Finally Pince & Pints because i have been deterred by the insane queues (so i heard) BUT... Say goodbye to looooooong queues (just long ones) as Pince & Pints look to expand by mid Oct 2015, with another 30 seats added on the second level to their initial 46-seater space at their Duxton outpost. YAY. 

Some news on P&P in a bit but first, here's introducing their latest addition to their menu (currently only 3 lobster dishes), the Truffle Lobster Roll! They have just launched it on 14 Sep 2015 and i must say it is the best lobster roll that i've had in Singapore. 

The Truffle Lobster Roll ($68)  is a new variation of the signature Lobster Roll at Pince & Pints Restaurant and Bar. This roll is done hot, which elevates the aromatic and earthy truffles, as opposed to the regular cold mayonnaise tossed Traditional Lobster Roll ($58). 

My latest favorite hangout has got to be Humpback for dinner and the Flagship for drinks and wings after. Humpback is the latest Seattle-style small plates seafood restaurant with its own craft cocktail bar by the Jigger & Pony/ Sugarhall folks, Indra and Guoyi.

The night starts young with Oysters Happy Hour at Humpback and the shells go for $2-3 from 5-7pm, Mon to Sat. Yes finally!!! Humpback is like the combination of 2 of my NYC favorites- The Mermaid Bar and Traif.

I've got lobsters on my mind and my craving sent us over to The Naked Finn for one of their really affordable lobster rolls. I've attempted to have one of these some time back but alas they only serve this for lunch (we ended up trying those at The Market Grill instead), just like their other signature Hae Mee Tng with wild-caught prawns and Berkshire Kurobuta pork belly.

Looking to beef yourself up? Well head on over to Triple Three at Mandarin Orchard Singapore for some supersize-me action. From now till 26 Apr 2015, eat like an American at their Great Big American Buffet where iconic American dishes made from freshly flown ingredients from the U.S. are served.

I'm a New Yorker at heart and I can have up to 2 bagels a day when I'm back in the city. Oh love. And I'd gladly join the queue at Katz's Delicatessen for their towering pastrami sandwiches. Obviously it depresses me so that Singapore doesn't do any of the above food items well. But that could change with Singapore's version of a NYC Jewish deli Sacha & Sons. Located at the prime Mandarin Gallery spot which was previously Wild Honey, Sacha & Sons is a nice complement to the all day breakfast spot which moved next door. They are both opened by the same owners.

Expect meats like pastrami, corned beef, roast beef and smoked fish. Cream cheese and pickles aside, Sacha & Sons offers other Jewish deli staples such as bagels ($3), latkes ($10-$16), chopped liver ($14), kugel ($7), and matzah ball soup ($12.50).

I do enjoy liver e.g. foie gras and pate, but the version at Sacha was so metallic I had to wash it down immediately with water. Thankfully we had some smoked salmon and that got rid of the pungent aftertaste.

We had a taste of the pastrami ($16, $24, $35), and immediately decided that whatever we ordered, there must be pastrami in it. The slices were sufficiently juicy when carved and salty enough to satisfy a savory craving. I was torn between a Reuben Sandwich ($16) and a bagel (there's no denying my love for bagels. Even though there is a Bagel Reuben option, i was adamant that only Rye bread goes with the juicy brisket. Yea yea I'm particular that way.
In the end, Z and I settled on the Scrambled eggs with pastrami and toasted bagel ($18). I'm glad to report that the bagels were satisfying. Exactly the kinda dense chewy dough with a shiny crust that I miss. However, I think the texture has been tweaked a little to cater to Singaporeans who can't take hard food (roll eyes).

There are only sesame flavored bagels because they are more versatile for sandwiches I guess. Sigh. We had the herb cream cheese to go with and it was thick and rich in terms of flavor and texture. If you dislike garlic, you'd be put off by this one. It's so pungent that it can kill a vampire but it's oh so good and savory! I haven't had a schmear so good in singapore. Go for the smoked salmon cream cheese (or lox cream cheese) if you want something saltier (it was very good). I hope they up their bagel game. We could certainly do with variety like say maple bacon walnut.

We didn't know that the dish already comes with cream cheese so we added another side of that garlic herb ($3) for good measure. Turns out each portion was just about enough for a half of a bagel. Sacha & Sons was generous with the cheese but if you have tried a real bagel in NYC, you'd feel short changed.

