Looking for a new place to eat at this month? Here are 14 places worth checking out in Singapore this February.
The restaurant musical chair that had been going on at the Shangri-La hotel is finally over with the opening of Origin Grill.
The new restaurant is located behind the hotel’s lobby on the ground floor, where Japanese restaurant Nadaman used to be.
Nadaman is now gone and another Japanese restaurant, Nami, opened on the hotel’s 24th floor last year – which in turn was where Nadaman used to be back in the 1970s. And if you have been around as long as I have, you may remember the fine-dining French restaurant Latour on the lobby floor that was the pride of the dining scene here in the 1980s.
If you are confused by all that opening and closing, never mind. You just need to know this – the Japanese restaurant is now upstairs and the new grill is on the ground floor.
Origin is made up of two separate spaces – a bar just after the entrance and the dining room at the back. The bar, especially after it fills up, is more visually exciting with its backlit wall display of bottles and cosy cushions to lounge in.
The restaurant, on the other hand, is cold and bland. The monotony of the beige-coloured room gets little relief save for a couple of potted plants against the walls. The only design element seems to be the arched doorways leading to a set of private rooms and a similar row of arches coming down from the ceiling in the middle of the room. The overall look strikes me as a pared-down stage set for a monastery.
But perhaps that is intentional because the mediaeval European monks were known gourmets and the food at Origin could well be what would whet their appetite.
The cooking is robust and unpretentious. Call me old-fashioned, but I like that everything on the plate is instantly recognisable and every flavour detectable.
Australian chef Heidi Flanagan’s menu has a good number of steaks, but non-beef eaters can find a generous selection of appetisers and other main courses to pick from.
So at my impromptu visit last weekend, that was what I do: pick from the different sections of the menu rather than just focusing on the steaks.
And it is a good meal overall, with the flavours immediate and the cooking confident.
The pan-seared Hokkaido scallops with fragrant chilli jam ($32) is a good example. The chilli jam, a balanced condiment of spice and sugar, hits the spot, while the sweet and plump scallops hold their own amid a blanket of pomelo, wing beans, holy basil and crushed peanuts. It is an exciting melange of flavours and the wing beans are a pleasant surprise as one seldom finds them in Western cooking here.
Then there is the starter of summer asparagus, bottarga and creamy burrata ($28), where the salty octopus bottarga works so well with the lightly charred asparagus spears. And the blob of bottarga binds them together just nicely.
Spaghetti tossed with heirloom tomatoes and basil ($22) sounds rather boring on paper, but is not so on the palate. I’m glad I order it because, though simple, the dish is very good. The main reason is the fresh tomato sauce, with fruity flavours that the canned variety just cannot match.
The only starter I have reservations about is the octopus charred with smoked paprika ($24). It is not because it tastes bad. In fact, the spiced tomato jam and fava beans the octopus is drenched with is delicious. So is the dollop of eggplant puree on the side. It is that the octopus is chewy. I guess I am just conditioned to favour the tender sous-vided tentacles that many restaurants here serve.
For the mains, I pick only one steak from among the cheaper ones on the menu: the Rangers Valley Black Market 100% Pure Black Angus striploin ($68 for 300g). It is good beef for the price, much better than meat I’ve paid more for. There is good flavour and it is tender without being laden with fat.
There are expensive cuts such as the snow-aged full blood wagyu A4 ($168 for 200g) from Niigata in Japan, but I will have to go back to try that.
Instead, I order other meats such as the slow-roasted crispy pork belly with aromatics ($38), which I am totally happy with. The crackling is crispy enough, but the flavoursome meat is what wins me over. It comes with Tuscan kale, roast apple and sauce soubise, which work but are not particularly noteworthy.
The Rangers Valley bone-in beef short rib ($48) comes with a Korean barbeque marinade, which sounds exciting. But it turns out to be too sweet for my liking. And the flavour just overwhelms the meat as well as the potato gratin and cabbage slaw that come with it.
