Casual French bistro Merci Marcel has opened up a new outlet in Singapore’s Central Business District along Club Street; unlike its original Tiong Bahru outlet which taps on the hipster and expatriate crowd that lives and breathes in that gentrified area, the new outlet targets the weekday office lunch crowd.
So instead of the usual sharing plates, Merci Marcel Club Street is built around the power lunch but in a more casual setting. It’s still mostly classic French bistro fare - there’s the likes of the Duck Parmentier Facon Marcel (pictured above), a traditional Gascon dish, or the Grilled Octopus that hails from France’s Basque country (which borders neighbouring Spain, hence the similarity to pulpo gallego). There’s also a rotational wine and cheese menu for those more interesting in grazing and chatting too; an outdoorsy area makes Merci Marcel a good spot to chill out outside of working hours.
- Daniel
Merci Marcel (Club Street)
Address 7-9 Club Street, Singapore 069403 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 9am to 12mn Tuesdays to Saturdays; 9am to 10.30pm on Sundays; closed on Mondays
Tel (65) 6438 3913
Web www.mercimarcel.com
Facebook mercimarcelsg
Instagram @mercimarcel
It seems like F&B entrepreneur and Japanese ramen king Keisuke Takeda can do no wrong; the owner of a chain of casual Japanese food concepts - Tonkotsu King, Tendon Ginza Itsuki, and Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, amongst others - earlier this year launched Beef Sukiyaki Don Keisuke that’s proved to be a massive hit for its luxurious sukiyaki beef bowls.
In fact, that’s pretty much all the small, cramped-10 seater serves - you pick either the Beef Sukiyaki Don (S$13.90++) of premium koshihikari rice (cooked in a proper donabe, no less) heaping with slices of US Prime chuck roll, or the more decadent Kiwami Wagyu Sukiyaki Don (S$29.90++) with a generous serving of Yonezawa A4 wagyu beef instead. Your choice is prepared ala minute in front of you, and then served along with side servings of sesame tofu, an onsen egg, traditional miso soup, as well as assorted pickles.
You can even ask for additional servings of beef - US Prime beef at S$10.00 ++ per 120g serving (120g), or the wagyu at S$25.00++ per 120g serving (pictured) - but the regular portion is more than enough for most. You’re also better off going with the cheaper regular beef sukiyaki don; it’s a lot less fatty and rich but still redolent with a robust meat flavour. The one with Japanese wagyu is delicious but comes with so much rendered beef fat soaking through your rice that can make it rather heavy going.
And at S$13.90++ for the regular bowl there really is absolutely no reason to eat the far, far inferior version from Yoshinoya, and continues to prove Keisuke’s dominance in the casual Japanese dining scene with his blend of affordability and quality.
Beef Sukiyaki Don Keisuke
Address 11 Kee Seng St, #01-01 Onze @ Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 089218 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 11am to 2.30pm and 5pm to 10pm daily
Tel (65) 6535 1129
An art gallery, music event space, dining and drinks for the working crowd, Telok Ayer Arts Club is a multi-concept venue smack in the centre of the CBD area. Backed by the folks behind SPRMKT, it aims to foster a “community centre” spirit, where art, music, food and drink come together in cohesiveness.
Comparisons with the now closed Artistry will invariably arise, but while Artistry thrived on an organic indie vibe, Telok Ayer Arts Club’s approach to art is more planned inspiration. Not just content with exhibiting artwork throughout the space, the F&B team also works together with the artist to create dishes and drinks inspired by the artist’s work, so expect to see a section of the menu that is constantly refreshed.
To cater to the multiple concepts, the menu is similarly diverse, from ordinary grain and salad bowls (nicoise, couscous) for the lunch crowd, to the more innovative wanton skins stuffed with bocconcini, and tofu and tomatoes dressed with white miso and shiitake pesto. Drinks-wise, Telok Ayer Arts Club’s version of a Bloody Mary delivers a spicy punch with interesting savoury notes from the addition of chilli crab sauce. Yes, chilli crab sauce.
- Esther
Telok Ayer Arts Club
Address 2 McCallum St, Singapore 069043 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours Monday to Saturday, 11am to 11pm
Tel (65) 6221 0712
[Singapore] Salted & Hung Monday Underground Supper Club: Bar Stories.
The second edition of Salted & Hung’s Monday Underground Supper Club Series is set to launch on 10 September, this time partnering with Singapore’s pioneering bespoke cocktail bar Bar Stories for an epic five-course food and cocktail pairing dinner. This supper club is limited to just 12 seats at the bar, where customers not only get front-row seats to their meal preparation, but also the opportunity to get up close and personal with both executive chef Drew Nocente of Salted & Hung and barman Dave Koh of Bar Stories.