The scrambled eggs were sufficiently runny and had nice layers in them. They may resemble a chinese fried omelette a little. The pastrami was cubes and cooked with the egg and that resulted in a drier texture. What a pity.

Would love to give the Reuben and traditional Latke (fried potato and onion cake) a shot next time but the bagel is gonna be my staple here.

We had the Sweet blintzes ($12) which is a crêpe stuffed with cottage cheese, and paired with sour cream and jam. It reminded me of the waffles we had in Stavanger, Norway. That was my first time pairing sour cream with waffles and we were told it's a tradition.

On its own, the crêpe was really oily, and the sight of it soaking in oil put me off the dish. Crepes and oil do not go well at all. It was soggy (with OIL) and bland. The sour cream and overly sweet jam could not take away that eeky mouth feel. I'd rather the Norwegian version with a light and crispy batter rather than wet mess.

I'll head to Sacha & Sons if I have an NYC bagel craving, simply because my choices are limited in Singapore. At $8 for a bagel with lox cream cheese, they are certainly not marketed as a typical delicatessen. Well well, so much potential to cultivate a bagel culture in Singapore but not tapped on. Hopefully they stay around for a bit.

Sacha & Sons
333A Orchard Road #03-02 Mandarin Gallery
Singapore 238897
Tel: +65 6735 6961

Sun - Thu: 9am - 9pm
Fri, Sat, Eve of PH: 9am - 10pm

It is all about Southern American Cajun seafood boil on our sunny island these days and we checked The Boiler, a gem tucked in the ulu and industrious Tai Seng estate. It's a queer location for a seafood spot but we absolutely dig the cavernous space and their delicious offerings. I guarantee that The Boiler is certainly worth your trek!

Here's the menu. It made perfect sense for us to order the Boiler's Bombdiggity Bag ($139) since there's a huge group of us (we had 3 bags of that). Each bag feeds more than the recommended 4 pax (that or we are small eaters). Dungeness or Brown Crab, prawns, mussels, clams, sausages, and corn are tossed with a sauce of your choice.

Our food were delivered in plastic bags placed in big metal buckets. You can only imagine the excitement at the table when the food was poured over the grease-proofed table mat. Don't worry, plastic bibs are provided to protect your clothes but try not to wear white yea?

For the sauce, there's garlic butter (for the kiddos), pepper butter (for amateurs), mild, medium and raging spice. Of the lot, i thought that the mild worked the best. It was more savory than the bland and boring garlic butter, but not too spicy to give you a heartburn or mar the taste of the seafood. You really don't wanna be eating chili alone (my bad experience at Cajun Kings taught me that. Read review here).

Of the ingredients in the bag, I loved the succulent and juicy prawns, the salty chorizo style sausages, and not to mention the sweet corn! The juicy kernels provided a respite from the spices after a while.

Get a lobster ($49) to go with your meal! Same price as Pince and Pints but without the queue (just make a reservation)! I liked this better than the crabs. Lemon butter was a good choice as the sauce is lighter and simpler, which allowed the freshness of the lobster to come through. The pepper butter can be rather overwhelming with spice in my opinion and not quite suitable for this meat.

Have some sides to go with the seafood. The bags come with fried man tous (buns), which were great to mop up the sauce a la chili crab style. We enjoyed the Cajun Fries ($5.90) with crispy thin batter and substantial filling. On hindsight i would have tried the sweet potato fries ($6.90). The onion rings ($7.90) were made with real onions and gave the meal an added crunch. Luncheon fries ($7.90) are well, luncheon fries.

If you're not up for a seafood feasting, you could also do smaller meals such as fish and chips, chicken and waffles, and hot dogs as well. 

For desserts, we had the Molten Lava cake ($9.90) which remained fairly decent even after all the photo taking. The almond (mocha?) ice cream with Oreo crunch was a hit with us. 

Skip the fried banana and durian fritters ($7.90) with salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. It sounded way more exotic than it tasted and certainly not quite worth the price for fried pisang. Plus it had a stale oily taste.