I have only one dessert, passion fruit swirl pavlova and toasted coconut ($18), but it is so deconstructed that it is unrecognisable as a pavlova. It doesn’t help that there is hardly any meringue to be seen.
What saves it are the chunks of fresh mango, which are ripe and honey sweet.
Origin is not the most exciting restaurant to open recently, but it is familiar and dependable. And those may well be what a restaurant needs to get people to return.
Lobby Level, Tower Wing, Shangri-la Hotel Singapore, 22 Orange Grove Road
If you have been to Sky On 57, the now-defunct modern Asian restaurant on the Marina Bay Sands rooftop, you will be surprised to see how the space has changed.
Occupying the premises now is Lavo, a two-week-old bar, restaurant and nightclub concept from New York.
Sky On 57’s elegant, contemporary interiors with soothing pastels are gone, replaced by an eclectic retro look comprising dark wood, raw bricks, patterned tiles and clashing lamps and chandeliers. And covering some walls are white tiles that remind me of the kopitiam of yesteryear.
Depending on your taste, it can be seen as a welcome nod to nostalgia or an example of a decorator who didn’t know when to stop. For me, it feels like a restaurant from the 1970s that had more and more elements slapped onto the original design over the years.
The food, too, is a throwback to a time when health consciousness had yet to dictate general eating habits. So if carbohydrates, cream and butter are anathema to you, this is not your kind of restaurant.
I, however, love Lavo’s robust American-Italian cooking, where big is beautiful and heavy is heavenly. I wouldn’t want to dine there every day – nor should I, for my heart’s sake – but when I’m in the mood for a cheat day with hearty, rich food, Lavo is on my list.
Talking about big, “The Meatball” ($38) is not to be missed. It is gargantuan and you have to order it just to see how big it is – about the size of a grapefruit. Two of us could not finish it.
Made with ground Imperial wagyu (an American product) and Italian sausage, it has a solid feel and enough beefiness to satisfy. It is served with whipped ricotta that makes it even heavier, but also tastier.
The Baked Clams Oreganato ($27) disappoints. With the shellfish topped with toasted breadcrumbs, minced garlic, oregano and white wine, the flavours are good. But the clams are overcooked and have lost their sweet juices, which takes the joy out of eating them.
The Penne Seafood Alfredo ($48) is another dish that can be better. The lobster butter sauce the pasta is tossed in is yummy. My complaint is that the seafood has a frozen quality that I often find in mass-market chain eateries. But with the prices Lavo is charging, I expect better.
Otherwise, it’s a hefty serving with a generous amount of prawns and scallops – enough for a main or to be split among the table as a second course. If the chef switches to better produce, I would recommend the dish heartily.
I have no reservations doing that with the Crispy Chicken “Dominick” ($48). The deboned pieces of chicken are cooked perfectly – juicy and tender, with a nicely crisped skin. A sauce with caramelised onions and herbs with a white balsamic glaze, as well as some chilli flakes to give it a hint of spice, complements it perfectly. Chunks of nicely roasted potato complete the dish.
The signature dessert is called 20 Layer Chocolate Cake ($24), so you can expect it to be big, too. My dinner companion and I share a serving and we can eat only half of it.
It’s described as chocolate devil’s food cake with peanut butter mascarpone, in alternate layers that build up to a tower on the plate. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is a surefire winner, but the cake itself is a tad dry.
So that’s Lavo. Some people will love it for its unapologetic celebration of past pleasures, others will be horrified by its old-fashionedness.
It does not do everything right, but there are some very good dishes. One thing is for sure: If you are planning to dine there, go with a big appetite.
Level 57 Sands Skypark Hotel Tower 1, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue
Johnathan Quek moved to Seoul for love, picked up the Korean language and started his first barbecue restaurant there.
He went on to start On The Grill in the hip shopping district of Myeongdong and has now opened its first overseas outlet in Singapore at City Square Mall.