An intimate dining affair, the supper club is where chef and bartender can really go all out on the creative front, and the menu is the baby of their combined innovative juices. From an edible pina colada to a rice-less risotto, where the “grains” are diced up pieces of squid, to expect to be surprised at every turn.
Seats are $150++ with cocktail pairings. Reservations are a must.
[Singapore] Charcoal Black Sesame Mooncakes from Peach Blossoms.
Mooncakes are easily my favourite Chinese sweet. I’m very much a traditionalist though - only baked mooncakes with lotus paste and double yolks pass muster. Plus points if they have melon seeds too. I always get my fix from Lau Chong Kee, an old-school neighbourhood bakery and gives me the nostalgic shudders with its rustic baked mooncakes. Most people purchase their mooncakes from hotel restaurants, and while the packaging is infinitely prettier, the mooncakes themselves are usually too “creative”, if you know what I mean.
Few restaurants know how to innovate but still retain the essence of traditional flavours, and Peach Blossoms at Marina Mandarin is one of them. New on the menu this year is the White Lotus Paste and Charcoal Black Sesame Paste with Pine Nuts Mooncake ($68.80 for a box of 4). A layer of black sesame paste breaks up the monotony of the smooth lotus paste, with the pine nuts adding both texture and a savoury note. I think older folks would love this - it’s interesting without being too sweet.
And if you like the charcoal black sesame paste, it’s the same filling from Peach Blossoms’ signature Charcoal Black Sesame Paste with Melon Seeds and Gold Dust Mooncake ($68.80 for a box of 4), a strikingly black mooncake that is sure to make a statement.
These mooncakes are available for order from 16 August to 25 September. Selected credit cards will enjoy an early bird discount of 25% from 16 August to 9 September, and a regular discount of 15% will apply from 10 September to 24 September.
- Esther
Marina Mandarin
Address 6 Raffles Boulevard Singapore 039594 (Google Maps link)
Collection Hours Daily from 16 August to 25 September - 10am to 7pm at Cafe Mocha (level 1), 7pm to 10pm at Peach Blossoms (level 5)
Tel (65) 6845 1118
As foodies it’s always interesting to know when new hotels are opening up, because that usually means there will be at least one or two new dining establishments to check out as well. So it was with Yellow Pot, the modern Chinese restaurant was unveiled when boutique luxury hotel Six Senses Duxton officially launched a couple of months back.
Like the classy hotel the restaurant comes bedecked in strong accents of yellow, gold and black, with jars of yellow liberally scattered all over befitting of the restaurant’s name; it’s the work of acclaimed British designer Anouska Hempel.
It’s really all quite pretty, but we were there for the food.
Yellow Pot claims to be a modern Chinese restaurant that “delivers classic and innovative Chinese cuisine that favours healthful, organic and sustainably-sourced ingredients”. Which is saying we want to be everything to everybody - and as you see later - that’s where the menu isn’t as cohesive as it could be however delicious the food.
Take the Seared Pork Cheek ($12++, above), the rare cut of meat that’s spice-crusted and then roasted ever so perfectly to deliver a lovely crust yet possessive of a meltingly-tender juiciness even a Michelin-starred talent with a Josper oven can struggle to produce. Fattiness offset by piquant shredded green mango and onions the spicing here is likely a modern, abstract take inspired by Xinjiang’s 羊肉串, or mutton skewers.
And then that innovation reverts to hardcore tradition with the true-blue Cantonese Roast Duck ($32++ for half, main picture); it’s fabulously roasted and is totally on point, but you don’t taste the fermented bean curd marinade that could have made this a little more different from the classic.
It’s the same with soups - the Hot & Sour Soup ($12++) pays proper homage to its Sichuanese roots, but the more modern Chicken Soup ($12++) comes with shimeji-stuffed cherry tomatoes; it’s not something we’ve ever seen before in a Chinese soup.
We do like the Wok-Seared Organic Grass-Fed Beef Tenderloin ($36++), though, if you can get past the price; it’s a common offering at most Chinese restaurants but here is very well-executed in a way that retains all the flavour of the quality beef cut but with wok-hei.
The Steamed Kühlbarra Barramundi ($22++, above) is good too, but we’ve seen this combination of steamed fish and a ginger-scallion pesto a number of times before. It’s something we do at home.
