Favorite eating places and products

[uscate]

We happened upon some great all-natural peanut butter while at Pasar Bella a few months ago, and have become fans! Second Helpings is a small (2 person) operation that makes all-natural, locally sourced Beenut Butters that are DELICIOUS!!! They're made with natural flavorings, sea salt and honey (hence the Beenut Butter name), and are featured at a few local shops and also "pop up" at marketplaces in the area.

Here's their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/secondhelpings.sg/info, and their email addy: [email protected]. Definitely shoot Tannie an email if you're interested in finding out where to get this peanut butter - it's addictive!!

Not sure if this'll be taken down by the Mods, but this is a truly AWESOME product, and the creators are just the nicest people….We like to support local entrepreneurs whenever possible, and give big snaps to Tannie Tang and her hubby Ezra Nicholas!!

[JR8]

Maybe we should start a topic for outstanding local products, producers, outlets. Not places that 'love-bomb' you, but places that go beyond expectations. They seem pretty rare things to encounter here, so maybe worth sharing?

My current tips are ... http://www.saybons.com/soups.html
Great fresh home-made soups. Took care of the appetiser for Xmas 4 course lunch a few years back!

http://www.fat-cow.com.sg
Perhaps my current fav restaurant in SG. A Japanese style steak-house, Japanese beef, American head chef (nice guy too). Not cheap, but sensational quality.

http://sg.restaurant.openrice.com/ambush-new/
For my occasional genuine sausage fix, at non-touristy prices, down at Orchard.


--- I've no/nil/nada connection with any of the above, just a rather memorably surprised, impressed, and very happy customer.

I have to go and check out this Pasar Bella place, we still haven't been ...

[uscate]

Thanks for the suggestions, JR8...

And BTW, Pasar Bella is great! We like it because it encourages local talent. It's a year old, and a fun place to graze on a weekend or after work. Oceans of Seafood, one of the "anchor restaurants" sells fish from all over the world that they'll grill or steam or whatever, and their sushi is truly fresh (and reasonably priced). There are also permanent stalls including a nice wine bar, beer bar and organic veggies and juices as well as "pop-up" stalls that are either recurring or one-offs.

Oh, and FYI there's free shuttle service from various MRT stations….

[taxico]

sounds interesting. i will pop in to take a look when i'm back!

[Brah]

Hope your experience is better than ours, for us it was a once-is-enough kind of thing, and the food wasn't that good at a couple of placed we ate.

Quirky idea not executed so well, IMHO.

[uscate]

Too bad, Brah, we found it a welcome change from hawker centers and actually like the environment. To each their own….

[movingtospore]

Yeah, I agree. By Singapore standards, pasarbella is new and interesting. You can't compare it to, say, Pike Place market in Seattle. Baby steps.

But, yes, let's start a thread on good, small finds in Singapore. Not the tourism traps, really good things started by locals and expats alike.

JR8 I will try that Japanese steakhouse soon!

[x9200]

I am with Brah on this one. Average food and too add, extremely overcrowded place during weekends.

[JR8]

Mixed messages then. Hmmm, anyway, I expect we'll go there just to give it a try anyway.

From what I read above I see a parallel with last weeks beer festival.

You go and expect an 'artisanal product', and to buy it from the producer, who is right there at the stall. This is what a 'farmers market' means to me. Instead what you get is stalls manned by the local distributor 'and his wider circle of nephews', all on commission selling you 330ml bottles at $15-20+ a go.

And, the food was horrific and $$$, sausages and ketchup, nachos and Kraft cheese. The (on the $ balance) only redeeming factor was that there was some pretty good live rock music [SMS, side-note: it's the kind of audience where Caracal would fit in well].

There was some extremely nice beer, but the commercialism and relentless sales-pitches and prices were horrendous, and I wouldn't go again.

[uscate]

I still stand by PasarBella as being a nice venue for Singapore, but I do agree that if you compare it to similar venues in the US it is nothing special. Yes, it is crowded, but we've found that weekend afternoons after 3 or so are a bit less so. And yes, stuff is expensive ($15 for a glass of not great wine at the wine bar), but prices here are expensive anyway, and I've found that it's generally not easy to find good wine wherever you happen to be.

The sushi restaurant at Oceans of Seafood is very good, though….

We'll continue to enjoy our time at PB, and appreciate it for what it is, not what we wish it would be….

[the lynx]

Mixed messages then. Hmmm, anyway, I expect we'll go there just to give it a try anyway.

From what I read above I see a parallel with last weeks beer festival.

You go and expect an 'artisanal product', and to buy it from the producer, who is right there at the stall. This is what a 'farmers market' means to me. Instead what you get is stalls manned by the local distributor 'and his wider circle of nephews', all on commission selling you 330ml bottles at $15-20+ a go.

And, the food was horrific and $$$, sausages and ketchup, nachos and Kraft cheese. The (on the $ balance) only redeeming factor was that there was some pretty good live rock music [SMS, side-note: it's the kind of audience where Caracal would fit in well].

There was some extremely nice beer, but the commercialism and relentless sales-pitches and prices were horrendous, and I wouldn't go again.

That's why I'd never bother to spend money on food there. Just beer and beer.

[x9200]

Ok, I renamed the original topic (uscate, hope it's fine with you) to allow the JR8's suggestion.

This is our favorite reastaurant that we used to visit regulary (before we had a kid) and now still do it but less frequently.

It's called Shish Mahal and is located close to the gates to Little India in the Albert Court (a frog's jump from our old meeting place - Phad Thai). It is mostly North Indian Cusine and of course we like the food served there.
The place (Albert Court) is also very nice especially after dusk. I can not recommend any specific food because anything we tried so far we liked including classics like Mutton Roganjosh, Paneer Butter Masala, Chicken Vindaloo etc. They have some basic choice of wines and beer. Normally we go a la carte.

http://www.shishmahal.com.sg/
https://static.groupon.sg/35/32/1376297143235.jpg

[rajagainstthemachine]

^

Nice choice! I haven't checked that place out though! there is a small microbrewery about the size of a small shop around that place selling Czech or Polish Beer I can't remember which it was but the beers themselves were amazing and not too pricey, I think they also served sausages too.

[zzm9980]

but I do agree that if you compare it to similar venues in the US it is nothing special.

Exactly how I felt. The best (and only ha) thing like it in Singapore. But like many things 'artisanal' or 'trendy' in Singapore, just a poor and much more expensive imitation of something from the US/West: http://www.grandcentralmarket.com/

And here's looking at you, "Crap in da bag" @ Big Splash:
http://www.theboilingcrab.com/

And that's a typo in the name I noticed, but I'm not going to fix it as it is extremely appropriate.

[JR8]

re: Beerfest

That's why I'd never bother to spend money on food there. Just beer and beer.

That was my thinking too. But I went with a groups if SGers, and no sooner had we got in the door (after 1/2hr+ queuing), and claimed the one free entry beer (nasty, like Bud Light or similar), then they all bought plates of food and sat down for the evening. And there's me.... 'but but but... what about THE BEER!?'