He said: “After spending more than seven years in South Korea, I finally have the opportunity to bring On The Grill back to Singapore and I look forward to bringing fresh ideas from Korea.”
The restaurant in Myeongdong serves a unique fusion style of Korean barbecue that has been well received by Koreans and foreigners, he says.
The Singapore menu combines the most popular grilled-meat options from the Myeongdong outlet with a modern interpretation of traditional recipes from the Korean countryside towns.
Recommended from the Grill Menu are Honey Garlic Pork Belly ($12.90, above), the Myeongdong outlet’s bestseller; the tender Ddakgalbi ($11.90), a red pepper paste recipe from the Chunchon province; and the Mixed Grill Platter ($50, comprising one beef, two grilled pork and one grilled chicken).
From the a la carte section, the Bibimbap Rice Bowl ($9.90 to $13.90) is a highlight, while the special Korean Fried Chicken ($10.90) is adapted from a popular recipe known mostly to locals from the Gangnam district in Seoul.
On the kids’ menu ($6.90 to $8.90) are Korean snacks and sides such as Bacon Fried Rice, Korean Cheese Omelette and Rice With Stir-Fried Beansprouts ($4 each).
#03-41, City Square Mall, 180 Kitchener Road
Another addition to dining options at Tanjong Pagar Centre, Shard is a modern restaurant and bar offering fusion tapas by merging Mediterranean with Spanish cuisine.
Diners get to sit around its Island Kitchen for a ring-side view of the chefs cooking the food they order. Some of the dishes, especially the desserts, use liquid nitrogen. While unconventional, this method is said to give a certain flair to the dishes.
Among the menu highlights is Tuna Tartare ($24++, above) – with bluefin tuna, ginger and soya sauce, balsamic mushroom and watermelon cubes – portraying Hispanic-Asian fusion flavours. Squid Ink Paella ($45++) is a dish with traditional carnaroli rice cooked in squid ink spread with mussels and carabinero prawns, finished in the charcoal oven.
Pigeon two styles ($40++) comprises French pigeon leg confit with seared breast, paired with seasonal vegetables, Jerusalem artichoke, white asparagus and lotus root.
Level One Urban Park, Tanjong Pagar Centre, 5 Wallich Street
Officially opened earlier in January, Tablescape is a 60-seater modern European restaurant and bar in Grand Park City Hall hotel.
Executive chef Robert Chan, fresh from his stint at The Carvery at Park Hotel Alexandra, gives a contemporary twist to classic dishes.Starters include steak tartare (right, $24++) and salmon gravlax ($16++) with subtle updates.
For mains, the lobster and fish pairing gets an upgrade with prosciutto ham-wrapped monkfish and Maine lobster on risotto in Armagnac lobster bisque ($38++). For the smoked braised Black Angus short rib ($30++), horseradish is pureed with potatoes to create a tangy side and freshly roasted bone marrow completes the dish.
Also on the menu are Josper-grilled meats and seafood for sharing. Preorder the porchetta (market price), a tender stuffed pork roll with crispy skin, carved tableside, for at least four people. Sides ($6++ each) include creamed spinach and quinoa with pumpkin.
The dessert selection ($12++) features a rotation of housemade sweets such as spicy mango and raspberry lychee with almond cake.
The bar menu offers wines, craft beers and cocktails with a twistas well as Mediterranean-inspired bar bites such as Cajun prawns ($12++).
Level 3 Grand Park City Hall, 10 Coleman Street
The name is inspired by the Chinese term for typhoon, tai feng, and an abbreviation of tai wan feng wei, which means “taste of Taiwan”.
Located in Plaza Singapura, the cafe is the newest dining concept by F&B group Creative Eateries.
Taiwanese food is synonymous with street food. Typhoon Cafe’s small-plates section showcases classic street picks such as crispy pork intestine ($13.90), oyster omelette ($10.90) and golden chicken fritters ($8.90).
