STI: Taxi drivers' guide to great makan

Dec 29, 2004
Taxi drivers' guide to great makan

For a yummy breakfast or lunch

WHERE: Block 22A Havelock Road
WHAT: hawker fare, about 25 stalls
WHY: carpark visible from hawker centre, can keep a lookout for parking warden

FAVOURITE DAY PLACE

Block 22A Havelock Road for easy parking

CABS of all colours, from the various taxi companies, greet you as you turn into the carpark at Block 22A Havelock Road at about 10.30am each weekday morning.

The hawker centre there is clearly a favourite haunt with cabbies if the close to 100 taxis parked there every mid-morning are anything to go by.

One big plus: The hawker centre overlooks the spacious carpark so drivers scrimping on parking coupons can watch out for the dreaded wardens.

The food centre, which is more than 30 years old, dishes up a wide range of fare from porridge to yong towfoo, carrot cake, nasi lemak, fish soup, desserts, and of course, coffee and canned drinks. One stall also sells turtle soup.

Most of the hawkers get an early start, opening at the crack of dawn. They pack up only at 8pm or 10pm. A few drinks stalls serve past midnight.

'The food here is quite nice and cheap,' says Mr Steven Lee, 55, who has plied the roads for more than 20 years.

'Parking here is also almost free... I don't have to display a parking coupon, as I can see the warden when she comes and I can rush to move my taxi.'

Besides easy - read 'free' - parking, meeting his pals is another reason Mr Toh Tiau Chai, 48, a taxi driver for more than 10 years, frequents this place.

Mr Toh, who has three sons and whose wife is a part-time vegetable seller, likes to tuck into yong towfoo and char kway teow whenever he comes.

'Taxi drivers love this place. See for yourself, there are about 100 taxis parked here,' he says.

OTHER NOMINEES

Bukit Timah Market hawker centre near Beauty World - chwee kueh, satay beehoon

Ghim Moh hawker centre - char kway teow, you tiao (deep-fried dough sticks)

Coffee shop at Block 40 Beo Crescent, near Tiong Bahru Plaza - curry rice

Coffee shop at Block 86 Zion Road - kway chap (pig innards soup), prawn noodles

Coffee shop in Kellock Road - coffee, toast, eggs, wonton noodles, minced meat noodles

Coffee shop at the former Rex Theatre off Selegie Road - Chinese food

 

Custom-made tastes

Adding some Indian spice to life

WHERE: Spice Central Stall, 10 Whampoa Road
WHAT: For when you want your chapati, thosai or curry
WHY: Good parking, personalised menus, and peace and quiet

IT MAY be an unassuming place, but things can get hot at this Indian food stall in Whampoa Road, thanks to its spicy fare.

Located in Whampoa Coffee Shop beside St Michael's Bus Terminal, Spice Central has, in two years, built up a devoted fan base of taxi drivers for its fish curry, masala chicken and thosai.

A carpark in front lets drivers keep an eye on their cabs.

But that's only a small part of Spice Central's charm.

Open Monday to Saturday, from 7am to 10pm, the stall offers Indian cuisine ranging from putu mayam to mutton beriani.

Owner Seghar Gopal, 37, says the menu will accommodate all customers' preferences.

'Even if they come at 10pm, they will be able to have food here. Most of the time, we will also customise the food to their tastes,' he says.

Says Mr Dennis Tan, 39, who has been driving a taxi for six years: 'The service is good. Seghar will personally cook for me, so when I order in advance, the food will be waiting for me when I get there.'

The Indian food lover especially likes the thosai, which costs from 80 cents to $1.50, $4 beriani and $2.50 mee goreng.

The stall has become so popular, Mr Gopal plans to open another stall in a different part of Singapore next year.

'Seghar goes the extra mile to make his food nice,' agrees cabby Jeffrey Tan, 40, who likes Spice Central's fried rice with extra ikan bilis. 'He knows what the customer wants and makes it accordingly.'

OTHER NOMINEES

Ali Nacha Special Beriani Dam Stall, at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station Railway Food Court - as the name of the stall suggests, beriani

Blue Diamond Restaurant in Buffalo Road, Little India - for chapati, thosai and poori, plus fancier fare such as claypot beriani

Chetty Vilas restaurant, 10 Norris Road, where thosais and other affordable dishes are served

ABC Restaurant, 365 Joo Chiat Road

Railway Food Court, Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, 30 Keppel Road

Jalan Kayu Roti Prata

Corner Shop coffee shop located at the corner of a row of shophouses in Norris Road

 

Yummy, clean and dirt-cheap

The cheapest hawker centre?

