emphasis on the source of beans and the products that they create. over at this cafe, one of its specialties would be the opportunity for everyone to customize their brew and enjoy many variants of coffee. the coffee offering on their menu itself is also pretty complete, ensuring good coffee for those who wish to skip the taste customization bit.. 
with the weather getting increasingly hot, nothing beats a cold brew to spend a chillax afternoon. the cafe includes an intriguing selection called d'Unknown Cold Brew, which allows the barista to throw up an element of surprise, serving you with any random cold coffee beverage. the one we got was rich in milk and aromatic with coffee, so the surprise for us was a pleasant one. 
the lunch menu also covers a decent spread, and served up pretty earnest brunch and pasta dishes as well. we tried this seafood pasta that came in a herb-tomato based linguine accompanied by squid, prawns and clams. the portions were reasonable and though not fantastic, came with a very homely feel. 
for the hungrier ones, their brunch menu whips up pretty hearty meals, such as this homemade English breakfast. complete with brioche bread, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, English sausages, scrambled eggs and tomato, the combination can be very filling indeed. the cafe also comes with good ambience, including a reading corner, sofa seats, dining on a swing (for lovebirds) as well as the personalised coffee making experience. with some good company, this would be our favourite hangout in Holland Village from now on. 
d'Good Cafe 273 Holland Avenue #02-01/02 Singapore 278992 Opening Hours Sundays to Thursdays: 10 am to 10 pm Fridays & Saturdays: 10 am to 11 pm Blend and brew the way you like it.. |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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