Surrey Hills Grocer @ Woodleigh Mall - Exclusive Month-long Collaboration Menu by Chef Damian D’Silva, Founder of Rempapa

Surrey Hills Grocer at Woodleigh Mall is introducing a fresh dining experience this April with a curated menu by Chef Damian D'Silva. Known for his multicultural cuisine at Rempapa, Chef Damian presents six specially crafted dishes exclusively for one month until 30 April 2024.

Located along The Woodleigh Mall's Heritage Walk, the Woodleigh outlet of Surrey Hills Grocer may require some navigation for first-time visitors. The air-conditioned environment accommodates up to 90 diners, making it an ideal gathering spot. Furry companions are welcome, too, with a dedicated menu tailored just for them.

Each Surrey Hills Grocer outlet offers a differentiated menu, ensuring diners experience new takes on familiar favourites. For instance, while the Woodleigh outlet serves Tom Yum Tater Tots, the ION outlet offers Mentaiko Tater Tots - a creative concept that adds variety to the dining experience.

Surrey's Homemade Iced Lemon Tea

I ordered the mildly sweet Surrey's Homemade Iced Lemon Tea ($8) from its extensive beverage list, which was made in-house using cold-brewed premium black tea dust and fresh lemons.

Berry Dragonfruit Smoothie

My dining companions went with the Berry Dragonfruit Smoothie ($13), Appily Ever After ($10) and Berrylicious Lemonade ($9).

Signature Nasi Lemak with Opor Ayam 3.8/5

We started with a few of Chef Damian's specialities first. Among what we had, we preferred the Signature Nasi Lemak with Opor Ayam ($25) - a classic nasi lemak ensemble featuring coconut rice, fried silver fish, sambal, a fried Nuyolk egg, and a side of opor ayam. The nasi lemak, with its fluffy and aromatic rice, was the biggest highlight. However, we found the opor ayam lacking the richness we anticipated. The traditional spiced coconut gravy was milder than expected, missing the aromatic notes of cumin and coriander. Nonetheless, the chicken remained tender.

Kerabu Ikan Tenggiri 3.8/5

I've not had Kerabu Ikan Tenggiri ($22) before, but the refreshing crunch and mildly spiced dressing were enticing. This traditional salad comprises barred Spanish mackerel, wing beans, cherry tomatoes, long beans, herbs and salted eggs. Considering the price tag, we were hoping for more significant portions of mackerel.

Peranakan Prawn Sambal 2.8/5

The Peranakan Prawn Sambal ($26) left us disappointed. Our prawns were dry and difficult to extract from their shells. Despite its sambal and shrimp paste base, intended to appeal to spice fans, the dish lacked the expected heat and flavour profile.

Skillet Squid Ink Pasta 4.5/5

The standout dish of the evening was unanimously the Skillet Squid Ink Pasta ($28), topped with creamy kewpie mayo. The briny and umami hints in the mouthfuls of broken squid ink pasta were addictive, and the addition of squid and shrimp further enhanced the experience.

Triple Truffle Fries 4.2/5

The Triple Truffle Fries ($19) is one of the few dishes available across the Surrey Hills Grocer outlets. Tossed in fragrant truffle olive oil and dusted with truffle powder, they are adorned with generous parmesan shavings. While they may not be the crispiest fries, their satisfying crunch and accompanying homemade truffle mayo dip made for a delightful sharing snack.

Matcha Udon 3.8/5

We were initially sceptical when we spotted the Matcha Udon ($26) on the menu, but with assurances from the staff, we decided to give it a try. The soft udon was cooked in a creamy white wine matcha sauce, accompanied by smoked pork belly, ramen egg, Korean seaweed flakes and grated parmesan cheese. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant combination, with the carbonara flavour taking the lead. We appreciated the balance that avoided being overly rich, but matcha lovers should note that the matcha bitterness was very subtle for what it's named. You'll find carbonara-based dishes prepared differently if you visit other Surrey Hills Grocer outlets.

The Signature Stack 4.2/5

The highly recommended Melburnian Pancake Parlour pancakes lived up to their reputation. Opting for The Signature Stack ($24) as our dessert, we were treated to two pieces of old-school style buttermilk pancakes, generously topped with vanilla crème chantilly, seasonal fruit compote, fresh berries, and sea salt butterscotch. The pancakes were worth a try, being somewhat fluffy and buttery. The additional crumbles littered on top added good texture contrast. For those with a sweet tooth, this also came with extra maple syrup and caramel sauce for drizzling. I recommend sharing this with a friend or two, as it gets heavy quickly.

