Goodwood Park Hotel Singapore Bicentennial

2019 is Singapore's bicentennial so expect a lot of multi-ethnic, historic promotions coming your way this year. Here's one if you would like a taste of all our signature hawker food. Over at Goodwood Park Hotel, their Coffee Lounge is presenting a 5-Course Singapore Commemoration Local Degustation Menu ($40/pax) until 30 Apr 2019. 

The local dishes on the menu are prepared with traditional recipes, To start, bite into the juicy Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, skewers of grilled chicken that were brought over as kebabs by the Arab traders, and later adapted to the Asian palate. 2 satays were certainly insufficient for the amount of peanut sauce though. The sauce could be a bit spicier too. 

Singapore Rojak, or what i call an Singapore salad, consists of turnip, pineapple, cucumber, Tau Pok, fried you tiao, Kang Kong, bean sprouts and ground peanut, dressed with a tangy sweet black prawn paste. More fried you tiao (dough fritters) would be preferred. 

Pace yourself for the two full-sized mains, a Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Laksa. The smooth chicken is the result of poaching in chicken stock for an hour, and steeping in ice water to stop the cooking process for that firm succulent meat. I also enjoyed the bowl of fluffy rice that is lightly flavored but fragrant. Of course, chili is a huge part of this dish and Coffee Lounge's housemade garlic chilli sauce is made with big chilli (sometimes chilli padi to achieve desired spiciness), garlic paste, white vinegar, lime juice and sugar. 

As for the Laksa, which has Peranakan roots, Coffee Lounge’s Laksa Singapura is full of prawns, fish cake, shredded chicken, fried beancurd and hard-boiled egg, swimming in a smooth coconut prawn gravy. The slippery rice noodles are cut into shorter lengths to be eaten the traditional way with a spoon. 

As though there wasn't enough carbs, dessert is Bubur Pulut Hitam, a black glutinous rice porridge enriched with coconut milk. Honestly i couldn't get through this even though it's pretty decent. Honestly i've not had a horrible Pulut Hitam before.  

A better dessert option would be Goodwood Park Hotel's signature, the Durian Mousse Cake. For the bicentennial, a special D24 Singapore Commemoration Cake ($88nett) will be available on 15 March 2019 in conjunction with the Hotel’s annual Durian Fiesta. Featuring four flavours – gula melaka, coffee, pandan and durian mousse, the 1-kilogram cake is adorned with a mosaic of white chocolate squares imprinted with eight historical scenes of Singapore and Goodwood Park Hotel’s illustrious past. These cakes are limited to only 200 and orders need to be made 5 days in advance. 

What would you like to see, experience, or eat this Singapore Bicentennial?

Goodwood Park Hotel

22 Scotts Road, Singapore 228221 

Tel: +65 6737 7411

Violet Oon Ion Orchard Breakfast

Violet Oon Singapore has gone from a cozy Peranakan restaurant to a Singapore food chain to be reckoned with. Even with 4 restaurants, the latest and largest at the upmarket ION Orchard, it is impossible to get a table if you do not make a reservation. 

However, if you're an early bird, Violet Oon now does a modernized local breakfast, available daily from 10 to 11.30am at their ION Orchard branch. 

A traditionalist may balk at the price of the the Kaya Toast ($8) but damn if that's not the nicest toast i've had. That fluffy bread with a lovely crust is topped with a coconut egg custard that is truly infused with fresh pandan. Oh and that slab of butter was icing on the toast. 

Another toast that you should definitely go for the it Otak Toast with Salad ($16). IMO this is the dish that you have to order at Violet Oon's. A base flavor of slightly spiced coconut cream mixes with the fresh sweetness of the chunky fish. This reminds me of the homemade otak that my mama makes as it is full of goodness. Anyway, it was so good that i forgot to take a picture of it before we devoured it. Oopsies. 

My other favorite is the Corned Beef Hash ($18). This is not something that i grew up on but the Singaporean style is to stir fry the corned beef with potatoes, onions, and chillies for a little kick. I could certainly identify with this childhood favorite but i may have been spoilt by Violet. 

Roti Violet is an open face roti prata sandwich, topped with 3 different combination of ingredients. I'd go with the Tuna Wala-Wala ($15) which allows you to enjoyed the crispy flakes of the buttery prata. This tuna version is especially appetizing with the spices and lime.

For you millenials who cannot do with avocado, the Avocado Nyonya ($15) or Avocado Baba ($17) promises an overload of creamy avocado. In fact, i couldn't taste anything other than the acidic avocado mash. More paprika or bacon would help with cutting through the richness of the avocado with feta. 

If you're a carb lover, you may find the Pulot Hitam with caramelized banana and mango ($15) appealing. It's a dry porridge of black glutinous rice, best spiked with lots of coconut cream and gula melaka, both offered by the side. 

Other than dining at their ION Orchard branch, VO also has their cookies, tarts, and cakes available for retail! If you can't get a table, as least you can still have cake! Speaking of which i finally got a table for VO's afternoon tea this weekend. Looking forward! 

Violet Oon Singapore at ION Orchard

#03-28/29 ION Orchard

2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801

Magic Square- Abel Su

Late to the Magic Square wagon but i've never been one to chase trends. Well now that round 1 of their 12 month-long pop-up at Portsdown is almost over (ends in Apr), and plans for the second round of three new chefs in the works, i've finally paid them a visit. 

The theme for Jan was Japanese and Abel went with the minimalist approach by focusing on 3 core ingredients in each dish. 

The first, a sweet tomato with a slice of plum in a cold savory broth. 

Next, a chilled beef tripe that is seasoned with dried chili, wrapped in pickled cabbage and meant to be eaten like a taco. I'm not a tripe fan but the wrap prevented me from picking things out and made me appreciate the different textures of the gelatinous and crunchy soft bone bits. The little wrap has elements of Korean vegetable wrap and Chinese Peking duck crepe.