Other offerings include Taiwanese sausage-stuffed chicken wings ($10.90) and Typhoon taro chips ($12.90).
The menu includes 17 Typhoon Boards sets (from $12.90), which come in a variety of noodles and rice and feature Taiwanese national dishes such as oyster mee sua, lu rou fan (braised pork rice) and san bei (three cups) chicken. Each set comes with a Chinese chilled salad side dish and a soup of day for rice and dry noodles.
Desserts include Taiwan’s iconic coffin toast – cereal coffin toast (above right, $14.90) is cereal coated and served with chocolate bananas, berries and stracciatella ice cream. A lighter alternative is the Typhoon pavlova ($13.90).
The beverage menu comprises Typhoon signature fruit teas ($8.50) such as Tropical Passion Fruit Tea, Summer Berries Rhapsody and Citrus Elixir. Typhoon Floral Tea is a medley of osmanthus, rose, lavender and jasmine.
#04-67 Plaza Singapura (new wing), 68 Orchard Road
Say Chiizu, Thailand’s stretchiest Hokkaido-style cheese toast, is opening its first four outlets in Singapore on consecutive days this week, starting with VivoCity tomorrow.
The other three takeaway kiosks will be at 313@Somerset (opens on Tuesday), White Sands Shopping Centre (Wednesday) and The Clementi Mall (Thursday).
Say Chiizu plans to have 10 outlets by the end of the year, as well as a cafe in central Singapore next month.
The concept uses its “pull” factor as one of its main attractions.
Say Chiizu’s famed cheese is made with specially imported Japanese milk, then mixed with a blend of fresh cheeses such as mozzarella to create the optimum texture for that cheese pull.
The cheese is served between crisp slices of housemade Hokkaido milk toast.
The toast ($3.80 each) comes in three flavours – charcoal, chocolate and original.
The brand’s signature range of cheese toast and selected items will be served at the kiosks while the full menu, which will include cheese fries and drinks, will be unveiled at the cafe.
#B2-K16 VivoCity, 1 Harbourfront Walk; #B3-49 313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Road; #01-44 White Sands Shopping Centre, 1 Pasir Ris Central Street 3; #04-K4 The Clementi Mall, 3155 Commonwealth Avenue West
Kazu Sushi Grill Sake (above, showing a mixed selection), helmed by head chefs Ichiyama Kazuhiro and Imai Hideyoshiaya, specialises in omakase, robata grill, sushi and donburi.
Highlights of the menu are Omi Beef Tataki with ponzu jelly ($40++), using Grade A4 Omi wagyu beef from Shiga Prefecture; and King Crab Tempura (market price), cooked in Kazu Sushi Grill Sake’s Doctor Fryer, with 50 per cent less oil.
The King Crab may also be enjoyed in traditional robata grill-style, where fresh king crab is slow-grilled over hot charcoal.
Another choice is Omakase Dinner (from $80++), where diners can enjoy fresh seafood from Hokkaido.
Donburi and sushi and sashimi sets are available for lunch and dinner.
A la carte sushi ($5++ to $30++) include bluefin tuna, octopus, Japanese tiger prawn, squid, suruga saba, surf clam, ark shell, uni and negitoromaki.
#01-14 Marina One, The Heart, 5 Straits View
Located at PoMo Mall in Selegie Road, Sweet Mary’s is a speciality soft-serve and brew bar featuring Hokkaido milk-based soft serve and over-the-top doughnuts.
The Specials ($7.20 to $8.50) – named after Hollywood icons of yesteryear including Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly (above) and Marilyn Monroe – are soft-serve doughnuts with red velvet crumble, chocolate soil, red velvet cookie and cream cheese sauce.
Sweet Mary’s uses Hokkaido milk as a base for all its soft serve and currently serves two flavours: Sea-salt Hokkaido Milk and Pink Coconut ($4.50 cup/$5.80 cone each).
