Travel Blog, Itineraries & Guides, Hotel Reviews
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The reopening of Raffles Hotel Singapore after an elaborate renovation drew much attention not only for the refreshed look of the rooms but also for the staggering number of new F&B concepts introduced. One of those is the newly opened 藝 yi by Jereme Leung on the 2nd floor of Raffles Hotel Arcade where the previous Chinese restaurant used to be.
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Xin Cuisine, the Cantonese restaurant at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, reopened in June 2019 after a few months of renovation. The restaurant’s kitchen underwent some refurbishment while the dining hall remained the same. Xin Cuisine has been around for some time now and is generally considered one of the more established Cantonese restaurants in Singapore. Along with its range of ala carte dishes, they also serve dimsum during lunch time – the latter which I’ve tried previously.
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Un-yang-kor-dai in South Bridge Road adds to the breadth of Thai cuisine available in Singapore with its offering of Isaan dishes and more mainstream Central Thai favorites. The Un-yang-kor-dai brand, which literally means “anything goes,” hails as a chain in Thailand where it traces its origins in Khao Yai. Having visited Isaan previously and well aware of the lack of Isaan cuisine in Singapore, I was quite curious to try them out after the restaurant sent me an invite for a tasting.
unyangkordai interiors
The Isaan region of Thailand is traditionally known as the country’s breadbasket. Agriculture is still the primary way of life for many residents there and the artwork in this restaurant reflects that simpler pace of life.
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El Mero Mero, the Mexican restaurant in Chijmes was established out of a gap that used to exist in Singapore for authentic Mexican fare. Going strong for a number of years now, El Mero Mero traces its origins just after the global financial crisis when a Mexican expat lawyer saw his company withdrawing its representative office in Singapore. What followed was a string of F&B concepts. Aside from El Mero Mero, the group also owns the Señor Taco next door.
El Mero Mero is literally a Mexican slang for “the main man” and with this name, the restaurant aims to be the go-to place for Mexican dining where Singapore is concerned. Make no mistake about it, this is not a taco joint. The experience here aims to be authentically Mexican – coming with the range that this cuisine isn’t always given due credit for.
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Tablescape at Grand Park City Hall recently welcomed a new chef, Armando Aristarco, who counts several years of experience working for fine hotels. I previously encountered him a couple of times while dining in LaBrezza. As I took to my seat in Tablescape, Chef Armando himself came out to say hi to diners. After I told him I tasted his cooking previously in LaBrezza, he was quick to point out that upon taking helm of the Grand Park City Hall restaurant, he has expanded his culinary offerings to continental fare. Indeed, Tablescape mixes both an old world charm with contemporary European cuisine. It is old-world because of the classical look of the place – think black and white and accented by a bit of beige in terms of the furnishings. Even the way certain dishes are presented reminds me of restaurants of yore. Tablescape has a bread cart filled with various selections of freshly baked buns and even has a dessert trolley topped with various sweet endings. Inded, this venue doesn’t delve too far from the grand proposition that the hotel housing it professes to deliver.
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Mid-autumn festival in 2019 will fall on the 13th of September and once again, hotels in Singapore have prepared some of the most exquisite mooncake flavours for the season. Whether you are looking for snowskin or traditional baked mooncakes, do check out this list which will be updated regularly as with previous years. I will also try my best to highlight some of the most unique mooncake flavours – not just the durian mooncakes but also fruity, tea, acai, bird’s nest and alcohol-infused ones where relevant. I will also highlight which hotels have the best and prettiest mooncake boxes in 2019 for your convenience.
If you are planning to order mooncakes for mid autumn festival, whether in the physical outlets or online, the best credit cards to use this season for promotions are those from DBS/POSB, UOB and Citibank where discounts ranging from 15 to 30% can be had from some merchants. If you are planning to make your purchase online, you may wish to consider getting the Citi Rewards Card where you can earn 4 miles per S$1 for online transactions. Currently, there is also a separate promotion where successful credit card applications with Citibank earn up to S$200 vouchers for new cardholders and S$30 for existing ones while successful card applications with UOB earn a cash reward of S$50.
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V Dining which is located in Scotts Square is a concept restaurant by the Swiss appliances brand, V-ZUG. This is the brand’s first restaurant and the venue is meant to showcase the capabilities of the V-ZUG brand (their products conveniently showcased in the gallery called Zugorama next door).
I was invited to check out V Dining for dinner one evening. The restaurant is helmed by Head Chef Lee Jing Peng, with V-ZUG’s culinary director, Chef Ryan Clift providing inputs on the menu. The 35-seater venue is relatively small and intimate, with floor to ceiling windows offering views of Orchard Road. The kitchen features an open concept, with V-ZUG’s appliances in clear view from the dining area. One can also see the painstaking process at which the dishes are prepared – even the off-menu snack items!
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Golden Peony, the Chinese restaurant in Conrad Centennial Singapore, has rolled out a new set menu in collaboration with Jing Tea. While most food establishments wrap up such collaborations by introducing tea pairing menus, Golden Peony takes it one step further by infusing tea elements into the dishes.
Lest you think the dishes might actually taste like bitter tea leaves, Chef Ku Keung has introduced a creative spin by infusing finer elements of tea culture into the food. Think: the fragrance of chrysanthemum flowers into soup, the crispy texture of Long Jing tea leaves into stir-fried courses, etc. Being a tea lover myself, I was most curious to try out Golden Peony’s tea inspired menu when the team invited me over for dinner.
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