Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

The Soy Chic has landed in Eggslut, a soy-glazed fried chicken sandwich. Lifting it up feels like a workout already as it is packed with ingredients so eating it is going to get messy as juices and sauces start flowing down your fingers, which is exactly how you want to enjoy a burger/sandwich. The Soy Chic also contains a cheddar slice, over easy egg and housemade coleslaw, all sandwiched between toasted brioche buns. There is a bundle for the sandwich, a can of Freedom Lager and complimentary Truffle Hashbrowns at $21.50 (U.P. $27).

Roasted chicken shouldn’t be this juicy, but at COOP COOP (formerly Raw Kitchen Bar), they have managed to find that magic formula to achieve a rotisserie chicken so good it puts finger lickin’ good to a new meaning. The menu is pretty straightforward whether you want the Half Chick or Full with a platter add-on which comes with a variety of dips, salad and pita bread. The RKB classics such as the Black Mamba is still in the menu, which is another highly recommended squid ink fried rice dish to order.

Right after the anticipated opening of Cenzo, Chef Drew opens another casual restaurant concept in Chicco Pasta Bar focusing on handcrafted pastas. Not many places do their carbonara the authentic way but here at Chicco, the Rigatoni Carbonara is perhaps one of my favourites in Singapore. The use of guanciale (cured pork cheek), eggs and pepper is the most original way of making carbonara, not heavy cream or milk. The Mushroom & Nduja Fusilli is another pasta that I will recommend while you can order up a couple of sides such as Calamari Fritti and Cauliflower to share. The Pistachio Tiramisu is heavenly with the crushed pistachios providing a nice aroma and nuttiness to balance the richness from the mascarpone.

For the upcoming Lunar New Year, York Hotel Singapore will be launching their takeaway specials from 25 January to 24 February. I really enjoyed the dishes here for its traditional flavours which I am sure many will too as well. The Prosperity Lo Hei comes with smoked Nordic salmon and mini abalone, classic pairings that you will be familiar with, while the Golden Treasure Seafood Soup is a great collagen booster with the thick and umami shark’s cartilage broth. The Braised Pork Knuckle with Sea Cucumber brings back lots of delicious memories while the Fragrant Fried Rice with Preserved Meat is so good that I had two bowls of it. Lastly, the refreshing and mildly sweet Osmanthus Jelly is a great ending to the meal. These dishes will also be available for dine-in with a 10% service charge and 3 working days pre-order in advanced.

Taking inspiration from Anglo-Asian cooking techniques and flavours, Entrepôt will be modernising two signature dishes by blending tradition with a contemporary twist. These two dishes will be available from 1 February to 29 February, named “Chasing the Dragon” Yusheng” and Dr Robertson’s “Pencai”. The former uses Robertson Chai cured salmon to create a sweet-savoury yusheng with ikura, candied pecans, dragon fruit base and plum dressing. The latter includes 5-spiced kakuni braised pork belly, charcoal smoked duck and a medley of premium seafood such as 6-head abalone and tiger prawns, all cooked in a superior black truffle sauce.

Available from 18 January to 24 February, Goodwood Park Hotel will be launching a lineup of Lunar New Year delicacies from Min Jiang and Min Jiang at Dempsey and takeaway festive goodies. Online orders can be placed at https://goodwoodparkfestive.oddle.me/ for takeaway or self-collection.

Popular Western smokehouse Meatsmith partners with Pullman Singapore Orchard for a 2 weeks residency in Eden Restaurant. Signatures of Meatsmith such as the not-to-be-missed Meatsmith Wagyu Burger, Beef Brisket and desserts such as Roasted Marshmallows and Peach Cobbler will be made available for order. This Western-Asian collaboration also includes The Pullman Platter that comes with the most amazing corn bread with burnt butter, crab cakes, pork belly burnt ends, lame satay, shrimp paste chicken and beef short rib rendang.

Chengdu Bowl has recently introduced new dishes such as the Signature Chicken Pot which is a classic Chongqing chicken stew with potato chunks, and even brought back their free flow Sichuan skewers promotion. Your tastebuds will be tantalised by the assorted skewers swimming in the rich and flavourful chilli oil.

Despite attaining the coveted One-Michelin Star in Tokyo, Nakiryu did not enjoy the legendary status in Singapore as there was barely any queue or hype over it here. We tried the signature tantanmen which comes with minced meat and a peanut base broth. As I am no ramen expert, I am not able to ascertain if this is consider a good bowl but to me, it’s pretty satisfying and enjoyable. You can also order the food from Osaka Ohsho which we are not big fans of as the mapo tofu was too sweet and not spicy enough. The gyozas were okay, nothing mindblowing.

Ever since the trip to Kuching, I have been trying to find good Sarawak food in Singapore but most have kinda fall short of the taste. In comes Tracy’s Sarawak Kitchen into the picture, the Kuching Kolomee is possibly the closest to the taste that I remember with the pork lard fragrance and flavourful minced meat. Sarawak Laksa was herbaceous while the Mani Cai Longevity Noodles had such a wok hei aroma that almost stole the show away from the 3-in-1, a rice combination of mani cai, hakka braised pork and a sunny side up. Take a piece of every single component for the ultimate comforting bite.

Be transported back to the yesteryears at HEY KEE, a dai pai dong experience with classic dishes from the streets of Hong Kong. With a nostalgic interior design, it feels like you have time traveled back to the 80s. The restaurant’s signature dishes include the Typhoon Shelter Style Stir Fried Crab and Claypot Live Seafood Porridge.

Zam Zam used to be one of the places to go to for murtabak. However, the clout surrounding the brand for its negative publicity and aggressive touting have led to many unpleasant experiences. In spite of all these, if the food remains good, it is still a place to visit. But, how the mighty have fallen, and fallen hard. The murtabak had a very thick doughy texture while the minced beef filling was tasteless, not even the curry was able to rescue it. Probably give this a miss the next time you think of visiting this institution.