Gourmet dining doesn’t have to break the bank. These wallet-friendly restaurants prove the case.
110 Telok Ayer Street, tel: 6636-8055. Open Mon-Fri, noon-2.30pm; 6-10.30pm; Sat, 6-10.30pm.
For its third birthday, Telok Ayer’s edgy, modern Mediterranean grill shop has spruced up with a more cosy, bistro-like white-apple green colour palette, cushy banquette seats and very importantly, tables that are friendlier for group dining.
But most importantly, their new head chef, Scotsman Seumas Smith, keeps the restaurnat’s heart firmly fixed on what they do best: Dishing up vibrant flavours ─ made all the more robust from the charcoal-grill treatment in their nifty Inka oven ─ from great produce.
The menu is concise but solid. You wouldn’t go wrong with anything you order, but do yourself a favour and order the vegetable dishes too. This is one of those places that is so adept with techniques and flavour combinations that even staunch veggie haters might be scraping up every last morsel.
If you work around the area, you’ll also be pleased that they’ve plumped up their lunch menu with three burgers and sandwiches for quick chows. Some popular starters from the dinner selection also make an appearance, including all-time favourites like bacon-wrapped char-grilled dates, roast cauliflower with garlic miso, and flat iron steak with salsa verde.
WHAT WE LOVED
Roast Cauliflower ($14)
You get a whole head of cauliflower, charred at the edges from the kiss of the Inka grill oven and ripe with that intoxicating smoky aroma. Some parts are almost crunchy like charred popcorn! Housemade garlic miso and leek confit compounds the umami depth, and creme fraiche lightens things up with tangy sweetness. A dusting of sesame seeds caps it off with a familiar, Asian nuttiness.
Bone Marrow Toast with Ortiz Anchovy ($10)
Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can share this. You would hate yourself for it. Their housemade sourdough is not spared from the Inka oven either, given a flash grill before it’s smeared thick with a garlic-and-anchovies puree. That’s almost a dish on its own but wait. There’s still the bone marrow: grilled for a slight caramel-ly hint, chopped up and tossed with capers, gherkins, diced shallots and pickled lemon, and finally loaded on the toast. It’s crunchy and buttery and briny and sweet and sharp all at once.
Roasted Nashi Pear with Citrus Yoghurt ($12)
Here, thick wedges of pear are first poached with vanilla and spices before going into the oven for a quick sear, such that the dominant scent is of the familiar, dessert-y wafts of sweetness. Sharing equal limelight is the vanilla-speckled citrus yoghurt, simultaneously luscious and refreshing. Make sure you work in the sacs of citrus gel and chopped pistacchio into every spoonful too.
#02-01 Pomo, 1 Selegie Road, tel: 6222-2084. Open daily, 11.30am-2.30pm, 6-11.30pm.
Fine dining destination The Clan raised eyebrows when it moved from its Bukit Pasoh shophouse to Pomo, a mall oft-considered a student hangout, but here’s the thing ─ it managed to uphold its fine-dine standards, intimate ambience included, while keeping prices much more in line with the neighbourhood.
From the moment you step into the restaurant, when you’re greeted by the grand flower arrangement, there’s a sense of entering into a different, refined space, away from the cafes and kiosks.
The sombre palette of greys and browns keep the plush, stately dining chairs in check for an aesthetic balance that exudes sophistication without seeming stiff.
Then you get to the menu and it just mind-boggles you by how affordable the lunch and dinner sets are.
For lunch, you’ve got your choice of 2-course and 3-course sets at $28 and $38 respectively, which inches up to a mere $78 for a 6-course dinner menu ─ all of it carefully prepared and beautifully plated by head chef John Ng and his team.
That’s more than wallet-friendly for date nights, but prices are also reasonable enough that when you just need a pick-me-up for your Monday blues, you can start the week off with a great lunch without feeling the pinch.