Additionally, the Signatures is a series of six soft serves with flavours such as Salted Caramel Popcorn ($5.60 cup/$6.90 cone), Matcha Oreo ($5.80/$7.10), Mango Sticky Rice ($4.50/$5.80) and Strawberry Rose ($5.40/$6.70).
There is also original Cold Brewed Cacao ($6.20 to $6.80) and cacao-based concoctions such as Pineapple Cream Soda Cacao and Cherry Vanilla Cacao.
Customers can add toppings (80 cents to $1.50) to their cold brew, including cotton candy and a milk foam topping with flavours such as Triple Cheese Hokkaido Milk Foam, salted caramel and matcha white chocolate.
#01-02 PoMo, 1 Selegie Road
For hearty, comfort French food, head to the 36-seat Summer Hill bistro in Sunset Way, which will open in the middle of this month. It is run by chef-owner Anthony Yeoh, formerly of the now-defunct Cocotte at Wanderlust Hotel.
The small menu focuses on signatures such as his poulet roti (French-style roast chicken, $25 for half, $45 for whole, with two sides and gravy), as well as tartes du jour (tarts of the day) – one savoury and the other sweet.
Head chef Christopher Soh – Cocotte’s former sous chef and previous head chef of the defunct Bird Bird – will also offer regular specials.
Summer Hill also offers a private meal service (delivery or self-collection is available). Roast chicken sets ($25 to $30, above), for example, are available, and include gravy, sides and condiments. For more premium sets which come with wagyu, prices go up to $90 a person. The hassle-free service is designed to be delivered earlier and hosts just have to add finishing touches and have their meals ready in an hour or less.
#01-62, Block 106, Clementi Street 12
Better known as The Nasi Lemak Stall At The Sail, Sambal Time aims to provide a healthier version of nasi lemak without the excessive oil and trans fat.
As its name also suggests, the eatery places great emphasis on its sambal chilli, which comes in a variety of flavours.
Founder and head chef Vyn Chong believes that, with the right ingredients and cooking methods, what are normally regarded as unhealthy meals can be made healthier.
Sambal Time uses a blend of low glycemic index white rice and brown basmati grains and sunflower oil – and nothing is deep-fried. The food is mainly grilled, air-fried and pan-fried. There are nine sambal chillies, made from scratch using a variety of spices each day.
Its lunch boxes include Simply Nasi Lemak ($3.50 regular with one piece omelette/$4.50 upsize) and the Grilled Chicken version ($6/$8, above). Other sides and extra servings include green curry mushrooms ($1.50), Basmati rice ($1.50/$2), small anchovies (50 cents), sambal (50 cents/80 cents) and peanuts (20 cents).
#01-16 The Sail, 6 Marina Boulevard
Siglap may seem like a sleepy little hamlet in the east of Singapore, but its latest resident IZA wants to change that.
Billing itself as “Your local Izakaya bar”, it has many seats for you to have a drink and hang out. It opens till 1am, so there is no rush to leave.
The food comes from the trendy The Skewer Bar (TSB) in Geylang.
The menu is a collaboration between IZA and TSB, and the result has attracted young people looking for good but inexpensive food and drinks.
The mood is relaxed, as is the service. It may seem like it is more about the atmosphere than the food, but the brief menu throws up some surprises.
I am in love with the hae bee hiam-laced Special Yaki Onigiri ($5.90 for two) and could eat many of these. It is aromatic, comforting, familiar, easy to eat and simply delicious.
This small parcel of rice is just salty enough to whet the appetite and does not make you feel bloated after.
Also delicious is the Stuffed Taupok Special ($3, below) with minced chicken, mozzarella, onion, carrot and mushroom.
Again, it works because it evokes a sense of familiarity, even though I have never had cheese with my taupok. This is a popular dish at TSB, one of the many dishes you’ll find on the menu at both locations.