We really enjoyed our meal while it lasted. It was fun passing food around with our bare hands and letting loose at the dining table. However, the gastric reflux was pretty severe and the garlic aftertaste lingered long after the meal concluded. In fact, it's pretty nauseating thinking about it right now. So yes, it's a once in a blue moon indulgence for us.

That said, I'd certainly recommend The Boiler for a gathering with family and friends! What's your favorite seafood boil? 

The Boiler
18 Howard Road
Tel: +65 6635 1285
Sunday - Thu: 5 - 10.30pm

Fri- Sat, Eve PH: 5pm - 12am

Closed Mon

If you enjoy alresco dining in a idyllic garden setting, then GRUB is probably gonna be up your alley. This restaurant is right smacked in the middle of Bishan Park, far from civilization (it's a walk from the ulu busstop so i'd suggest driving or cabbing) and amidst the greens and rocks and wildlife (mosquitoes). What's good is that the Cookyn Inc. folks are very picky on using natural ingredients and eating responsibly so you can eat without guilt. Also, your wallet will not be emptied as most dishes are priced below $15. 

Well i was under the impression that GRUB was still adopting a no-reservation policy but when i visited, groups without reservations were frowned upon. So make sure you call them up just to make sure anyway. S and i decided to give their brunch a shot and the options included the regular eggs and sausage combi along with a number of burgers.

I heard much about the Crispy Fish Burger ($12) and GRUB uses either Monkfish or Haddock, both of which are sustainable white fish. My first thought was that this is a fish and chip dish masquerading as a fish burger! Actually it would have done better without the empty bun that was way too light tasting (i couldn't taste the bread at all). 

The fries and that homemade remoulade (they make their own mayonnaise) was simply amazing. Top it up with mentaiko sauce for an additional $2 and this would be the perfect fish and chips. 

I liked that the fish meat is dense and fresh and the portion extremely generous. 

I wanted to order the Slow cooked Pork Belly ($17) that is sous vide and seared and served with sauteed leeks and sweet potato mash but was disappointed to know that it is only available for dinner! BAH.

The Belgium Waffles with maple syrup and butter ($6.50) was a terrible mistake we made as a result. The batter was undercooked in the middle and it was also tasteless. The watery syrup (probably maple flavored and not real maple syrup) did little to enhance the flavor. I would rather have Prima Deli's cheap waffles which taste much better than this.

Churros ($8) was highly recommended but the portion seemed too huge for us to tackle and i didnt think it'd be nice if we took it away. Well, you guys try it and let me know.

Here's the weekend brunch menu. Liberty coffee is served at GRUB and priced at about $4-5. 

I wouldn't mind eating at Grub if there isn't a queue but the inaccessibility may be a deterrance.  

Grub

510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 Singapore 569983

Tel: +65 6459 5743

Tue-Fri: 11am - 3pm, 5.30 - 10.30pm

Weekends & PH: 9am - 4pm, 5.30 - 10.30pm

Closed Mon and last Tue of the month

I've been dying to find a Southern meal in Singapore e.g. Chicken & waffles or biscuits & gravy for breakfast but nothing seemed to have met my expectations. Well, i finally checked out the new Sunday Brunch at The Beast. Southern comfort food say what! It's time to get started thinking about bacon maple glazed doughnuts and lotsa bourbon. 

Located just a step away from my other favorite brunch spot Symmetry, The Beast is a Southern Kitchen & Bourbon Bar. I've noticed it for a while but didn't feel like i could stomach such a meaty meal. With their $20/ hour all-you-can-drink Mimosas and a Do-it-Yourself Bloody Mary bar, it was hard to resist brunching here. 

So we went with our empty stomachs in preparation for a huge meal ahead. 

For starters, make sure you order yourself some Cornbread ($6). I love this one! It's way better than Kenny Rogers corn muffin which sometimes has these really strange chewy corn kernels. Expect a nice brown crust with a fragrant corn perfume. Make sure you dip into the maple syrup. 

Chicken and Waffles ($20) cannot be missed as well. Ok mainly the Southern fried chicken cannot be missed. The waffles are an afterthought (it was bland and thin) but that massive juicy chicken steak was flavorful and addictive. I still can't get over how much fried chicken i ate. The bourbon maple butter sauce added that little alcoholic bitterness and light sweetness to the overall flavor.

