Bar Bites

Not on any foodie or influencer's radar at all (but should be) is Meat And Green, a nondescript bar slash restaurant that's primarily a watering hole for the CBD crowd on weekdays, but I'll be damned, the food is good. The owner used to work as a chef in Dubai, and his unconventional take on healthy salads and wraps with a local twist can rival or even surpass the likes of more established players such as Daily Cut and Grain Traders.

Using ingredients and techniques more befitting of upmarket cafes, the dishes are both creative and delicious. A prime example would be this off-the-menu “bak chor”(minced pork) salad bowl which sees a generous amount of baby spinach, zucchini, broccoli, cherry tomato, quinoa and beetroot topped with mouth-watering cuts of sous vide pork loin and saucy minced pork laden with chilli, garlic and braised mushrooms. This, paired together with a herbaceous green chilli and parsley salsa verde doesn’t seem to make sense at first, but everything comes together beautifully once you taste it. Not to mention, you can get this in wrap form as well.

Taste: 3.5/5

I dare you to not get excited over the sight of these mild and creamy dollops of uni atop thin slices of crisp toast. The umami is strong in this one.
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Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

This dish of silky chilled noodles topped with sliced scallops and caviar would be the ideal light lunch on a hot afternoon. Perfumed with truffle but not overly so, I found it refreshing and flavourful.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

My favourite skewers of the night weren’t even amongst the multitude of yakitori on offer. Rather, it was the delectably smoky and sweet succulence of these tender pork skewers marinated in Thai spices and honey that won me over. In the back are off-menu satay skewers that in my opinion, deserve a permanent spot on the menu.
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Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

Not to be overlooked and dismissed as a mere afterthought on the menu is the mushroom aglio olio, a seemingly out of place and pedestrian sounding pasta amidst the multitude of Japanese dishes. The silky capellini tossed through with a medley of mushrooms is infused with bags of garlicky flavour and the warm heat of bird's eye chilli.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

Surprise dish of the night is this hulking beast of a pork knuckle. Sheathed in crisp crackling with a layer of gelatinous fat beneath, some parts of the knuckle had tender meat while other areas were slightly dry, but that's simply the nature of a beast like this sometimes.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

Boasting 21 types of yakitori(and that’s not even counting their non-chicken skewers), Le Coq could easily rival specialty kushiyaki joints with their variety and quality of skewers. And this only forms a fraction of their diverse menu focused on Japanese fusion food.

We got our hands on some very plump and juicy chicken thigh which would go perfectly with a couple of ice cold pints.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3/5

It’s in the name for what this casual restaurant and bar in the heart of the CBD specialises in, and they certainly excel at it, with their Mala Chicken being a literal hot favourite at our table. The starter of thinly sliced chicken is succulent and numbingly spicy from the Sichuan peppercorn and chilli oil dressing, compelling the chilli lovers amongst our group to repeatedly reach back for more.

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @lecoqsg for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

This shit’s LIT – not only in terms of tableside theatrics but flavour as well. The brandy-flamed meringue exterior ensconces a layer of rich chocolate and a tangy, refreshing core of raspberry sorbet, a time-honoured pairing that always works.

<< Invited tasting >>

Taste: 3.5/5

Head chef Ayo Adeyemi has struck gold with these crisp nuggets of compressed potato sheets buried under the weight of a highly moreish duck rilette. If only there had been more to go round.

<< Invited tasting >>

Taste: 3.5/5

New side at da quayside. Naughty Fries’ Asian brother from another mother comes drenched in an overwhelming miso bearnaise, smoked chicken sausage, floss, chives, onions and pickled chilli. Dial back a notch or two on the heavy sauce and we could have a contender to the throne here.

<< Invited Tasting >>

Not to sound corny but this cracker of a side dish is refreshingly light on the palate yet still tasty relative to the plethora of heavier items on the menu. Cobs of triple-cooked charred sweetcorn garnished with paprika mayo, parmesan, chilli and a squeeze of calamansi had a nice balance of flavour and texture. The only thing I would leave out would be the odd topping of toasted brioche crumbs.

<< Invited Tasting >>

Taste: 3/5