It cannot be a place for the millennial if it does not offer an avocado dish. Here, it is the Grilled Avocado ($5, above). The combination of avocado and egg is a common and popular one, so while it offers nothing new in terms of taste and sensation, it is worth checking out because it is tasty. Just don’t expect anything ground-breaking.
The Otah Tamago ($6.90, above) is an interesting concept – otah wrapped in Japanese omelette – but perhaps not fully realised in execution. The otah is weak in flavour and can benefit from a bit more spice as it is overwhelmed by the egg.
I have tasted versions of the Hae Bee Hiam Spaghetti ($11.90) and this version is not memorable – just competent, but sedate. I wish for a stronger umami flavour or hint of belachan.
One word of warning though, especially if you are the type who needs to plan your route.
IZA’s location is not MRT-friendly – it is a 20-minute walk from Kembangan MRT station – and it was a nightmare for me trying to book a car out of the area, although a bus stop is nearby.
Still, if you’re looking for a chill-out, inexpensive and off-the-beaten-track place to gather with friends, it could be worth your while to make it there.
695 East Coast Road
Most people would agree that there is much room for improvement in restaurant service standards in Singapore. But when you dine at a luxury hotel, you would expect it to be better than average.
My experience at 665°F, the month-old steakhouse at Andaz Singapore, proved that is not necessarily the case. This was totally unexpected as Andaz is a luxury boutique hotel under the Hyatt Group, pitched just below its premium Park Hyatt brand.
It was not like the restaurant was understaffed. There were five servers working the floor in a dining room no bigger than the living room of a five-room Housing Board flat.
Yet, no one took my order – for both mains and dessert – or cleared the plates after the mains without prompting.
Each time, my dining companion and I waited 10 minutes before we gave up and called someone over.
While we waited, servers walked past us, glanced at our table, even smiled at us – and walked on. They were looking, but not seeing. Or perhaps they did not know that cutlery placed side by side on an empty plate meant the diner had finished eating.
I don’t fault them, though. The problem obviously lay with the management for not providing them with the right training.
Hopefully, the kitchen did not suffer the same negligence because both steaks I ordered turned out well-done after I had asked for them to be cooked medium rare. A case of miscommunication on the part of the person who took my order? I shudder if the cooks could not get it right.
But at an earlier invited tasting, the Wagyu Tomahawk from Margaret River ($160 for 1.2kg) I ate was perfectly grilled. The bone-in hunk of meat was excellent – flavourful, tender, juicy – so I’d give the kitchen staff the benefit of the doubt.
Even overcooked, the grain-fed USDA Prime Sirloin ($69 for 340g) I had on my return visit tasted good enough for me to finish it. But the grass-fed, dry-aged Ribeye from Ireland ($49 for 350g) was bland on top of being dry.
The rest of the meal ranged from competent to good.
Starters worth checking out included the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes ($29). A golden coat of crispy crumbs enveloped the moist crabmeat inside. It was tasty on its own, but, if you wish, it could be pepped up further with an accompanying spiced pepper dip.
Hokkaido Scallop Ceviche ($35) was another good starter and the generous amount of scallops justified the price. Cured in a lemon vinaigrette with the milky consistency of leche de tigre (tiger’s milk), the shellfish was sweet and went well with the salmon roe in the dish.
Among the non-meat main courses, the Boston Lobster ($80) was a standout. Baked Thermidor style, the gratinated creamy sauce on the shellfish had a rich, intense flavour that reminded me of mentaiko (spicy cod roe) – and the lobster was cooked just right.
Desserts were huge and plated interestingly, though they looked better than they tasted.
The Ivory And Bitter Chocolate Mousse ($28), which came as a huge, bright-red globe on a pool of cream sauce, was a head-turner.
You had to break the shell, made of white chocolate, to reveal the mousse inside. But the shell was too thick and hard while the mousse was too wet, so though it tasted good, the balance of textures was off.