WHERE: Jalan Benaan Kapal, near the National Stadium
WHAT: Malay, Indian and Chinese hawker fare
WHY: Possibly the cheapest hawker food in Singapore

YOU are almost certain to miss this eating place, even if you keep your eyes peeled for it.

But the bargain basement prices make it worth sniffing out, even though it is open only during office hours.

Near the National Stadium in Kallang, the small hawker centre has just seven stalls serving Malay and Chinese food, noodles and pig's organ soup at prices ranging from $1.50 to more than $3.

The hawker centre has been around for more than 30 years, from the time when the area was a shipyard, according to coffee shop stall vendor Quek Soon Kok, 50.

Besides regular cabbies, it now serves mainly staff from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and its subcontractors working on the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and the MRT Circle Line nearby.

If you are coming from Old Airport Road or Mountbatten, turn left at the KFC restaurant and look out for a sign to Jalan Benaan Kapal.

Then follow the right bend in the road until you are flanked by the offices of the LTA and its subcontractors.

Look out on your right for an open gate that leads into a small compound.

Be warned, the hawker centre faces inwards and bears no resemblance to an eating place.

Parking is free and hassle-free.

Toilets are free and kept reasonably clean. The hawker centre itself is clean, airy and its floors are kept dry.

Stalls are open from 6am to 5pm on weekdays and most serve till noon on Saturdays.

'It's quite breezy here and it's not so stuffy, so you don't come out smelling of oil,' says cabby Steve Lee, 34.

Madam Kamisah, 53, who runs the most popular stall there - Muslim stall No. 9 - charges $2.50 for fish, vegetables, egg and rice, while Kang Siang Coffee Stall serves piping hot coffee for a mere 40 cents a cup.

Mr Mihai Chirescu, a French engineer with an LTA subcontractor, and his three French colleagues recently paid $5 for a lunch for three.

'It's one of the cheapest hawker centres around,' says Mr Chirescu's colleague, who has been working in Singapore for four years and did not want to be named.

Mr Mohd Khalid, 47, a cabby for more than 10 years who stumbled on the place while driving around, agrees: 'The food is not bad and it is very cheap.'

OTHER NOMINEES

Old coffee shop near the market in Commonwealth Drive, known to taxi drivers as Tanglin Halt 10 Storey, after the 10-storey blocks of flats in the area - chicken rice.

Coffee shop at Block 65 Tiong Poh Road: Fish porridge

Hawker centre in industrial Kallang Place, in the middle of factory blocks 16, 26 and 28 - economy rice

Hawker centre in Loyang Industrial Estate

 

Jalan Masjid for al fresco dining

For supper till the wee hours

WHERE: Row of eateries at the junction of Jalan Masjid and Changi Road, opposite Shell petrol station
WHAT:  Malay and Indian food, Chinese seafood, barbecue seafood
WHY: Good food till late. The barbecue seafood stall, Seng Kee Black Chicken Herbal Soup, closes at 4am. The Malay stall, JM Restaurant, is open 24 hours.

A ROW of taxis lines Changi Road, near Jalan Masjid, at night, with patrons dining al fresco in a closed section of the street.

Chinese seafood, halal Muslim and Cantonese cuisine, Indian food and even an Italian pizza eatery line the road. Taxi drivers on the night shift come in droves to the 24-hour Malay stall and a Chinese seafood place that stays open till 4am to serve them.

Convenience and good food are the draws. Parking along Changi Road is free after 5pm from Monday to Saturday and all day on Sundays and public holidays.

Never mind that its signboard says Seng Kee Black Chicken Herbal Soup, the stall which is open from 5pm to 4am daily, is more popular for its seafood.

Mr Lee Thiam Hock, 34, the owner, says four years ago he started to sell black chicken soup, but over time customers mostly prefer his seafood.

There is no printed menu. Choice of food and cooking style are left to customers, who dine under the stars outside the stall. They can choose from a selection of fish, ranging from $6 for red snapper to $28 to $30 for threadfin, on display.

'The food is cheap and good, and the outdoor breeze is nice,' says cabby of five years Sng Bock Chong, 33, who dines there several times a month.

Those looking for something more spicy can head some 20m down the road to the 24-hour halal JM Restaurant in Kheng Nam Heng Eating House for Malay and Indian chow.

There is sambal goreng, nasi lemak and roti prata, but Thai seafood is a favourite.