While the prices are steep, we were fans of the restaurant's ambience and pet-friendly space. We enjoyed its main menu more than the seasonal offerings and look forward to trying the unique variations across its outlets.

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.


Surrey Hills Grocer
The Woodleigh Mall
#01-52/53
11 Bidadari Park Drive
Singapore 367803
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Nearest MRT: Woodleigh (NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10am - 10pm

Direction:
1. Alight at Woodleigh MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Surrey Hills Grocer @ Raffles City - Indulge in Limited-Time Menu for a Hearty Chinese New Year Feast

This February, Surrey Hills Grocer at Raffles City has 2 gastronomic collaborations going on - with British pop artist Philip Colbert till 18 February 2024, as well as with a local home-based chef Kenneth Loh, widely known as "Chef Ken", till 27 February 2024.

Philip Colbert Lobster Roll 4.5/5

Philip Colbert x Surrey Hills collaboration - Philip Colbert is a Scottish-born British artist with a global following for his distinctive cartoon lobster persona. Surrey Hills Grocer drew inspiration from Philip's artwork to celebrate his inaugural large-scale solo exhibition in Singapore from 6 January to 3 March 2024 and launched an exclusive "Philip Colbert Lobster Roll" ($42). The brioche bun was soft and buttery, loaded with chunks of fresh Canadian lobster meats that were creamy with Surrey Hills Grocer's special lobster dressing. I like the slight tang in the dressing. Accompanying the roll was some lightly spiced zucchini fries coated with parmesan cheese.

Golden Nectar

Surrey Hill Grocer has also launched 2 festive drink options for this Chinese New Year celebration. One of which is "Golden Nectar" ($25), a concoction of Kiku-Masamune white peach liqueur, white wine, orange juice, and cranberry juice, complete with a slice of Medallion bakkwa.

Kyoto Style Miso Pork Rib 5/5

The Surrey Hills Grocer x Chef Ken collaboration menu features Festive Flavours of Chef Ken's three new savoury dishes. Inspired by his recent trip to Kyoto, the "Kyoto Style Miso Pork Rib" ($32) is almost like a feast served on a single plate - slow-braised miso pork ribs and daikon piled over scrambled eggs that blanketed over Niigata rice, which is wholesome with edamame and charred onions. Notably recognised for his Taiwanese braised pork rice bowl, his culinary mastery over pork is also showcased in this dish. The fork-tender pork was tantalising with the flavours of the miso sauce, which also provided a mouthwatering gravy for the homely omu rice.

Seafood Udon in Crab Broth 4/5

Seafood Udon in Crab Broth ($42) comes luxurious with fresh local farmed mussels, sea prawns, seared Hokkaido scallops, chikuwa, and wakame seaweed. The milky crab broth had a good depth of crustacean flavour, accentuated with savoury sea grapes. I reckon a thinner udon would better suit the broth.

Spicy Basil Lala Capellini 4.8/5

Spicy Basil Lala Capellini ($28) is a well-executed dish that surprises with a harmonic blend of East and West ingredients. The al dente capellini carried the delightful aromatic blend of aged hua tiao wine, garlic, clam stock, chilli, and basil.

Seafood Shashuka 3/5

If you are here for a celebratory brunch, spruce up your meal with one of their regular items - a hearty Seafood Shashuka ($42). Loaded with flavourful beef sausages, potatoes, oozy eggs, and seafood, I loved how robust and heady the gravy was. While the seafood didn't necessarily elevate the shakshuka experience, it did amp up the luxe factor for a Chinese New Year Feast.

If you still have room for something sweeter, ⁠Banana Bread ($18) will provide a little comforting, sweet ending to your meal.

Photos and words 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.


Surrey Hills Grocer
Raffles City
252 North Bridge Road
#03-42
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 83321024
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Nearest MRT: City Hall (EW, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at City Hall MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

ENChanko Hotpot & Kamameshi @ Vivocity - Singapore's First Chanko Hotpot Specialty Restaurant

ENChanko Hotpot & Kamameshi is a chanko hotpot speciality restaurant that recently opened in VivoCity. Chankonabe is a traditional dish in Japan, a hotpot stew that is well-loved for its hearty flavours and wholesomeness. ENChanko Hotpot & Kamameshi offers three varieties of Chankonabes alongside a selection of Kamameshi, a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in a cast iron pot.

Signature Tori Chankonabe 2.8/5

3 choices of Chankonabe are available - Signature Tori Chankonabe (Chicken), Buta Motsu Chankonabe (Pork) and Kaisen Chankonabe (Seafood). All hotpots are available in 4 pax, 2 pax and individual portions. We tried its Signature Tori Chankonabe (Chicken, $58 for 4 pax, $30 for 2 pax), which is nutritious with Jitori chicken – a natural, antibiotic-free and free-range chicken.

