Celebrate The Lunar New Year With Baba Chews Bar & Eatery @ Hotel Indigo

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, there is no better time than now to make plans for an abundant and hearty reunion dinner with your loved ones. Nestled in Katong and an occupant of the former Joo Chiat Police station, Baba Chews Bar & Eatery is an all-dining restaurant imbued with contemporary Peranakan elements, and plays a modern fusion to its selection of traditional cuisine from the Straits of Malacca, western favourites and local delights. This festive season, diners can relish in a scrumptious set menu specially curated for reunion dinner on 15 Feb 2018 to usher in the Year of the Dog.

Baba Salmon Yu Sheng 4.5/5

As with all Lunar New Year reunion dinners, we start off the meal with the classic Baba Salmon Yu Sheng ($48/$68) which comes in a platter of assorted vegetables and ingredients including the pickled radish, cucumber, pineapple, sweet turnip, corn flakes, and generous salmon slices. A tangy home-made kaffir lime plum sauce is poured over the Yu Sheng before tossing to good fortune and health.

Hee Piow Ting 4/5

Also known as the Paranakan-styled Fish Maw Soup, the Hee Piow Ting ($16 per bowl) comes with pork meatballs, fish maw and cabbage. While the minced meats in the meatballs boast a soft and tender texture, the pork-based soup has a rich but balanced flavour which makes for a comforting dish to have before the mains are served.

Red Garoupa Tempra Style 4.2/5

The Red Garoupa Tempra Style ($88) features a fried red garoupa fish with peranakan onion and chilli sauce. While the sauce adds a tinge of spice to the dish, it is not spicy and packs a rich savoury flavour to the fish, which retains a soft and moist texture beneath its crispy skin.

“Lobster” Carrot Cake 4.5/5

A local all-time favourite, the “Lobster” Carrot Cake features a stir-fried Singapore style carrot cake with a soft chewy texture and a taste familiar to many. The addition of lobster and silver fish brings a unique upgrade to the dish, elevating its entire taste with a subtle hint of crustacean sweetness from the lobster and saltiness from the silver fish.

“Ong Lai” Noodle 4/5

The “Ong Lai” Noodle comes in a bowl of sauteed tumeric noodle coated with generous amounts of curry cream sauce, and served with seafood and chopped abalone. The robust piquancy from the curry cream sauce is by no means an easy feat, while the addition of seafood and chopped abalone lends a refreshing zing to the edging spice flavour.

Pulut Hitam with Sesame Dumplings 4.2/5

One of the quintessential traditional desserts, the Pulut Hitam with Sesame Dumplings is a must-have to end off the meal on a sweet note. The black glutinous dessert soup is thick, gooey, and packed full of goodness. A gentle bite on the delicate skin of the dumpling oozes out a fragrant black sesame lava which is simply pure indulgence.

During Chinese New Year, most eateries and restaurants will be closed to celebrate the festive occasion. You will be glad to know that Baba Chews Bar and Eatery will be open throughout the Chinese New Year Holidays. From 16 to 18 February 2018, look forward to a sumptuous Chinese New Year a la carte buffet brunch ($42++ per adult) with a pantry laden with delights such as Seared Tuna Ahi, Prawn Shooters and Smoked Sea-Caught Fish from the chiller, a soup pot of Bakwan Kepiting, D.I.Y. Rojak and Kueh Pie Tee as well as desserts like the restaurant’s signature Nangka Cheesecake, Durian Mousse with Gula Melaka, Lychee Crème Brulee, Salted Egg Kaya Macaroons, assorted Chinese New Year cookies and many more.

Further complementing the spread in the pantry are the Baba Chew’s all-you-can-order menu of 12 mains, cooked a la minute. The season’s highlights include: Lobster Carrot Cake – stir-fried Singapore style carrot cake with lobster and silver fish; Conpoy Glutinous Rice – stir-fried glutinous rice with ‘lap mei’ (waxed meat), mushroom, dried shrimps and dried scallops; Chef Alvin’s special “Ong Lai” Noodles - sautéed turmeric noodles with curry cream sauce, served with seafood and chopped abalone; Tempura Niao Gow – fried glutinous rice cake drizzled with yuzu caramel sauce; just to list a few.
 
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.


Baba Chews Bar & Eatery
Hotel Indigo
86 East Coast Road
#01-01
Singapore 428788
Tel: +65 67232025
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Dakota (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
All Day Dining Menu: 11am - 1030pm
Dinner Menu: 630pm - 1030pm
Bar Bites Menu: 11am - 12am
Weekend Brunch: 1030am - 3pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Dakota MRT station. Take exit A. Walk to bus stop at Blk 99 Old Airport Road (Stop ID 81181). Take Bus 10 or 32. Alight 6 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

Xperience Restaurant @ Sofitel So Hotel Singapore - A So Seasonal Spring Menu

Xperience Restaurant at Sofitel So Singapore has a new chef at helm - Chef Trevor Paulo, to continue creating a dining experience that is So Singapore. The focus is on European cuisine but coming out from his kitchen expect something less conventional. His kitchen is not just simply being open-concept, it is an immersive one. You, as a guest, may join him as he cooks. From my experience, he is more than willing to share some of the tips which he himself has mastered through experimenting, trial and errors.

Cured Salmon (tasting portion) 4/5

We started off the evening with Cured Salmon ($25), accompanied by cucumber shavings, pickled cauliflower and tobikos. Dressed in homemade fermented apple juice, I love the tanginess and acidity of this dish. The pickled cauliflower has an exceptional crunch and Chef Trevor has shared with me his 'secret recipe' in doing it. It is so simple, yet versatile. I could use this technique on any vegetables that I want to pickle! I drank up the fermented apple juice to the last drop and I don't mind learning how to do that too.