'Our Thai seafood dishes are our most popular dishes,' says restaurant supervisor Mohd Rizal, 25.

Across the road is Seng Wah Eating House, which has a stall that specialises in halal Cantonese food. The bosses are Chinese Muslim chef Abdool Shakoor Razack, 50, and his Hong Kong wife. Their menu includes wonton mee, chicken char siew noodles and beef noodles.

'Parking by the roadside is quite convenient and the food is good,' says cabby of more than 10 years Ronald Chia, 45.

OTHER NOMINEES

Row of eateries along Lim Teck Kim Road, near Keppel Road - late night Chinese and 24-hour Indian food

Coffee shop at Block 29 Havelock Road - Chinese food, open till 4am

Gold Scissors coffee shop at junction of Jalan Besar and Kitchener Road - curry rice

Hawker centre at Kallang Place, between factory blocks 16 and 26 - Malay and Chinese food

Kopitiam foodcourt at corner of Bras Basah Road and Bencoolen Street

 

'The best and cheapest tea in town'

For that quick bite in between rides

When your tummy rumbles or you need a quick thirst quencher with no more than a few minutes to spare, what you need is fast food. And we're not talking Burger King or KFC.

WHERE: sarabat drink stall in Baghdad Street, Kampong Glam
WHAT: Best tea in town, samosas, malay kueh and Indian snack vadai
WHY:  Affordable prices, convenient parking and proximity to Sultan Mosque

SOMETIMES, the best places have no name.

Proof of this are taxi drivers who swear that the best tea in town isn't found at Starbucks or Coffee Bean but a non-descript sarabat stall in Baghdad Street.

Furthermore, this stall, opposite the Kampong Glam Cafe, has the best bang for your buck - or less. A teh tarik - 'pulled tea' - will set you back just 60 cents.

The stall is hidden in the maze of shophouses in the area. A few foldable tables and stools make up the seating area, with the stall itself taking up a corner of the shophouse.

Parking is quick, affordable and easy. Just slide your car right beside the stall - and don't forget your parking coupon.

'It has convenient parking, toilet facilities and the best and cheapest tea in town,' says Mr Harun Anand, 47, who has been driving a cab for 14 years.

It is especially crowded near the time for Friday prayers, as Sultan Mosque is close by. The stall opens at 6am and closes at midnight.

Besides regular and ginger teas, samosas, malay kueh and Indian snack vadai are what keep cabbies coming back.

Heavier meals such as nasi lemak and mee siam are also available, with prices ranging from $1.50 to $2.

OTHER NOMINEES

603 Tau Sar Piah in Balestier Road - bean paste biscuits

Maxwell Market Food Centre at 2 Murray Street

Old Airport Road Market at 51 Old Airport Road

 

Good food aside, it's a chummy hangout

It serves halal Chinese food too

WHERE: Mukmin Restaurant, Block 129 #01-26, Bedok North Street 2
WHAT: If Malay food or halal Chinese grub is your thing, just follow that cab to the haunt of Muslim - and non-Muslim - taxi drivers
WHY: Nice place to hang out, accessible parking, good Muslim food

FOR some good nasi padang with your kawan kawan (friends), the Mukmin restaurant with its stalls selling halal food is the place to be.

Their specialities include traditional Malay fare such as nasi padang and halal Chinese food.

The eatery in Bedok North is also well ventilated with abundant seating, making it an ideal hangout for those looking for a place to sit, eat and relax. Most of its charm stems from the sense of camaraderie among the cabbies who flock there.

Mr Osman Mohd, 61, says drivers 'come from as far as Jurong East to eat here. It's good for a friendly gathering. There's convenient parking too'.

Some, like cabby Syed Rithman, 55, go there 'almost every day'.

Says Mr Mohamed Yusoff, 58, who has been driving a taxi for 12 years: 'The location is good, there's always parking space and you can relax here.'

Mr Syed Munir, 24, who runs the drinks stall, says of Mukmin's appeal: 'They can sit there as long as they like to enjoy the ambience.'

OTHER NOMINEES

Kampong Glam Cafe, at the junction between Baghdad Street and Bussorah Street - affordable lontong, nasi jeganan and nasi rawon.

Hajah Maimunah, in Jalan Pisang, near Arab Street - the 20-year-old restaurant serves nasi padang (rice with assorted dishes). It has a new outlet at 20 Joo Chiat Road.

