We had a few hours of delicious Singapore stopover on returning to Melbourne last month. We went out to do a few of our favourite things to do there (mainly eating Singapore food) ━ here is the food trail of that day:
A Delicious Singapore Food Trail
Hunan Cuisine ━ Chilli Up, Chinatown
The first thing we did was take a taxi to Singapore Chinatown. Fafa and I generally have different preferences in Singapore regarding what to eat, do and go ━ , especially if time is limited. Still, one of the few things we both agree on is eating Hunan Cuisine in Chilli Up as our first meal in Singapore. We went in just in time before the lunch crowd. I was so glad to see everything seemed the same as it was three years; the menu, the seating and the friendly staff.
We ordered three chilli beef (Fafa’s fave), green chilli pork (my fave), two bowls of rice and jasmine tea. We contemplated ordering one or two more items since it felt like a treat to be there, but we decided to stick with the usual to relive the authentic memory. The food was as good as ever. We smashed everything, paid and left full and happy.
Then we went our seperate ways ━ Fafa to Orchard and me to Tiong Bahru (after finding out my beloved The Moon Singapore bookstore has closed their brick-and-mortar shop in Chinatown).
Butterfly Pea Flower Vanilla Ice Cream ━ Creamier, Tiong Bahru
After a bit more exploring, I went inside creamier, an artisan ice cream parlour. I ordered a cup of Butterfly Pea vanilla ice cream before taking a seat, busying myself with eating it and replying to Liz’s texts.
I was on my way to Tiong Bahru Bakery when Fafa texted me to join him for a drink somewhere in Orchard. Alcoholic beverages triumphed bread in Singapore’s muggy weather, so I took another taxi to 313@Somerset.
Japanese-Indian Empowered Papadams ━ Ohayo Mama San, Orchard
The initial plan was to sit in JiBiru, the outdoorsy Japanese bar we frequented while living in Singapore. However, half of the menu wasn’t available, so we checked out the newly opened Ohayo Mama San, opposite Marche.
The plan was to have drinks before having one last meal somewhere else. But the Ohayo Mama San menu looked pretty interesting, so we also ordered a plate of mini papadams with our drinks, a glass of beer and a lavender saketini.
I have eaten a few mash-up cuisines, including Indian-Japanese curry in an Indian restaurant in Tokyo but eating Tobiko and Ikura (fish eggs) on papadam was something else ━ delicious something else. I am getting this idea to prepare it for our next house gathering.
Green Mumba Crab ━ HolyCrab, Raffles
Our last stop in the city was Arcade @ Capitol in Raffles. It’s a relatively newly opened place where the new-to-us HolyCrab restaurant is located.
Eating crab was Fafa’s idea, but I know it was for me more than anything because I love crab ━ more than anything.
HolyCrab was empty when we were there because none eats crab at 4 PM on a Wednesday in the city. But even though they were empty, they made us sit outside where one lonely table was located. Why??!!
The menu was interesting, unlike the typical Singapore crab restaurant’s menu (there was no black pepper or Belacan crab). And I was alarmed when the waiter suggested Singapore Chilli Crab as their spiciest crab dish because Singapore Chilli Crab is not spicy. Alas, we were already there, and since Fafa let me choose, I went with their signature crab ━ Green Mumba. The menu said it’s the Chef’s signature with savoury green chilli sauce, bold traditional Asian flavours, kaffir lime leaves.
Eventually, a plate of green gravied crab was placed on the table.
The gravy tasted like Thai green curry, and the crab was fresh. Aside from the overpowering smell of the kaffir leaves, I couldn’t find a genuine fault with the dish, but it left me unsatisfied.
It was one of the very few times I was unsatisfied after eating a crab. And the first time, I felt unsatisfied after eating a crab dish in Singapore. On the taxi back to the airport, I pondered on the dish. The place lacked the typical buzz. The dish varied too far from the traditional choices, and the whole experience felt like it had been white-washed, from the location to the flavours. I am never coming back.
Back in the airport, we made a quick stop at the Jewel. Fafa enjoyed his Rwanda coffee at Starbucks Reserve while I stickers-shopped at Tokyu-hands.
Chicken Rice ━ Food Street, Terminal 3 Singapore Changi Airport
You would think we would be so full by now. Yes, we were, but there was a food court inside T3, and we went up to check it out. By checking it out, I meant we shared a plate of chicken rice and steamed veggies as our last meal in Singapore before boarding the plane back to Melbourne.
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