Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe 大南洋 @ 111 Somerset - The Eatery’s Second Outpost Decked in Retro Decor and a New Store-Exclusive Menu

Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe first started introducing its range of nostalgic kopitiam-style fare and beverages at its flagship in Tanjong Pagar. Walking around 111 Somerset, you will surely notice this new second outpost boasting retro decor meticulously curated by founder Keith Kang. Diners can look forward to these Instagram-worthy corners around the eatery, paired with a store-exclusive menu.

Sai Ka Hor 3.8/5

We were first introduced to new beverages such as the Longan Tea ($3.80) and Sai Ka Hor ($3 for Hot, $5 for Cold). The Sai Ka Hor, a traditional concoction blending teh and milo, was done with a pleasant amount of sweetness. Hor Ka Sai is also available for coffee lovers ($3 for Hot, $5 for Cold).

Milo Toast 3.5/5

We started with a slice of Milo Toast ($3.50 for 1 Slice, $4 for 2 Slices) before moving on to the savoury offerings. The toast was decent, featuring thick yet crisp bread topped with a layer of Milo powder and a drizzle of condensed milk. It's definitely more ideal for those with a sweet tooth. If you prefer savoury options, there are choices like Cheesy Ham Egg Toast, Garlic Toast, and more.

Curry Chicken Toast 3/5

Following that, the Curry Chicken Toast ($7.90) was served. It featured a bowl of chicken curry accompanied by three slices of buttered toast for dipping. While the toast had a satisfying crunch, the smaller-sized chicken chunks were rather bony.

Curry Chee Cheong Fun 3.8/5

With a slight top-up, my dining companions and I found the Curry Chee Cheong Fun ($9.90) to offer better value for money. The thin strips of chee cheong fun were coated in their house-made curry, paired with french beans, deep-fried beancurd skin, and more substantial chicken chunks. Their curry is decently hearty with a manageable level of heat.

Claypot Mee Tai Mak 3/5

The Claypot Mee Tai Mak ($9.90) came next. The mee tai mak noodles were doused in a base of savoury gravy and topped with prawns, minced meat, mushrooms, and onions. Unfortunately, it lacked wok hei, and its flavours felt somewhat one-dimensional after a while. Dig into it while it is hot and mix in the egg yolk to avoid the mee tai mak becoming soggy.

Mee Goreng 3.5/5

Our next main was the Mee Goreng ($8.90). This eggy rendition carried a mild heat.

Penang Assam Laksa 3.5/5

It was a pity that the Penang Assam Laksa ($8.90) fell slightly short of expectations. While I appreciated that they used the classic thick assam laksa noodles, the broth lacked the ginger flower fragrance and tangy punch.

Popsicles 3/5

Continuing with the retro theme, desserts are the old-school Popsicles ($3) in Sour Plum, Hor Ka Sai, Kopi-O, Ribena, and more flavours. The portion of each popsicle is pretty big, but we also found it challenging to consume conveniently due to how it's packaged. The flavoured juice and ice could be better blended as well.

Photos and words by Jo. A girl who loves her Mala (麻辣) at Da La (大辣), discovering hidden food gems and a good cup of matcha latte. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe
111 Somerset Road
#01-09
Singapore 238164
Tel: +65 8753 1850
Facebook
Instagram
Nearest MRT: Somerset MRT (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 730am - 830pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Somerset MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn right and walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Fat Belly x Sugarhaus @ Serene Centre – Casual Speakeasy Steakhouse For Quality Steak And Delectable Desserts

A hidden gem situated within Serene Centre is Fat Belly, the new casual speakeasy steakhouse that opened months ago, co-sharing the same space with its sister brand and ice cream parlour, Sugarhaus. Helmed by banker-turned-food entrepreneur Stanley Seow, Sugarhaus runs the daytime business with its extensive brunch and desserts menu, while Fat Belly takes over for dinner from 6 to 10pm every night with its 10-seater countertop dining area at the back of Sugarhaus.

Although both eateries possess separate menu, we had the opportunity to try the dishes from both Fat Belly and Sugarhaus that night. The former focuses on specialty rather than variety with its straightforward and simple menu that offers only three alternative cuts of steak - Flat Iron, Short Rib and Denver Steak that boast stronger and more robust flavours, as well as a few sides and plated desserts to choose from.