Banquet Food Court, 20 Cross Street, #02-09

Mckenzie Rex, 66 Prinsep Street, #01-01

Warong Nasi Pariaman, 738 Kandahar Street, near the Sultan Mosque

Pagi Sore, 88/90 Telok Ayer Street

Adam Road Food Centre, 2 Adam Road

STI: I can't live without Asian food

Dec 19, 2004
I can't live without Asian food
by Teo Pau Lin

MS CLAIRE Beswick is the general manager of Gulf Air's South-east Asian operations.

The airline is owned by the Middle Eastern states of Oman, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. It won several industry awards this year, including the prestigious SkyTrax Excellence Award for most improved airline.

Born in Britain, Ms Beswick grew up in Singapore in the late 1960s. Her father was a flight engineer for the British Royal Air Force so her family was based here for five years.

The family then moved on to live in Africa, Malta and New Zealand. In the latter, she worked as a country manager for the BBC World Service from 1994 for two years.

Poised and elegant, the 37-year-old has 12 years of experience in the airline industry, having started her career with British Airways and moving on to Air New Zealand.

She is married to a British shipbroker and describes her marriage as a 'packaged deal' as she is stepmother to three girls aged 13, 16 and 18.

What do you remember most about Singapore food in the 1960s?

My family lived in Taman Siglap in the East Coast area. Every day, there was this kueh tutu seller who would push his cart down our street, and I remember rushing out to buy them because I absolutely adored them. I could eat 10 at a go. Whenever I smell it now, it takes me right back 30 plus years.

How has being weaned on Asian food affected your palate?

I can't go three days without Asian food. When I was younger, I used to drive my mother crazy because I'd make her cook sweet and sour anything with rice. But somehow it's never the same when your mother makes it.

Outside of Singapore, which city serves the best Singapore food?

Poon's in London's Covent Garden served Singapore food but it used to be very posh, which was odd for hawker fare. But it's since moved downmarket to Chinatown, which I think is better. In Wellington, you can find genuine samosas, mee goreng and the best satay in Singara restaurant in Manners Mall.

Can you cook Singapore food?

You bet. I can do laksa, and I just did beef rendang recently. It took me two whole days, but it was fabulous, even if I say so myself.

What do you serve when you entertain friends?

A few old favourites like Stilton cheese, martini and spinach soup, and pan-fried foie gras. My husband can do it really well. I think it's that caveman instinct, you know? Men just know what to do with meat.

Which eateries do you take your foreignvisitors to?

Liang Seah Eating Place in Liang Seah Street. I know the owner so well, I don't even need to order. The food just comes. They would serve hotplate beancurd, which just melts in your mouth, crunchy stir-fried kailan and Hong Kong mee, which is the best.

Where are your other eating haunts?

Senso in Club Street, which serves absolutely reliable Italian food. I love The Cliff in Sentosa because no matter what seafood you order, it's always great. And Lingzhi vegetarian restaurant in Far East Square. It has one of the best hot and sour soups.

What's your most sinful indulgence?

I'm a chocoholic. I can eat a 1kg bar of chocolate in one sitting if I'm left alone.

Which restaurant in the world would you fly to specially to eat?

Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxford. Six years ago, my husband and I were on holiday in England when he surprised me by getting a reservation there, which usually has a month-long waiting list. It has two Michelin stars, and was terribly civilised with black dresses and lapels everywhere. I ordered the tomato soup, and when it arrived, it was incredible - a clear liquid with no skin, no pips. It was literally juice from God-knows-how-many tomatoes. The foie gras was mind-blowingly superb, and the dessert was amazing. I would fly back there just to eat.

How much did the meal cost?

Oh, I wouldn't even dare ask my husband. All I know is, he didn't buy me any diamonds that year.

WHAT WOULD YOUR LAST MEAL BE?

'It'll be a toss-up between hot and sour soup with steamed rice or mee siam. If I may, I'll get dessert from Blanc's Le Manoir restaurant flown in - a platter of sorbet that's designed like an artist's palette. It's such a work of art that I'd probably just look at it and not eat it.'

STI: Christmas turkey

Dec 19, 2004
Christmas turkey
(with orange and cranberry marmalade)

TURKEY

 

1 turkey, about 3.5 to 4kg

2 Tbs paprika

1 Tbs onion powder

1 Tbs garlic powder

2 Tbs salt

2 Tbs melted butter

3 Tbs oil

2 large onions, thickly sliced

2 medium carrots, cut into wedges

3 stalks celery, roughly chopped

Method:

 

1. Mix spices, seasoning, butter and oil together and rub all over the turkey.

 

2. Preheat oven at 160 deg C. Line baking tray with foil. Toss vegetables with some olive oil and salt. Spread the vegetables on a tray and place the turkey on a rack above the greens.