Mochi Kinchaku

Housemade Chicken Tsukune

It also boasts a good mix of ingredients - chewy Mochi Kinchaku, Housemade Chicken Tsukune, Beijing cabbage, Japanese mizuna, shimeji mushroom, Japanese glass noodles, pressed tofu, carrot, Japanese leeks and beansprout special silver. The chicken tsukune was juicy and had a good bite. The soup, however, was disappointingly thin despite its milky appearance, offering little flavour other than a pronounced saltiness.

Himowaki Udon 5/5

To further elevate the hotpot experience, 30 add-ons are available, including the Himowaki Udon (a flat and wide sheet of udon noodles, $6.80), a speciality from the Kiryu area in Gunma Prefecture. Unlike regular udon, Himowaki Udon is characterised by its flat appearance and width of up to 10cm. Given its incredible texture and flavour, I can see why it has been gaining much attention from the media. A must-try!

Miyazaki Wagyu Truffle & Ikura 4/5

There are ten choices of Kamameshi sets to choose from. Each set is served with appetiser of the day, asari clear soup and mini chawanmushi. Ingredients of choice are prepared together, then simmered in a signature stock in an iron pot. We tried the Miyazaki Wagyu Truffle & Ikura ($39) featuring Miyazaki wagyu sirloin steak, served with ikura. An onsen egg is included, which is to be cooked with the rice with the residual heat. While some of the ingredients listed on the menu were missing from our rice, it was overall a satisfying dish, given that the wagyu steak delivered the expected texture and flavours. To savour the mildly burnt rice at the bottom, we poured the accompanying genmai dashi (made of genmaicha, kombu and bonito) into the rice, stirred it, and polished off it!

Kuro Edamame 4/5

Black & Red Chicken Karaage 2/52/5

Side dishes are offered as well, such as Black & Red Chicken Karaage (Smoked teriyaki & karamiso glaze , $8.50) and Kuro Edamame. The latter is a premium Tamba Sasayama black edamame with a distinct creamy texture and sweet taste, it was so much more enjoyable than the saltish chicken karaage, which were a tad overfried as well.

Beverages to complement your htopot experience include an unique Jim Beam Highball Sharing Bottle ($28, up to 3 glasses), special highball flavours, beer, shochu, sakes, plum and shochu cocktails. For non-alcoholic options, you can choose from a selection of Koridashis and Japanese cold brew teas.

Photos and words 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.


ENChanko Hotpot & Kamameshi
Vivocity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-52
Singapore 098585
Tel: +65 6255 9188
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Nearest MRT: Harbourfront (CC, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Harbourfront MRT station. Take Exit C or E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

JUMBO Signatures @ Marina Bay Sands - JUMBO Group’s New Premium Dining Concept

Stepping into JUMBO Signatures at Marina Bay Sands, you will notice a difference in ambience and decor from the other familiar Jumbo Seafood restaurants. Opened in January this year, JUMBO Signatures is also JUMBO Group’s first premium dining concept. The 76-seater restaurant houses 3 VIP rooms suitable for meetings, intimate gatherings and celebrations.

Three different menus were curated to cater to various groups of diners. Besides the Signatures Ala-Carte Menu, the Executive Set Lunch offers 3-course at $58 per pax and 4-course at $62 per pax. During this visit, we tried their Signatures Tasting Menu ($158 per pax).

You will enjoy an 8-course meal, amuse bouche, and a palette cleanser. In addition, a wine pairing is available for a top-up at $118 per pax. Menu items are refreshed every couple of months to ensure that the best-quality ingredients are used.

Marinated Jellyfish, Seafood Cone 4/5

We started the meal with two appetising amuse bouche, the Marinated Jellyfish and Seafood Cone. The marinated jellyfish was tangy and crunchy. The seafood cone, which comes in a charcoal cone, has a tasty mouthful of prawn, mango, cucumber and salad cream.

Shelled Prawn Fried with Seaweed and Pork Floss 4/5

Moving on to starters, we had the Shelled Prawn Fried with Seaweed and Pork Floss. I was excited to try this, as this is a creation inspired by Baoshifu 鲍师傅, a China pastry shop that specialises in seaweed meat floss cakes. I enjoyed the crisp pork floss and seaweed mix here. The prawn was fresh with a slight crunch.

Scallop Wrapped in Yam Ring 4.2/5

The Scallop Wrapped in Yam Ring had smooth yam purée around a juicy scallop, served with a house-special sweet sauce. The thin exterior had a delightful crisp.