Would I go back? The food and the reasonable prices are tempting. As for the service, hopefully, the hotel can fix it fast.
Otherwise, it should do the right thing and waive the service charge until it does.
Level 38, Andaz Singapore, 5 Fraser Street
Myo Restobar sounds more like a place to go for cocktails and tapas than dimsum and claypot chicken. It looks like one too, with its spare, industrial-looking grey interiors and a wall installation of turning cogwheels.
Still, it serves Cantonese food and its signature dish is a whole chicken wrapped in cabbage leaves and braised in a claypot.
If that sounds like the dish made famous by Kia Hiang, that is because Myo is opened by the same Ng family behind that restaurant. It started in International Plaza more than 30 years ago and had outlets in Kim Tian Road, Sun Plaza and UE Square at various times.
The new restaurant is the family’s attempt to reach out to younger customers and the name is a variation of the Chinese word miao, which means exquisite and wonderful.
It is an apt description for the Kia Hiang Claypot Spring Chicken ($18), a dish I first tried more than a decade ago at the UE Square outlet. With the chicken wrapped in cabbage and halfsubmerged in a dark brown gravy, the dish is a challenge to photograph but tastes wonderful.
The gravy, from a recipe that the Ngs keep secret, has a deep and robust flavour from a blend of sauces. The chicken is simmered in it till the meat is soft and comes off the bone easily.
The dish calls for a bowl of rice so that you can ladle spoonfuls of the gravy over it. Just eating the meat does not do it justice.
A good gravy is also what makes the dimsum item, Braised Chicken Feet In Abalone Sauce ($4.80), a standout. Unlike the mildly sweet-spicy gravy used in other restaurants, the one here is darker, sticky with collagen and more savoury, with no hint of sugar. And the chicken feet are stewed without having been deep-fried first.
Dimsum is served at both lunch and dinner, though the selection at night may be more limited as some items could run out.
For my dinner, I also order the Steamed Shrimp Dumplings ($5.20) and Steamed Siu Mai With Conpoy And Black Truffle ($5.20). Both pass muster, but are not remarkable. The Flaky Black Angus Pastry ($5.80) makes a strong impression, with its delicious filling.
The other dishes I try are generally good, family-style fare. Servings are small, but prices are low, so you can try more dishes.
For example, you do not have to order a whole garoupa. Instead, the fish comes in boneless fillets to accommodate small dining groups and budgets. I order the Fried Garoupa Fillet With Garden Greens (from $14 for small) and am happy with the thick slices of fish fried with mushrooms, carrot, broccoli and pine nuts.
If you prefer meat, the Black Pepper Angus Ribeye Cubes ($18) does not disappoint. The beef is nicely undercooked and tender, and the black pepper sauce not too fiery. It’s another item that goes well with rice.
One dish, however, disappoints.
The Myo Chilli Crabmeat With Buns ($14 for small) is created for diners who do not want to get their hands messy dealing with crab shells. But using frozen crabmeat in place of live crabs means the shellfish is dry, with no juices to flavour the piquant chilli sauce. So until the restaurant figures out how to fix it, I would give the dish a miss for now.
Chinese restaurants seldom boast interesting desserts, but the Young Coconut Stewed With Peach Resin ($8) here is something I will order again. The combination of egg white, coconut water and sugar steamed in a coconut shell produces a fragrance that is hard to resist. Little orange pellets of peach resin, which are like agar-agar, float on the surface. It is a little too sweet for me, but no one else at my table is complaining.
Myo is located in an office block in the Central Business District (CBD), so expect crowds during lunch on weekdays. If you are not working in the vicinity, the best time to go is in the evenings and on Sundays. That’s also when parking in the CBD is cheap and plentiful.
#19-01, Lobby 1, Oxley Tower, 138 Robinson Road
Text: Wong Ah Yoke and Eunice Quek/The Straits Times Yeoh Wee Teck/The New Paper