 

3. Roast the bird for about 1 hour 45 minutes, basting it with pan juices every 20 minutes. In the last 20 minutes, increase the temperature to 180 deg C to brown the skin.

 

4. Check if it is cooked by piercing it with a roasting pin at the thickest point of the meat. If juices run clear, the turkey is cooked. Otherwise return to the oven and check every 10 to 15 minutes.

 

5. Once cooked, allow turkey to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Serves 8-10.

MUSHROOM STUFFING:

 

500g chicken breast meat, skinless, diced

250ml cream

1 egg white

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp coarse black pepper

150g smoked ham, diced

30g dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked, diced

Method:

 

1. Blend chicken meat with cream and add egg white. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

 

2. Mix ham and mushrooms with the blended chicken meat.

 

3. On a working top, spread a sheet of cling wrap and place a portion (about one-third) of the stuffing on it. Spread it out and roll up the plastic like a sausage. Secure both ends and wrap around with aluminum foil. Repeat till stuffing is used up.

 

4. Steam stuffing for 20 minutes until cooked. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

GRAVY:

 

500ml demi glace (brown sauce)

100ml pan juices from turkey

100g onions

100ml red wine

50ml cream

1 Tbs butter

Method:

 

1. Saute onions with butter. Add red wine and reduce by half. Pour in demi glace and pan juices and bring to a boil.

 

2. Simmer for 5 minutes, strain and add in the cream. Mix well and use for turkey.

ORANGE AND CRANBERRY MARMALADE

200g sugar

1 piece cinnamon stick

8 pcs cloves

150g onions, finely chopped

100ml red wine

50ml red wine vinegar

100g dried cranberries

200ml orange juice

Method:

 

1. Caramelise sugar with spices. Add onions and pour in red wine and red wine vinegar.

 

2. Add cranberries and pour in orange juice. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes over slow heat until thick. Remove spices before serving.

STI: Sabai is truly fine

Dec 19, 2004
Sabai is truly fine
by Wong Ah Yoke

WHEN Ms Jongkolnee Thoboonme left Thanying Restaurant at the Amara Hotel early this year, it was a shock for fans of the popular Thai eatery.

Ms Thoboonme - or Ms Noo as she is affectionately known as - opened the restaurant together with the hotel in 1988, and is largely credited for bringing royal Thai cuisine to Singapore.

Thanying is now managed solely by Amara with new chefs and a new menu. A branch of the restaurant that was opened in Clarke Quay in 1992 closed down a few months ago.

Thanying Express, a three-year-old casual eatery at Basement Two of Ngee Ann City which serves noodles and light dishes, is also managed by the hotel.

If you had missed the old Thanying, well, Ms Noo is back. Her new restaurant Sabai, which opened on the fourth floor of Ngee Ann City on Nov 26, serves all the old dishes from her previous eatery and then some.

It was with a sense of deva ju that I bit into a plump stuffed chicken wing ($16.50 for four wings). The deep-fried wing was juicy with succulent meat, but what the Thanying version had left strongest on the mind was the aromatic marinade. It was reproduced perfectly here.

I have tried this dish many times in Bangkok restaurants, but while most are pretty succulent, none can match the flavour.

Similarly, Sabai's red roast duck curry ($17.50) beats that of many Bangkok restaurants.

Cooked with chunks of pineapple and whole lychees or grapes, it is slightly less sweet than most versions there. It is also aromatic with coconut milk, with the spices adding flavour instead of being fiery hot.

The duck meat, which is cut into bite-sized pieces, is tender and juicy. And each piece is lined with delicious roasted skin.

What makes Sabai more exciting than the old Thanying are the new dishes on the menu. Some, like the bitter gourd salad ($15), are rather original.

The bitter gourd is sliced thinly and tossed in a lime chilli dressing with cooked prawn, shredded chicken and mint leaves. The result is an interesting mix of bitter, sweet and sour flavours that get your tastebuds working overtime.

I don't expect everyone to take to it, as the dressing is much sharper than other Thai salads. But I find it a refreshing start to the meal, and the flavours are intriguing.

The stir-fried coconut shoots ($18) will find more ready fans. They have the crisp texture of bamboo shoots but with a hint of coconut.

The dish is not on the menu, though. It was recommended by Ms Noo as a new dish that the restaurant was trying out. Another dish that you have to ask for is stir-fried lotus stems, which have a slightly green taste and a crunchy texture.