Chilled Hand-Shredded Live Australian Lobster with Fruit Salad in Sesame Dressing 3.8/5

The last starter was the Chilled Hand-Shredded Live Australian Lobster with Fruit Salad in Sesame Dressing. The lobster meat was firm and fresh, but the dressing was a touch too heavy. I would have liked it done lighter to allow more of the meat's natural sweetness to come through.

Collagen Soup with Fish Maw and Bamboo Pith 4.8/5

There's no additional starch used in the Collagen Soup with Fish Maw and Bamboo Pith. Instead, it's lightly peppered and thickened through hours of simmering chicken bones, pork fat and pork skin. You will find dried scallops, fresh fish maw, goji berries and bamboo pith in it as well. It was extremely comforting and nourishing, and the slices of fish maw were very tender.

Chilli Mud Crab Pincer 4.8/5

Singaporeans would definitely be familiar with JUMBO Seafood's award-winning chilli crab. Here they offer the Chilli Mud Crab Pincer that is thoughtfully deshelled for you to sink your teeth right into. There's a good heat in the chilli crab sauce made with ten over spices, perfect with the side of crispy fried mantou.

Pomegranate Soda

Before the next course, we had a palate cleanser of Pomegranate Soda.

Sliced Luffa Melon in Collagen Soup 4.5/5

In the Sliced Luffa Melon in Collagen Soup, the luffa is carefully hand sliced into noodle-like strips and served in yet another comforting collagen soup, with fried shredded conpoy, Jin Hua ham and Sakura ebi. I enjoyed the smart addition of crispy ebi that gave extra texture and flavour.

‘Yuan Yang’ Fried Rice with Cod Fish and Fresh Mushroom 4/5

There are two carbs options for the next course. First is the 'Yuan Yang' Fried Rice with Cod Fish and Fresh Mushroom. It's a hearty dish studded with scallop bits, cod fish, king oyster mushroom, tobiko and crispy rice.

Udon with Sliced Abalone 3.8/5

The Udon with Sliced Abalone is much lighter in comparison, which uses a dashi base.

‘Cheng Teng’ with Bird’s Nest and Peach Resin 3.5/5

We had the mildly sweetened 'Cheng Teng' with Bird's Nest and Peach Resin for dessert. You can choose to have this hot or cold.

Signature Fragrant Rice in Rich Seafood Broth 4.8/5

From the a la carte menu, we had the Signature Fragrant Rice in Rich Seafood Broth ($38). Jasmine rice, crispy rice, fresh mud crab meat and botan ebi is served in a hot stone bowl before the umami-rich prawn broth is poured over. On the side, you also get to enjoy a fried botan ebi prawn head that's lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. I loved the rich seafood sweetness here!

Durian Tart paired with Ice Cream 4/5

The Durian Tart paired with Ice Cream ($14) comprises handmade Mao Shan Wang durian pureé, coconut ice cream and pandan sauce. I thought the tart worked sufficiently well on its own. I expected it to be very rich and sweet, but the well-balanced pureé was quite a delight.

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.


JUMBO Signatures
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore
B1-01B
2 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018972
Tel: +65 66887023
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Nearest MRT: Bayfront (CC Line, DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Lunch
Mon-Fri, Eve of Public Holidays: 11.30am - 3pm
Sat-Sun, Public Holidays: 12pm - 3.30pm

Dinner
Sat-Thurs, Public Holidays: 5.30pm - 10.30pm
Fri-Sat, Eve of Public Holidays: 5.30pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Bayfront MRT station. Take Exit C or D. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes.  [Map]

Tamoya Udon @ Plaza Singapura - Relocates to Its New Location

Bidding goodbye to its first outlet at Liang Court, Tamoya Udon celebrates the opening of its new outlet at Plaza Singapura with the introduction of Truffle Tonkotsu Udon and Sukiyaki Udon.

Tamoya's Truffle Tonkotsu Udon easily outshines many tonkotsu ramens out there with its rich and creamy pork bone broth, tender and well-marinated chashu slice, and a really good ajitama egg. Although infusing truffle oil and truffle paste into the udon elevates its X-factor, it is just as satisfying with these condiments.

Fans of its sukiyaki udon, fret not. They are here to stay. The Beef Sukiyaki Udon ($12.80) and Pork Sukiyaki Udon ($11.80), both comes with a soft boiled egg. Like Shabu Shabu, beat the egg and dip your meat and vegetables into the beaten egg mixture for a complete sukiyaki experience.

Written and photography 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.


Tamoya Udon
Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road
#06-11/12
Singapore 238839
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Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut (CC Line, NE Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 930pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. Take Exit D or E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]