The Pulled Pork Hash ($18) features a 10 hour pulled pork with bbq sauce that wasn't too overpowering. BBQ sauce has got to be my least favorite sauce of all time but this was quite enjoyable. The poached egg gave the dish a nice yolky moisture which made it even tastier. I could imagine this dish being made into a sandwich a la momofuku style.

Biscuits are a huge part of Soul food and so we had to have the Sausage Biscuit ($18). It came with buttermilk biscuit, sausage patty, truffled mushrooms, swiss cheese and a sunny side up. The sausage gravy was sinfully flavorful (you really don't wanna know how gravy is made), but the biscuit and sausage were on the bland side. On the whole, it was sufficiently tasty. 

Bacon Maple Glazed doughnut ($5) was of a lovely density and had a nice crispy shell. It may be a little oily, and it also had that hint of oily taste but it's such comfort food! I couldn't help taking a few more bites.

Our other dessert was the Mississippi Mudpie ($14). Well it's just boring ice cream really. It's not that it isn't tasty, but we were too stuffed to tackle my preferred Bourbon Pecan Pie with fig and honey ice cream ($12).

We had an awesome time at The Beast. Food is really the highlight here. But be warned, make sure you keep the entire day free because you wouldn't be able to get out of that food induced coma after the meal. The good news is that you only need one meal for the day. Heh.

The booze that we had were less than adequate however. Skip the sangria for it was way too diluted for me. The Mimosa was ok but it was more OJ than white sparkling wine. But I guess it works out ok if you do the 1h free flow version.

So yea, be sure to check out The Beast. This is surely where I'd be headed if I have a Chicken and Waffle craving.

The Beast

17 Jalan Klapa, Singapore 199329

Tel: +65 6295 0017

Mon – Thu: 5pm - midnight

Fri – Sat: 5pm – 1am 

Sun: 10am - 5pm

I'm a brunch monster but there's only that many times I can be satisfied with yet another Eggs Benedict or English Breakfast or the regular pancakes and waffles. So when Bochinche opened and started offering an Argentinean brunch, I was all up for it. Argentinean cuisine is a mix of cultural indigenous and Mediterranean cuisines and you may find some similarity in some Spanish dishes.

Located at Martin Road just above Common Man Roasters (read review here), Bochinche is the quieter and more sophisticated sister restaurant for the adults with their selection of cocktails, tapas and mains alongside breakfast items.

The Provoleta, almonds & honey ($17) is a must try if you love cheese. This is the perfect sweet and savory dish with the strong nutty proveleta melted with sweet honey and almond slices. Eat it quick and eat it hot. When the pan ceases to keep the cheese gooey, ask for a reheat and you'll get some nice brown crispy crust!

The proveleta doesn't come with any bread (come on, not even a piece??) so make sure you order yourself some. The house baked Pan & manceta ($7) was nicely done, some better than the others but we each found a type that we preferred. Eat them with the cheese or salted butter that comes with. 
The Organic poached eggs on toast, braised ossobuco & chives hollandaise ($25) is about the same thing as that served at Common Man Roasters. Eating this for the second time, I wasn't impressed once again. I loved the flavors of the rich golden yolk but I could taste the distinct vinegar, which also ruined the texture of the whites. The braised veal was also lacking in flavors and no amount of bland hollandaise could help salvage the dish.

The Smoked salmon & scrambled eggs with red onions, capers & dill cream cheese ($24) seemed really common man but I was surprised at how the simple ingredients came together. The secret ingredient is the dill cream cheese, and it gelled the creamy scrambled egg with salty smoked salmon perfectly.

Skip the coffee and head downstairs for that instead. I've no idea how the same beans could make such distinctly different cups (actually I do but I don't wanna be an outright bitch about it). So just listen and stick to cocktails perhaps. 

All in all, Bochinche is a nice alternative to the crowded brunch spots in the Robertson Quay area. They also offer heartier options such as their Chimichurri Burger and also sweet dishes such as their peach brioche french toast. 

Bochinche
22 Martin Road, #02-01, Singapore 239058

Tel: +65 6235 4990
Tues - Sun: 12 - 3pm, 5.30 - 10.30pm (bar opens till late)
Weekend Brunch: 11am – 3.30pm