In terms of ambience, Sabai, which took over the premises of Renn Thai, another Thai restaurant that has moved to Suntec City, is even more elegant than the two Thanyings. The stunning red entrance greets the diner with a sense of luxury that extends into the dining room. There are also two private rooms lit by glittering chandeliers.

Despite being open for only a month, Sabai is clearly the best Thai restaurant in town. And there are many good ones here. It is even better than most that I've tried in Thailand, although allowance must be given for my 'foreign' palate.

Sabai is Thai for 'fine' or 'very well'. From all appearances, you can certainly expect things to go very well with this excellent restaurant. 

STI: Consuming passions

Dec 12, 2004
Consuming passions
by Teo Pau Lin

Green piece in a Pod

Vanilla Pod
200 Mandai Lake Road
Tel: 6368-0672
Opens: Noon to 2.30pm, 7 to 9.30pm; closed on Mondays

IT'S so pretty here, you might end up looking more at the view than at your food.

This two-month-old Italian restaurant is a plant-lover's paradise. Plonked in the heart of Mandai Orchid Garden, its greenhouse-like glass walls offer soothing views of its 4 ha greenery and over 200 species of orchids.

The garden has been a tourist attraction for over 30 years, and its owners decided this year to open a restaurant here.

'There was the initial worry that it's a bit out of the way, but we think Singaporeans would like some place new where they needn't grapple with traffic,' says Ms Monique Heah, 38, the daughter of one of the shareholders.

The garden is located on the road leading up to the Singapore Zoological Gardens and the Night Safari.

Favourite dishes include lobster pasta ($35), lamb shank ($26), and crabmeat tagliatelle ($18).

Former CEO is at your service

Poison Ivy
100 Neo Tiew Road
Tel: 6898-5001
Opens: 9am to 6pm; Wednesdays to Sundays only

APART from the vast blue skies and its 4 ha organic fruit and vegetable farm, the biggest attraction here is probably the co-owner herself, Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim.

Flamboyant and feisty, the 55-year-old president of the Netball Association is pointed about why people should visit her bistro, Poison Ivy, in faraway Kranji.

'Why leave Singapore to holiday in the countryside when we have our own right here?' she says.

Tucked along the vegetable and fish farming belt of Neo Tiew Road, her Bollywood Veggies farm is near the Sungei Buloh nature reserve, which she calls Singapore's 'national treasure'.

 Her 50-seat bistro sits right at the entrance of the farm and overlooks the expansive vegetation.

'This is an extension of our farm business. We want to create a place where people can drive to, stay and just have coffee. In developed countries, city people all want to return to nature,' she says.

The menu offers simple curries, snacks and cakes. Customers will be served by none other than Mrs Singh-Lim herself and her husband, former chief executive of NTUC FairPrice, Mr Lim Ho Seng, 61.

'That's the charm of this place, to have a former CEO serve you. Don't you think it's fabulous?' she says with a chuckle.

As many as 50 families troop in over the weekends. The bistro has played host to singer-composer Dick Lee's birthday party, as well as a wedding between two young architects.

Order the curry ($5), banana cake ($2), vadai ($1) and, Mrs Singh-Lim insists, the coffee, 'because it's made by yours truly'.

Galley is making waves

Galley By The Straits
SAF Yacht Club
43 Admiralty Road West
Tel: 6757-9026
Opens: 11am to 10pm daily

TO GET here, you first have to drive past Sembawang army camp, over a few bumpy dirt tracks and past an unappetising stretch of steel containers.

But once inside the SAF Yacht Club, you'd be rewarded with a startling view of the sea, and across it, the Johor Baru skyline.

Claiming to be the 'northern-most' restaurant in Singapore, this seafood joint spans two floors and a boardwalk that allows you to eat romantically close to the waves.

Owner Jimmy Sim, 54, took over the space two years ago, believing that despite its little-known address, customers would be lured by the waterfront.

And true enough, it is now frequented by corporate types who work in the Sembawang area and families over the weekends.

'They came to know about us, and just kept coming,' he says.

He adds that the best time to come is between 7 and 7.30pm, when the sun sets and the waters slowly get illuminated by lights on the ships.

Try the fish head curry (from $20), marsala fish and chips ($13) and soft-shell crab (from $12).

Eat under an Angsana

Sunset Grill & Pub
140B Piccadilly, Seletar Airbase (from Piccadilly, turn into Lambeth Walk, Hampstead Gardens, Western Avenue, into East Camp, all the way to Singapore Flying Club)
Tel: 6482-0244
Opens: 4 to 10pm; closed on Tuesdays

THIS place is so remote that some sections of the road are not paved. Other parts have no street lamps so at night, you have to turn on your car's high beams.

