Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood

Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood
122 Casuarina Rd
T. 6452 2824.

This is a well kept secret (though not among the residents in this neigbourhood). Great seafood zhe char place (Chinese food cooked to order) at incredibly affordable prices. My favourites here are the beef hor fun (rice noodles) with black bean sauce, the signature chilli crab, salted fish fried rice, clams in a spicy sauce… Just about everything tastes great. I recently discovered that they take take-away orders on the phone too. This place is popular, so whenever possible, call ahead for a table.

Annie’s Peanut Ice Kachang

Annie’s Peanut Ice Kachang
Far East Square Food Court

Odd combination it is – crushed peanut on an ice kachang (ice shaving dessert that sits on a bed of jellies, red bean, attap seeds…, and doused in a variety of sweet sauces) – but it works beautifully. I don’t have a sweet tooth but this uniquely delicious combination may just tempt me back. Annie’s at Far East is an offshoot of the original in Tanjong Pagar Food Centre.

Wild Rocket

Wild Rocket
Hangout Hotel
10A Upper Wilkie Road
T. 6339 9448

I was first came to Wild Rocket when it opened a year ago. On this visit, I revisited the laksa pesto pasta which was just as delicious. The portions were just right as any more and it would have been cloying. I also tried the mushroom soup that was much raved about by other foodie friends. They were right, it was thick with bits of mushroom, a medley that works well together, rich and delish.

Hilton Harbour Grill

Hilton Harbour Grill
Hilton Hotel
581 Orchard Road
T. 6730 3393

We came here not for the grill but the soufflé that I heard so much about. It did not disappoint, it was light and melted in my mouth, just the way I like it. Found the place a tad quiet though. It was a relatively large restaurant, and that evening I was there, including our dining party, there were only three tables filled.

Chat Masala Too

Chat Masala Too
18 Greenwood Avenue
T. 67622133

This place serves yums Indian food in a modern setting. Set among the cosy Geenwood enclave of restaurants, Chat Masala Too wowed us with their special briyani (marinated chicken cooked in rice), fish cutlets, mixed vegetables and curry fish. I even had the almond dessert that I usually find too sweet. I will be back to try the rest of the menu.

This is an offshoot of Chat Masala in East Coast.

Casa Roma

Casa Roma
833 Bukit Timah Road
#01-09 Royal Ville
T. 6464 8509

We came here with great expectations, in search of much talked about pizzas and pastas. What we found was ordinary pizza and altogether regular pastas. My preference is still for LaFiandra for the good stuff.

Kuriya Restaurant

Kuriya Restaurant
B1-06 Raffles City Shopping Centre
T. 6883 2020

This is another branch of this fabulous restaurant. Food here tends to be a tad dressier than the other restaurants but still very good. We ordered form the bento (lunch box) menu that featured a mix of noodles, sushi, sashimi and tempura (deep fried seafood coated with a light batter), though extremely delicious, was way too much food for a single person. We left the restaurant very stuffed but happy.

Kuriya Japanese Restaurant

Kuriya Japanese Restaurant
1 Scotts Road, #05-01 Shaw Centre
T. 6735 5300

It’s been ages since I have been here. Known for its high quality Japanese dishes, a meal here never disappoints. We had the comforting nabeyaki udon (hot pot noodles with chicken and prawn tempura) that rainy evening and jazzed it up with some fabulous and incredible tasty maki (sushi rolls).

Devagi’s Restaurant

Devagi’s Restaurant
#01-03 Thomson Imperial Coiurt
200 Upper Thomson Road
T. 6225 2440

I happen to like the food here though my dining companion queries the authenticity of the dishes. The point of contention: the amount of grease in the chicken briyani (marinated chicken cooked in rice). I had found the dish to be lighter than what is usually served in Indian restaurants and therefore less oily and much healthier but just as tasty. I was told however, that the mark of good briyani is based on how well each grain of rice is coated in lard… Oh well. What was interesting here also is its cucumber drink that tasted like a very mild lime juice with julienne of cucumber in it.

La Viet (Vietnamese)

La Viet
903 East Coast Road

This was an innocuous looking spot alright, but the food turned out to be not too bad. The pho bo, the rice noodle soup, was flavoursome and the slices of beef very tender and fresh. The fresh rice rolls were nicely packed and complimented with a rich peanut dipping sauce.

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
275 Thomson Road #01-05 Novena Ville
T. 6225 6396

This is one of the better chicken rice shops in town, if you like roast chicken. The meat is tender, skin is nice and crisp, the rice flavourful and the chilli dip very complimentary. I like that it comes with grated ginger too. It just pulls everything together. Pity they only serve rice and not porridge as well.

This shop also serves other cooked dishes such as fish head curry, fried vegetables, hot plate tofu, etc.

Pepper Lunch

Pepper Lunch
Basement, Shaw Centre
Branches islandwide

I have to qualify. The dish may not sound too appetizing but is simply delicious. It’s very simple really, pieces of beef marinated in a pepper sauce served on a hotplate, complimented with a knob of butter and fresh corn. The meat is cooked directly by the heat from the hotplate as all the ingredients are stirred together with a dash of either the light soy sauce or the chain’s special sauce. Delish I say – even with the knob of butter (I am not a fan of buttered rice). I am hooked.

Song Trang (Vietnamese)

Song Trang
60B Orchard Road #01-16
The Atrium@Orchard
T. 6837-2040

I was simply craving for pho so much so that I rounded up a group of foodies and got them on the same craving. But alas, on arrival, we were so wowed by its many other dishes, that we ordered but one pho bo (beef noodle soup) to be shared by the seven of us!

The dishes here were amazing, from the fresh rice spring rolls, to the roasted pork, seafood pancake and pomelo salad - we just could not keep our hands of it, till the plates were all wiped clean. This is clearly one of the better Viet joints in town.

Space@Humble House

Space@Humble House
Esplanade
#02-25

T. 6423 1881

This is the casual corner of the Humble House at the Esplanade. It offers a much simpler though no less delicious menu including a fabulous chicken salad (left replete with fruits and walnuts with a citrus dressing and lovely and rich (but not cloying) lobster laksa (Singapore version of curry noodles).

Eastern & Northern Dumpling Restaurant

Eastern & Northern Dumpling Restaurant
220 East Coast Road
T. 6334 7002

This eatery has been around for awhile. Run by a Chinese family comprising basketballers and models (I kid you not - the pictures adorn the walls), it serves a decent xiao long bao (steamed meat dumplings), Szechuan soup (thick spicy soup), and la mian (handmade noodles usually eaten with sauce). Though not as delicate as the dishes served at Din Tai Fung, it makes for a nice alternative in the eastern neighbourhood.

Hyang-to-gol Korean Restaurant

Hyang-to-gol Korean Restaurant

165 Tanjong Pagar Road
Amara Hotel Level 2
T. 6220 7160

When a Korean friend suggested we come here for authentic Korean, I just could not say no. Newly opened in Amara Hotel, its one of the largest such restaurant I have been to and supposedly part of a famous chain in Seoul.

They have a great bulgogi (barbeque beef), and all the dishes I love done just the way I like it – the seafood pancake, cold noodles (which was great to wrap up the barberque, great tasting kimchi (spicy preserved cabbage), they even had kimchi turnip! I adore this place!