WHAT WE LOVED
George’s Bay Scallops ($26)
We liked how the sweet-and-savoury pairing played out to accentuate the fresh flavours of the ingredients, without being too fussed: Sweet, plump scallops complemented by savoury depth from the avocdao mousse and Japanese wafu dressing.
Wagyu Beef Loin ($48)
It’s practically a given that you’ll end up order this dish ─ it’s perfect for social media bragging, and every other table has it. And for good reason. There’s a certain primal pleasure in searing your meat over hot stones, imbuing those beautifully marbled cuts of wagyu loin with the smoky, slightly herbal aroma of the hoba leaves. A light dab of the Himalayan pink salt is all you need.
Sakura ($22)
The theatrics of this dessert is almost a treat to itself, but that’s just the beginning. The chocolate ball melts steadily under the heat of the chocolate sauce to reveal a purple sphere of ice cream. The juxtaposition of flavours, textures and temperatures is right on the mark ─ honeyed sweetness from the cool, plum ice cream; a bitter edge from the silky, molten dark chocolate; summery tartness from the fruit salsa; and nutty crunch from the pistachio crumble.
#01-01 Katong Square, 86 East Coast Road, tel: 6723-2025. Open daily, 6.30am-midnight.
Peranakan food lovers, here’s a hip new joint to get your fix at.
Baba Chews recently opened its doors at the new Katong Square that’s next door to i12 Katong mall.
Situated inside the stately colonial building that formerly housed the Joo Chiat Police Station, the restaurant is achingly gorgeous.
The design pays homage to Peranakan heritage of its Katong neighbourhood, while keeping the space cheery, light-filled and contemporary: Accent floor tiles in Peranakan-styles motifs, arches adorned with artwork that’s inspired by beaded slippers, and metal mesh sliding doors that harken to days of old.
But Baba Chews is also quick to say that theirs is not strictly Peranakan cuisine.
While the menu largely reflects Peranakan flavours ─ and more than a handful of these are given a fun, modern reinterpration by Head Chef Alvin Leong ─ it also borrows heavily from the region, from Singapore classics like sambal stingray and fried hokkien mee, to even popular Thai fare such as tom yum soup and pork chop with lemongrass. There are also a handful of Western evergreens like caesar salad, grilled USDA Prime Black Angus ribeye, and spaghetti aglio olio with wild-caught sea prawns.
In short, the wide range of dishes should please the varying palates in your dinner party. But Chef Leong does such wonders in coaxing Asian influences into his dishes that you really should give them a try.
WHAT WE LOVED
Chilli Crab Cake ($15)
Numerous restaurants are abound with deconstructed versions of the Chilli Crab, but this is among the few modern renditions that doesn’t disappoint. The chilli crab sauce is feisty, thick with shreds of crab meat and swirls of egg. The crab cake gets heft from a mixture of chopped prawn and squid, and the mantou chips are a lot of fun to snack on. They’re essentially mantou that’s been rolled flat, stamped (hence the shape) and deep-fried for a sturdier, cassava chip-like crunch. It’s different enough to make you go, “oh”, without having to think too hard about your food.
Beef Short Ribs Rendang ($25)
The beguilling scent of coconut cream and lemongrass is right on cue, and instead of usual lean cubes, Chef Leong uses beef short ribs (bones removed) to derive even more flavour from the fattier cut. It’s appropriately tender, but the amount of fat (far more than you see in Korean barbecues!) is a little unsettling. But we’ll overlook that because every mouthful of this spice-laden gravy is so rich and comforting, especially with copious scoops of rice, the meat seems more good-to-have than the star of the show.
Kueh Durian ($12)
In this French-meets-Nyonya dessert, you get a kueh dadar (think of it as a pandan-infused crêpe roll with dessicated cococnut and gula melaka) enhanced with D24 durian mousse, topped with a scoop of housemade gula melaka ice cream, and served on a shallow pool of creme brulee. We just dig the temperature contrast between the warm custard, and the cold ice cream, and the chewy bite of the durian kueh dadar. Spot on.