Wagyu Marble Score 7-9 Denver Steak 4.5/5

The latest menu addition at Fat Belly – The Wagyu Marble Score 7-9 Denver Steak ($48) features a lesser-known premium cut from underneath the shoulder blade bone. Done medium rare, the slices are slightly charred on the outside while the meat is tender, juicy, well-marbled and packed full of rich, beefy goodness. Served with a house salad, chimichurri sauce and Himalayan pink salt to further enhance its flavours, yet the well-seasoned denver steak has already sufficed as an enjoyment on its own.

Creamed Kale 4/5

Add on an additional $5 for a side dish to complement your steak. Of the four available, we went for the Creamed Kale ($5) which comes in a bowl of vegetables doused in a pool of rich and luscious white cream and shredded cheese atop. Despite the generous amount of cream used, the dish is non-cloying and the kale retains a nice crunch, while the cream elevated its flavour and makes the vegetable rather satisfying to chew on.

Sauteed Thyme Mushroom 4/5

Another side dish available - the Sauteed Thyme Mushroom ($5) features a bowl of creamy and juicy mushrooms, slightly salted with a subtle thyme fragrance.

Foie Gras Chocolate Bar 3.8/5

Fat Belly also features a small selection of plated desserts. We had the Foie Gras Chocolate Bar ($12). Upon breaking the thin chocolate shell, the foie gras filling within comes in the form of ice cream. Taste-wise it reminds me more of a caramel-chocolate dessert, due to the lacking foie gras flavour which is too mild to detect.

Corn & Zucchini Fritters 4/5

From the Sugarhaus menu, we had the Corn & Zucchini Fritters ($15) which comes in golden brown fritters, crispy on the outside with a soft and mushy filling, sunny side up egg, bacon, a generous drizzle of okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayo and garnished with bonito flakes. Similar to a Japanese okonomiyaki but this rendition fares notches higher with its medley of ingredients contributing to a pleasant interplay of flavours and textures.

Melted Cheese Toastie 4/5

The Melted Cheese Toastie ($12) features a sandwich perfectly toasted and crisp on the outside, and stuffed full with Gruyere, cheddar and mozzarella cheese in between. Dip into the accompanying bowl of tomato soup for guaranteed satisfaction as it further accentuates the flavour of the melted cheese toastie.

Crab Linguine 4.5/5

The Crab Linguine ($22) features al dente linguine noodles with a subtle sweetness due to the generous amounts of soft shredded blue swimmer crab claw meat embedded within. It is further tossed in their house blended spices, supplementing a strong spice fragrance to the crab linguine that just elevated the entire taste of the dish.

The Galaxy 4.2/5

Round off the meal with desserts from the Sugarhaus's menu, such as The Galaxy ($8) which comes in a gorgeous galaxy-glazed dome. Breaking it apart reveals a rich chocolate mousse tart with crunchy bits within the ganache and a raspberry jelly center. The pastry boasts a rich, sweet chocolatey flavour with a hint of sourness from the raspberry that I really enjoyed.

Lemon Popsicle Tart 4.2/5

The Lemon Popsicle Tart ($8) comes beautifully plated with a lemon sable, parfait and meringue. Tastewise, it is not overwhelmingly sourish and boasts a subtle lemon fragrance. A truly unique dessert that fares well in terms of visual and taste.

Waffle with ice cream 4/5

The classic waffle-ice cream pairing never goes wrong, and the ones at Sugarhaus hold out its own even against the uniquely plated desserts. Waffle with single scoop ($9.50) and extra scoop at $2.50 each. We had the waffles with Dutch Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake and Sea Salt Toffee. The waffle boasts an airy light crispiness on the outside with a fluffy interior, while the ice cream is rich and creamy, with each faring strong in its distinct flavour profile.

Strategically housed within the same space, Fat Belly x Sugarhaus provide for a convenient one-stop to satisfy both your steak and desserts cravings. With such indulgent quality and affordable steak, we recommend coming in between 6 to 10pm to taste the menu from both eateries and get the best of both worlds while you're there.