If you're taken here on a first date, you might even be suspicious enough to jump out of the car mid-way should your date reveal himself to be a serial killer.

But once you get to the restaurant, it is really quite a treat.

You sit on a wooden deck under a huge Angsana tree and tuck into steak and pasta with 1980s music playing on Gold 90.5FM.

The affable husband-and-wife owners are likely to say hi and chit-chat. And as the restaurant sits at one end of Seletar Airbase, you might even catch the odd plane taking off.

American Jerry Griffis, 71, set up shop here in March, after selling off his previous outlet, Buckaroos Grill, in Andrews Avenue in Sembawang, two years ago.

His choice of locales is offbeat because 'I like greenery and there's not much of it left in Singapore', he says.

The food, while hearty and amply portioned, is not cheap. A two-course meal for two can come to more than $80, without wine.

We loved the buffalo wings, which come in three levels of spiciness (from $14.50 for six wings), Caesar salad ($10.50) and lamb chops ($22.50).

STI: Flaunting Fuenti

Dec 12, 2004
Flaunting Fuenti
by WONG AH YOKE

IT'S not a name that comes up often when one asks around for a good Italian restaurant. But over the past two years, Fuenti has quietly grown into one of the best in town.

The elegant restaurant in UE Square across the road from the bars in Mohammed Sultan Road is a bit out of sync with its neighbours which attract a more relaxed, even rowdier crowd.

That perhaps explains why it remains off the radar for foodies who do not frequent the area.

More's the pity. But it's not too late to discover it.

In fact, the restaurant launched a new menu last month that is amazing. Everything I've tried from it has been good, with some even exceptional.

My favourite is the pan-fried US beef tenderloin with goose liver ($39). Order it medium rare and you will be rewarded with a melt-in-the-mouth, juicy, fragrant piece of meat that is full of flavour. The slab of pan-fried goose liver on top provides the icing.

The pasta is just as excellent. The ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese ($28) are neat little pillows of pasta that are bursting with the creamy cheese inside.

Providing more punch are the butter and truffles they are tossed in. Sinful, yes, but heavenly too.

Even the simple spaghetti with fresh seafood ($22), which normally comes in a tomato-based homemade sauce but which I tried tossed with just olive oil and garlic, is heavenly.

The pasta is cooked just right with a hint of firmness and the sweetness of the clams and mussels is well incorporated into the olive oil.

There are also lots of great appetisers to choose from.

What stands out, however, is the combination of pan-fried foie gras with grenadine and portobello mushroom ($22).

The mushroom goes very well with the smooth foie gras and both come covered in a delicious creamy sauce.

If all these dishes sound too rich for you, Fuenti has also come up with a healthy set lunch menu ($28) for those who are watching their waistline.

The four-course meal is cooked with no salt, pepper, butter, wine, cream or cheese.

A typical menu consists of dishes like a clear veal soup; grilled vegetables dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette; thin tagliatelle tossed with olive oil and shaved truffles or grilled fish fillet with olive oil and lemon; and oven-baked apple.

So whether you are a weight-watcher or someone who could not care less about calories as long as the food is good, you will find something to like here.

BTO: Tried and true wins the day at new Thai openings

Business Times – 04 Dec 2004

Tried and true wins the day at new Thai openings

By Jaime Ee

Sticky etiquette question of the week: If you are in a Thai restaurant in Singapore, and the staff - mostly non-Thai - greet you with the traditional 'sawasdee' hands-clasped-and-bow-of-head gesture, how do you respond? Do the same and feel silly in a me-Singaporean-you-not-Thai so-why-must-pretend-like-that manner, or avoid them by pretending your contact lens fell out and grope your way across the floor to your table?

This social dilemma confronted me at two new Thai restaurants in town, where I was sawasdee-d more times in five minutes than I am in five days in Bangkok. I decided the best way to avoid returning the greeting was to startle them by demanding, 'where's your dessert buffet?' whereupon they would get so flustered they would forget to bow their heads.  

The two new restaurants are named Sabai and Rung Rueng - both high-end Thai eateries that come with a certain pedigree.

Sabai
#04-23 Ngee Ann City. Tel: 6333 8492
Rating: 6.5/10

Sabai is actually the old Thanying given a new name but run by the same people behind the original restaurant at Amara Hotel. Having swopped dated premises for spanking new upmarket digs at Ngee Ann
City, Sabai is dressed in starched linens and priced to match.

