Some eateries I ate at in the past two weeks:
EatAlley
Orchard Gateway #B2-12, 277 Orchard Road, Singapore 238858
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Back at EatAlley that has KL street food stalls to try their new dishes. Among the new dishes, my favourites are:
(1) KL-style char kway teow which comes with an overeasy egg, big prawns, and lots, lots of lard. Lard gives so much flavour;
(2) porridge (from a 80 year-old recipe) that comes with a side of chicken. There’s nothing in the porridge and it looks so plain that I thought it would be bland. But no, it is surprisingly flavourful.
(3) people at my table liked the curry mee. It is a bit too spicy for me, but it has kick.
Hello Arigato
Multiple locations: Everton Park, Upper Thomson Road, Joo Chiat, Bukit Timah
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I did not know Hello Arigato is a big deal until a follower messaged me on my insta-story to tell me so. The food is okay to me. The tamago sando ($14) was more sweet, less savoury – and I think most Singaporeans like sweet food. But that morning, I wanted something savoury first. But that boils down to preference. The almond croissant was flat.
Ilmiri Korean Fusion Cuisine
25/26 Circular Road Singapore 049381
t: +65 8468 8566
Monday – Friday 11.30 AM – 3 PM, 5 PM – 11 PM
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday 12 PM – 3 PM, 5 PM – 11 PM
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Ilmiri specialises in different flavours of jjimdak (Korean braised chicken from Andong). Having travelled and eaten all over Korea, including Andong jjimdak, I think Ilmiri nailed the spirit of Korean cuisine: homely and hearty, great for gatherings of friends, families, and coworkers. We tried their new flavours, the rose jjimdak ($37.90) that has cream and red pepper. If you want something spicy, the buldak noodles ($22.90) has a kick. My friend didn’t like the chicken pancake ($17.90), he thought the texture was strange. I was okay with it.
Kebuke
Taste Orchard, Singapore 238842
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It’s pronounced the Chinese way 可不可, a pun on “can or not” and “are you thirsty,” and not pronounced the Japanese way as in kay-boo-kay. It’s from Taiwan, and an influencer said it’s his favourite bubble tea. Kebuke is famous for their oolong rice tea, I heard. There was a queue when I was there – and it was nice but I don’t know if it’s my favourite. I probably won’t queue more than 10 minutes for it.
Mad about Sucre
27 Teo Hong Rd, Singapore 088334
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New 13-course summer menu at Mad about Sucre at $83. It’s not cheap but it’s value for money for 13 courses. The reason they could keep the price low is that they future-proof their prices: during COVID, they pre-paid the farms in France and other European parts to keep them in business, and in return, they are now getting ingredients at COVID prices.
Having eaten at MAS 4 or 5 times, their food shines with the good ingredients and often comes across as homely and easy to understand. But this time, the menu is more fine-dining in the sense that it is bold, creative, and inspired. As of any creative things, people may have different opinions about it. If you’re the sort who are stubborn in your preference, then maybe don’t go. But if you can keep an open mind and go without any preconceived notions, you may understand the genius of the menu. Spoiler alert: they have a divisive oyster ice cream.
Moss Cross Tokyo
Capri By Fraser China Square 2nd floor, 181 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058743
12pm-3pm, 6pm-10pm, closed Sun & Mon
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The first overseas outlet of the famous Japanese restaurant, Moss Cross Tokyo focuses on wakon yosai, a Japanese interpretation of Western food. You may think, “What’s point? I should eat Western food or Japanese food, why should I eat Japanese-style Western food?” I used to be that small-minded but I realise, after eating all over Japan, that Japanese interpret Western food in very interesting, innovative, and Japanese ways. if you want to understand Japanese culture, you should eat their interpretation of Western food to see the difference from the Western food.
Moss Cross Tokyo is one of the best restaurant I ate at this year. It’s classy, tasty, and also value for money (value for money and cheap are two different things). Their ingredients are imported from Japan, following its four seasons. The 5-course dinner starts from $128 but the appetizer itself already has 9 types.
Not every dish will suit everyone. My eating companion thought the ginger granita or shaved ice was weird but I found it innovative, interesting, refreshing. The yellowtail was tad fishy. But the rest of the dishes were great. Their signature hamburg with foie gras within was mindblowing. And the 9 types of appetisers were a fun twist of Japanese favourites.
They also have a sake buffet at $80 for over 20 types of sake (90 min limit). Or you can choose their flight of 3 sake at $25.
Lastly, the service is immaculate. They place cards in front of us to inform us of each dish. And when their signature hamburg came sizzling on a hot plate, they put it far from us so we wouldn’t smell. And they transferred it to a plate before serving us.
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