Words and photos by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Fat Belly x Sugarhaus
Serene Centre
10 Jalan Serene
#01-03A/04
Singapore 258748
Tel: +65 63142247
Facebook
Nearest MRT:

Opening Hours:
Fat Belly
Sun-Thu: 6pm - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 6pm - 11pm

Sugarhaus
Sun-Thu: 11am - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Botanic Gardens MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Bukit Timah Road. Turn left and walk down Bukit Timah Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

A Sparkling Christmas At Goodwood Park Hotel Singapore

We are coming to the end of November, and we will be celebrating Christmas soon. For this upcoming festive seasons. Goodwood Park Hotel Singapore has rolled out a brand new sweet and savoury treats with distinct Asian influences. New gourmet takeaways are also available for order to cater for your gatherings and parties. Even the dining establishments - Coffee Lounge, Gordon Grill and L'Espresso will also presents a luxurious Christmas and New Year set menus and buffet spreads to celebrate the joyful festive seasons.

12 Treasures Turkey

Turkey wrapped in lotus leaf? Impressed your friends to this majestic and yet interesting take of the traditional roasted turkey with exquisite Chinese flair. The 12 Treasures Turkey ($268, good for 8-10 pax) comes brimming with luxe ingredients such as roast pork, 24-head abalones, fresh chestnuts, conpoy, lingzhi and shitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, conch, Euryale seeds, potatoes, lotus seeds and salted egg yolk.

Roast Turkey Roulade with Pork and Chestnut Stuffing

If a whole turkey is too much, there is a boneless alternative in the Roast Turkey Roulade with Pork and Chestnut Stuffing ($168, good for 4-6 pax). The tender pieces of the meat comes with brussels sprouts and turkey jus.

 Slow Roasted Iberico Pork Belly

If you do not like turkey or throwing a big party, a popular option is the Slow Roasted Iberico Pork Belly with Crackling, Pickled Cabbage, Apple Sauce and Pork Jus ($320, good for 6-8 pax). This is limited to 25 orders per day. Roasted for 3.5 hours with sherry vinegar, white wine, and mirepoix, the succulent meat with crispy golden-brown crackling skin, is paired with zesty white cabbage pickled with honey.

Cold Capellini Pasta with Alaskan Crab, Ebi Caviar and Truffle Vinaigrette

Delight your guest with the Cold Capellini Pasta with Alaskan Crab, Ebi Caviar and Truffle Vinaigrette ($108, good for 4 pax). The addictve appetiser is served chilled, coated with ebi caviar and subtly enhanced with white truffle oil. Above pic is just sample portion.

Zesty Logs 

Kill 2 birds with one stone with the Zesty Logs ($52 a pair, 500g in total). The log cake is made up of 2 tree stumps of two invigorating flavours - Apple mousse calamansi cream with chiffon sponge and Caraibe chocolate orange scented cream with flourless chocolate sponge.

Mini Mousse-icles

Colorful and cute are these Mini Mousse-icles ($16 for 3pc) which come in 3 different flavours. They are Guanaja chocolate mousse dotted with mied crunchy chocolate pearls, Summer berries mousse decked in a pink chocolate shell and Yuzu mousse dressed in a summery yellow chocolate shell with a sprinkling of purple edible flowers (R-L in picture).

Silent Night Sphere

The midnight-blue coloured white chocolate sphere - Silent Night Sphere ($28/pc) will add a magical touch to the table. Guests will need to warm up the accompanying chocolate sauce and pour it over the sphere to reveal hidden treasures of macarons, Maltesers, gummy bears, marshmallows and dried cranberries.

Goodwood 'Mao Shan Wang' Durian Christmas Log Cake

Goodwood Park Hotel is famous for their durian cake and for fans of the fruit, there is the premium adaptation of the signature Goodwood 'Mao Shan Wang' durian Christmas log cake ($69 for 500g). It comes creamy mao shan wang durian goodness within layers of vanilla sponge.

Merry Mosaic Cakes

16 square pieces with 6 different flavours made up the Merry Mosaic Cakes ($48 for 500g) crowned with various Christmassy decorations such as snowflakes, gingerbread man, stars and holly made of icing or chocolate. The 6 different flavours are Orange Chiboust, Raspberry Earl Grey, Blackcurrant, Tiramisu, Green Tea and Cheesecake.