It wasn't cheap to eat at Thanying in its old place, and the new prices you're paying are definitely in line with its higher rent. But if you remind yourself that this is royal Thai cuisine, you will stop doing calculations to see if you can squeeze a budget air ticket to Bangkok and a meal at Bangkok's own Thanying for the price of a meal here.

For starters, we were a trifle disappointed that mien kam - the Thai complimentary snack of diced dried shrimp, coconut, peanuts and other condiments wrapped in a muang leaf and dipped in a sweet sauce - was not available that day. Instead, we got slices of sour green mango to be dipped in a sweet spicy sauce - which wasn't so fun to eat.

Sabai's menu features everything in the old Thanying menu, and lots more. But if you don't want any surprises, then stick to the tried and tested. We would never fail to order its deep fried grouper with
sweet/spicy sauce, stuffed chicken wings, papaya salad and tom yam soup. But opting for the new dishes, we had hit and miss results.

The bittergourd salad ($15) sounded intriguing and was a refreshing concoction of paper thin slices of gourd mixed with chicken and prawn bits in a tart lime-chilli dressing adorned with two whole prawns. A
few bites later, though, and the tartness became a little overpowering. Something was a bit off in the sweet-sour-salty-spicy combination the day we were there, possibly attributable to opening jitters - even
so, for veterans in the business, you wonder what jitters they could possibly have. For some reason, there was a sense of coyness or hesitance in the food that we couldn't quite put a finger on.

An attempt to create Thai dimsum remained just that - an attempt. The intriguingly described but non-descript sago balls stuffed with either minced chicken and peanuts or minced fish basically confirms
why dimsum is best left to the Cantonese.  

The Chiangmai sausage, or Sai Ouah ($12.50) is a worthy opponent to its counterpart back home - this exciting combination of minced meat and herbs brought back instant memories of hunting down the best sai ouah in the northern Thai region. Soups like tom yam and fish maw were solid - no surprises here, although the tom yam was slightly watered down. And if you're really not into spicy Thai - Sabai does a lovely steamed cod ($28) fragrant with fish sauce, lime juice and herbs, and you have the option of ladling a yummy chilli dressing on the fish which is garlicky good.

If you want to reprise your Thanying memories of old, stick to the classic dishes. Finally, if you've had sneaky suspicions that Thanying's famous dessert buffet has been getting smaller and smaller, your
fears are confirmed here as $7.50 gets you little more than fruit, a small selection of Thai sticky cakes, its famous candied tapioca with coconut cream, a warm bubur cha cha like dessert and attap seeds. Gone are the days of platters overflowing with Thai fruit and groaning plates of jellies and assorted icy concoctions.

As they say, nostalgia comes at a price, and it's up to you to decide if Sabai is worth it. 

Rung Rueng
#01-05 One Fullerton. Tel: 6423-1063.
Rating: 7/10

At Rung Rueng, the Thai sister to Tatsuya Sushi, prices are similar to Sabai, but you do get an opening discount of 15 per cent thanks to hastily printed vouchers shoved at you when you're walking through One Fullerton.

The food there is consistently good, and so is the service - despite the countless sawasdee greetings.

The green mango salad ($14) is a deliciously sweet and crunchy mound of shredded mango and crispy dried shrimp in a creamy coconut dressing, while the stuffed chicken wings are just like Thanying's - crispy skin with generous stuffing of minced meat and prawn.

Check out too the deep fried king prawns ($24) featuring four giant specimens deep-fried in crispy batter (they must have got tips from Tatsuya's tempura chef for this) such that you can even crunch down on the whole prawn head without having to retrieve bits of shell from between your teeth. They are generous with their dips, filling the table with a different combination for almost every dish. Also good and
garlicky (extremely) is the stir-fried sliced pork. And it also serves a good rich green curry.

But don't go peering all over the restaurant to look for the dessert buffet that's listed in the menu. It's been taken off the menu. Maybe they assume that people will just go for the widely acclaimed sticky rice with durian, or mango. If you're less ambitious, the simple water chestnut and coconut flesh in iced coconut milk ends the meal on a predictable note. Which is what this restaurant is in terms of menu - you get no surprises, but you do get what you expect. Overall, if you're a fan of Aroy Thai's East Coast branch, you'll appreciate Rung Rueng for its finer touches and - given its all-woman kitchen team - feminine approach to Thai cuisine.