New Restaurants, Cafes and Bars in Singapore: October 2017

Just a short walk from Kent Ridge MRT is this enclave of 17 restaurants curated by the folks behind Timbre and Timbre+. Diners at Savourworld can choose to sit in the individual air-conditioned restaurants or opt for the umbrella seats in the courtyard should they want to order from multiple restaurants. There are no overlapping cuisines or dishes, so you won't be torn between ordering the same dish from two different places. Familiar names like Spruce and Blue Lotus even offer different menus from their other outlets, so you get to try something new. Drop by Coffee Break in the morning for their Black Sesame Premium Toast ($3.30) and get $0.30 off your bill with any drink order. During lunch, grab a seat at Tokyo Joe and tuck into their super fresh Signature Bara Chirashi ($16). For the sweet-toothed, indulge in a scoop of Ice Cream ($3.80) from Licktionary and don't leave without getting your Thai Milk Tea (from $2.30) fix at Cha Tra Mue. Pro tip: Many of the restaurants offer Happy Hour prices for their booze, so make this your next afterwork watering hole!
Avg Prices: $10 per person
Photo by Burppler Hilary See

Set in International Plaza, this new kid on the CBD circuit is the place to go for hearty rice bowls and coconut soft serve. Of the two rice bowl options available, the Burpple community highly recommends the Sh-nack Don ($8.90). Expect umami beef slices, a runny onsen tamago and crispy Cajun-spiced fish skin served atop a bed of warm Japanese rice — great for lunch! Wash that down with their Coconut Shake ($4.90) made with a blend of Thai coconut water and bits of coconut flesh, or treat yourself to the dairy and nut-free Coconut Soft Serve ($4.90), drizzled with gula Melaka sauce and powdered gula Melaka. It's refreshing and light enough, and makes for an icy finish to a tasty meal.
Avg Price: $10 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Vanessa Kou

This tea franchise from Taiwan is bound to quench your thirst with their fruit teas, which they call Rainbow Teas (from $6.80). Choose from four options for your tea base — green tea, black tea, four seasons spring tea and gaoshan oolong tea, all of which come with huge chunks of various fruit including watermelon, strawberry, mango and passionfruit. Burpplers are enjoying the gaoshan oolong for its distinct smoky tea flavour, which offsets the sweetness of the drink really well. The drinks tend to be on the sweeter side, but unfortunately, they currently do not offer customisation of sugar levels. Apart from the Rainbow Teas, there also offer tea variations with cheese foam, and good old pearl milk tea.
Avg Price: $10 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Ice Blossom

More acai bowls? In scorching weather, yes please! There are no seats at this takeaway stall in Tanjong Pagar Centre (beside Lamb Cupcakery) but there is the communal dining area beside Guzman Y Gomez if you'd like to sit down and eat. Their acai bowls come in two sizes — Happy ($9.90) and Diet ($7.90). The Fruity Bowl comes topped with banana, strawberries, blueberries, granola, coconut flakes and honey, while the Protein Bowl comes topped with banana, almonds, walnuts, chia seed pudding and honey. For something different but equally refreshing, get the Fruit Ice Cream ($6.90). Made from frozen fruit (choice of banana, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and mango), the icy soft serve is tangy and fruity, and comes on a base of chia seed pudding, topped with cereal.
Avg Price: $10 per person
Photo by Burppler Natalie Wong

This hip new entrant to UE BizHub East in Changi (nearest MRT station: Expo) gives diners the freedom to customise their own plates, and unlike many build-your-own places, they offer not only healthy fare but also more indulgent options. Prices start from $13.80 for one carb, one protein, one side and two veggies — portions are generous so it's a guaranteed bang for your buck, and most importantly, the food is well cooked. Burpper Ni Ni really enjoyed her grilled beef with quinoa. For something more substantial, there's breaded chicken parmigiana, baby back ribs (additional $2) and crispy duck (additional $3) for protein mains, along with a host of interesting sides including shirataki noodles, mozzarella sticks and brussels sprouts. If you're visiting for lunch, take Ni Ni's advice to make it an early one (around 11:30am), as the crowds descend at peak hour. Pro tip: From now till 31 October, flash your Burpple App upon ordering to enjoy one-for-one drinks.
Avg Price: $15 per person
Photo by Burppler Ni Ni

Located in the basement of Clementi Mall, this strictly takeaway stall serves customisable bowls of Tendon that are both hearty and affordable — great for students studying in the area. Prices start from just $0.80 for a piece of sweet potato tempura, and go upwards to $1.70 for a prawn tempura. For a satisfying meal, go for The Tempura Signature Set ($6.90) that features a prawn tempura, two pieces of capsicum tempura as well as lotus root chips and garlic edamame as toppings. Each set comes with a base of Japanese pearl rice, kakiage (fried shredded vegetables) and pickles on the side. Add an onsen egg for just $1.50. For additional tempura orders, we say skip the thinly sliced King Oyster Mushroom Tempura ($0.80) and opt for the naturally sweet Pumpkin Tempura ($1.20) and Japanese Crab Stick Tempura ($1.20) instead. Pro tip: As part of their opening promo, get one tempura and one topping on rice for just $2.90!
Avg Price: $10 per person
Photo by Burppler Hilary See

This casual spot on Tanjong Katong Road (they've taken over the space once occupied by Kay Lee Roast) is the place to go on penny-pinching days. My Makan Place serves up familiar Indonesian and Malay dishes — think Gado Gado ($4.90), Mee Rebus ($5.90) and Mee Siam ($5.90) — at extremely affordable prices. The Mee Rebus is a favourite among the Burpple community, thanks to its depth of flavour and quality toppings that include crispy fried fish, ngoh hiang and an oozy egg. It's homey and Burpplers really liked that they got to customise their noodles — choose from yellow noodles, bee hoon, kway teow, udon and ramen. The Mee Siam comes in a thick gravy that Burpple Tastemaker Wei Zhi Chiang describes to be sweeter and more peanutty than most, but still tasty. Consider ordering the Gado Gado to share. The magic lies in the peanut sauce, which hits the perfect balance of nutty, savoury and sweet, with a good kick of spice.
Avg Price: $5 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Wei Zhi Chiang

Castella cake lovers, rejoice! Taiwan's famous Original Cake has set up shop at Westgate. The castella cake shop, which originally started in Taipei's Tamsui Old Street, draws hordes who patiently queue for a taste of its pillowy and cottony soft castella cakes. These are baked fresh daily in-store and come in three flavours — Original ($11.50), Frozen Chocolate ($16.50) and Golden Cheese ($13.50). The savoury dimension of the Golden Cheese, which comes with a layer of molten cheddar, is good if you don't like cakes too sweet, while the chilled Frozen Chocolate is studded generously with Hershey's chocolate chips for a more decadent mouthfeel. Pro tip: Warm up your Frozen Chocolate Cake at home to have a fluffier texture with melty bits of chocolate. Note that the cakes are currently sold at a promotional price of $10 for Original, $12 for Golden Cheese and $15 for Frozen Chocolate.
Avg Price: $15 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Miss Ha