Takeaway gourmet treats will be available at The Deli from 01 to 26 December 2017. Advance orders of 5 days are required and guests may visit The Deli from 9am to 9pm daily to place their takeaway orders. Alternatively guests may contact the Christmas Call Centre at (65) 6730 1867/ 1868 from 10am to 6pm daily, email festive@goodwoodparkhotel.com or visit festivepromotions.goodwoodparkhotel.com from 1 December 2017 to place your online orders. Last order date is 19 December 2017. 12pm.

The Bank Bar + Bistro @ One Shenton

At One Shenton, it is not difficult to spot the The Bank Bar + Bistro, standing tall with its beautiful full height glass façade. It's been 6 years since it started building its presence in the business district and has established quite a few classic favourites among the CBD crowd. It has recently launched a brand new menu, with 20 brand new items up on board while retaining some classic favourites.

We ordered a couple of The Bank's signature cocktails to pique our tastebuds. The Millionaires Espresso is indeed an ideal post 9-5 perk me up drink.The concoction is quite simple but I really enjoy its bitter-sweetness. I was surprised that no one really orders this drink. Whereas for the seemingly more exciting Godfather's Offer, the alcohol is simply too overpowering.

Spicy Prawn Salad 3/5 

Spicing up your regular light and healthy option is the Spicy Prawn Salad ($18). The consistency of the dressing is surprisingly light on the palate as it isn't too starchy and thick like those Thai chilli sauces. I love the crunch and nuttiness from the roasted cashew nuts which is necessary to make it a more satisfying salad. There could be more variety of greens mixed in, rather than just plain lettuce.

Butter Chicken 4/5

One of the latest Mains is Chef’s secret recipe Butter Chicken ($22) using chicken thigh in butter and rich tomato gravy served with warm pita bread and crispy corn chips. This is not your usual pub-style food but it's way better than one. It's India style butter chicken but a lot more appetizing with the tang lent from tomato. Although it doesn't carry the heat, the kick of eating this curry is nothing less with its aromatic spices. The chicken cubes are extremely tender. It's definitely less oily than the original, you might be hoping there are more corn chips to clean up the gravy.

BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs 2.8/5

Ribs is always ideal for sharing which makes the BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs ($24) a mainstayer. The meat is tender but not the fall-off-the-bones kind.

Oriental Seabass Pasta 3.8/5

Pasta – Oriental Seabass Pasta ($20) is like an Asian alio olio with pasta dry tossed in spicy XO sauce. This is a much better thought through Asian fusion pasta which I have tried. The seabass has a layer of torched soybean glaze. It tastes a bit like miso mayonnaise which reminds me of the mentaiko glaze of aburi sushi. The best part is the charred portion which is sweet and savoury, with a tinge of smokiness. The fish fillet could be thicker so as to better support the strong flavours of the glaze.

Salted Egg Prawn Sandwich 2.8/5

Riding on the trend is the Salted Egg Prawn Sandwich ($18). Given that there are so many exuberant sandwich joints in this area, this somewhat pales in comparison and lacks appeal.

Homemade Fruity Plum Yogurt Popsicle 3.5 and Oreo Baileys Cheesecake 3.5

The new desserts here are a bonus. I had both Homemade Fruity Plum Yogurt Popsicle ($4.50) and Oreo Baileys Cheesecake in Jar ($5). The popsicle is packed with berries and fruits and I wouldn't hesitate to choose this over a Magnum. For something more indulgent, the cheesecake has baileys embedded in it, elevating its X-factor.

For an introductory period, you get to enjoy selected new menu items (main course, pasta, sandwich and salad) with The Bank Bar’s 1-for-1 dinner promotion from Saturday to Tuesday including public holidays from 5 p.m.


Words and photos by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food. Note: This is an invited tasting.


[CLOSED]
The Bank Bar + Bistro
One Shenton
1 Shenton Way
#01-01
Singapore 068803
Tel: +65 66362188
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Downtown (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon: 11am - 11pm
Tue-Sun & PH: 11am - 12midnight

Direction:
1) Alight at Downtown MRT station. Take Exit E. Walk to junction of Commerce Street and Marina View. Cross the road and turn right on Commerce Street. Walk down Commerce Street towards Shenton Way. Walk to destination. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]