Indeed the menu then goes all homely; the Braised Sweet & Sour Eggplant ($14++, above) is exactly what you can find at your neighbourhood 菜饭 stall. Or the Braised White Cabbage ($12++), a dish you’d expect your mom to cook at home. Likewise the Stir-fried Mee Sua ($18++), which comes with juicily fresh tiger prawns and scallops (assuming your mom is inclined to spend a bomb on quality seafood for the family that day).
We’re not taking anything away from Chef Sebastian Goh’s efforts, really; his grasp on Chinese culinary techniques is top-notch. We were just hoping that he’d push boundaries by offering more unusual takes on familiar Chinese favourites than this rather tried-and-true route.
- Daniel
Yellow Pot
Address 88 Duxton Road, Six Senses Duxton, Singapore 089540 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 6.30am to 10.30am (breakfast), 11.30am to 2.30pm (lunch), and 5.30pm tp 10.30pm (dinner) daily
Tel (65) 6914 1420
[Singapore] Executive Set Lunches at Stellar at 1-Altitude.
Most people think of Stellar at 1-Altitude as a special occasion, fine dining type of restaurant. And they’d be right. We’ll let you in on a little secret though: On weekdays from noon to 2pm, Stellar offers a really good deal on their executive set lunches. At just $38++ for two courses, and $48++ for three, you get to enjoy a top class meal with a breathtaking view from the 62th floor.
The seasonal menu changes from month to month so there isn’t much point in recommending specific dishes to try. But having tasted the June offerings, our one tip is to make sure not miss the dessert course.
I know, most people would go opt a starter and a main for their two courses (more bang for the buck right?), but Chef Jasmin Chew’s desserts are truly worth the calories. I was absolutely blown away by her miso ice cream wrapped in a Valrhona chocolate ganache sleeve and paired with a peanut toffee, the nuts having been soaked in herbs and chili padi. To top it off, she used sprigs of chervil to add a slight anise flavour. Pure genius.
- Esther
Stellar at 1-Altitude
Address Level 62, 1 Raffles Place Singapore 048616 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours Monday to Friday - 12pm to 2pm and 6.30pm to 10pm, Saturday - 6pm to 10pm, Sunday - 6pm to 9pm
Tel (65) 6438 0410
There are a number of destinations on Sentosa we’d love to dine at more regularly - Chinese restaurants Blue Lotus and Spanish tapas bar FOC Sentosa comes to mind - if they weren’t quite so inaccessible. Well, add one more to that list: Panamericana.
Panamericana is named and themed after the 48,000km Pan-American highway that runs from the United States all the way down to southernmost part of Chile, and serves up a menu inspired by the cuisines of the North, Central, and South American countries that the highway connects.
Expect to be transported into a different place - Havana in Cuba, perhaps - as you step into the colonial space that is Panamericana in Sentosa Golf Club, set as it is amidst the sprawling green overlooking the Singapore Straits. The food here too is something else: the brick-lined asado (above) - the South American-style roasting pit - takes place of pride in the front of its kitchen, promising diners a whole host of fire-broiled delights. The Steak ($45++, below), for example, is 250g worth of ribeye spit roasted to charred, but still tender, lovingness.
Even better is the Lamb ($50++) - first marinated and then roasted for 7 hours - that came fork tender and full of flavour without the characteristic gamey-ness one may expect from lamb. Also delicious is the Columbian Chicken ($40++), but it’s a bit pricey for what it is. We’d recommend you stick to the meats though; the salt-baked Trout ($40++) came a little bit on the dry side.
Where Panamerica shines, ironically enough, is its range of sides and salads. The British Columbia ($14++) looks like what you feed to farm animals - shredded red cabbage, shaved fennel, a whole host of nuts and seeds - but is as tasty as it is healthy for you.
They really do their grilled vegetables well too; the zucchini in the Burrata ($29++, above), the fabulously charred Broccolini ($15++), and the Cuban-style Corn ($12++) dusted with finely shaved Manchego, were all excellent. In fact you can be a total vegetarian and still dine very well here.
Don’t forget the drinks as well. As can be expected, Panamericana has a comprehensive bar programme offering a slew of summer-friendly cocktails. We like the White Wine Sangria ($18++) made with pisco and Sauvignon Blanc, but the Bulleit Bourbon & Apple ($11++) alcohol-laced fruit juice is where it’s at.
Yeah, we could really spend a lot more time here on Sentosa if it was a lot easier to get to.
- Daniel
Panamericana
Address Sentosa Golf Club, 27 Bukit Manis Rd, Singapore 099892 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 12noon to 11pm Wednesdays to Fridays, 9am to 11pm Saturdays and Sundays, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Tel (65) 6253 8182