Spanner Crab 3.5/5

The Spanner Crab ($25) share a similar Japanese vibe with the Lobster Jelly I had at Froth. The saltish, moreish elements are there, especially with the crispy seaweed crackers. However, I felt it lacks tanginess and perhaps my taste buds ain't sensitive enough, the Japanese ingredients Wasabi ‘Snow’and Sansho, fail to create any punch for the dish. What a pity.

Beef Short Rib (tasting portion) 3.5/5

For mains, we had Beef Short Rib and Lamb Confit ($38 each). One unique characteristic of Chef Trevor's beef short rib is that everything on the plate, apart from the broccolini are onions. As for the brown leaf, it is actually made of 'onion paper'. Pretty impressive. The method of doing it is rather technical, you may ask Chef if you are curious about it.  Sous Vide for 36 to 48 hours, the wagyu beef short rib has attained a pleasing level of tenderness with its fats intact. I'm not too sure whether is it due to the preparation process, the meat was kind of loose and I felt it lacked the rich flavour and juiciness of a good meat. The saving grace came from the shallot sauce, that brought everything together with its deep caramalised sweetness.

Lamb Confit 3.5/5

The Lamb Confit was beautiful with bright mustardy ginger carrot puree, perfuming our surrounding with a mouth-watering curry aroma. It got stronger as you put it into your mouth but the curry taste was somehow absent. It turned out that it was hardly any curry but Vadouvan, a French spice that smells like curry but minus the heat. Made using lamb neck, the tenderness of the meat reminds me of beef brisket. Still a little gamey for me though.

Chocolate Dome 2.8/5

Our desserts were a little disappointing. Chocolate Dome ($24) was served with a dome which melted away gradually under the hot vanilla cremeux. Made with 70% cocoa, it was like watching a premium hot chocolate being made right in front of my eyes. What is unfortunate, was that the hazelnut ice cream within the dome melted away together with the chocolate. So much for a hot chocolate but where is the hazelnut ice cream?

Carrot Cake 2.5/5

Their Carrot Cake ($22) didn't quite excite me either. We had a dollop of cream cheese mousse atop which had a lightness that I like. Supposed to be a deconstructed version, other than the loose cream cheese, I thought the cake itself was already quite 'completed', hence I feel the other elements such as the maple soil, white chocolate crumbles cluttered the cake and made it cloying. The apricot sorbet itself was quite refreshing but would have complement the cake better should it be less sweet.

If you plan to hold a special celebration, Xperience has the latest Xperience Celebrations, with Chef Trevor personally creates a customised dessert right before you, like an artist drawing a self portrait for you. We were lucky to have 2 chefs to double up this unique experience, one creating a colourful, vibrant artwork, which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, while the other was gold and glamour. The Xperience Celebrations is most suitable for parties of two to four, and is priced at SGD 100++ for four.

Using seasonal produce, expect change of menu in every season for different experiences. Although there are hits and misses for me, I feel each and every dish has its own interesting element to engage my senses throughout the entire evening. If you ever drop by, just like me, you may even bring home really useful cooking tips from Chef Trevor!

Written and photograph 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.


Xperience Restaurant
Sofitel So Hotel Singapore
35 Robinson Road
Singapore 068876
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Raffles Place (EW Line, NS Line), Tanjong Pagar (EW Line), Telok Ayer (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 630am - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Raffles Place MRT station. Take Exit I. Walk to Robinson Road. Turn left onto Robinson Road and walk towards Lau Pa Sat. Continue walking down Robinson Road to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit F. Turn left onto Robinsion Road. Cross the road and walk down Robinson Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Telok Ayer MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn right and walk down Cross Street. At the junction of Cross Street and Robinson Street, cross the road and turn right onto Robinson Street. Walk towards Lau Pa Sat and continue to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

Oh My Tian @ Whampoa West

Oh my god did you hear the latest news, the folk behind Hatter Street has opened another new concept call Oh My Tian at Whampoa West. Inspired by the 16th century European design, the team has created the cafe to look somewhat like a carnival, fulfilling their internal fantasy.

Whoaffles 4.5/5

At Oh My Tian, guests will get to enjoy the signature Whoaffles ($5.50) from Hatter Street. It is still as good as I last remembered. Crispy on the exterior and dense inside. Add a scoop of ice cream for $9 with additional $3 for double scoops. Sauces such as salted caramel, chocolate, espresso butterscotch, maple & butter are available at an additional $0.50

Carrot Cake 3/5

The cafe also offers some bakes on their menu such as the Carrot Cake ($6.80). The cake has a nice dense texture. I like my carrot cake to be more nutty as I am not a big fan of cinnamon. Unfortunately this is the opposite.

Donut Burger 3.8/5

If we can have ramen burger, why not a Donut Burger ($13) which comes with a choice of beef or chicken patty, hashbrown, mushrooms, caramelized onions, cheddar, dressed with bbq sauce. I would not say this is the best burger but the gimmicky creation using the extremely soft donut turned out rather good considering cafe standard.

When I visited the cafe, it was only opened for a couple of days. I understand the cafe progressively will be introducing new creation, pushing the boundaries that will be based on their journey around the world.


Oh My Tian
34 Whampoa West
#01-79
Singapore 330034
Tel: +65 66121166
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Boon Keng (NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 12pm - 10pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Boon Keng MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]