Crystal Jade’s Tongue-Tingling Szechuan Specialties
In an ode to Singaporeans’ love of spice, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao and Crystal Jade Kitchen have introduced a slew of spicy Sichuan specialties available in the month of August. Fragrant stir-fried dishes of sprouting cauliflower, spicy tea tree mushroom and spicy pork collar with potato and lotus root are the highlights at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, alongside moreish pan-fried mala pork buns and a fiery Chongqing-style noodle dish. At Crystal Jade Kitchen, succulent Sri Lankan crabs are served in various ways: in the quintessential tangy chilli sauce, steamed with Chinese hua diao wine, sauteed in white pepper or ginger and scallion, and smothered in a salted egg yolk sauce.
Rediscover Hawker Classics At Mitzo
To celebrate the nation’s 53rd birthday, Mitzo is taking guests on a heritage-inspired culinary trail to experience some of Singapore’s most loved local dishes in an all new light. For the month of August, tuck into the likes of “Hainanese” Chicken Rice, the fragrant rice making the perfect accompaniment for satay made of pork neck and spicy seafood otah, as well as Abalone “Bak Kut Teh”, an elevated version of the peppery pork rib soup we know and love. The Iconic Singapore Chilli Lobster is executive chef Nicky Ng’s tribute to our national dish of chilli crab, and for a sweet ending, he combines Chilled Beancurd Jelly, Coconut Ice Cream And Deep-fried Creamy Banana in a perfect union of sweet and savoury flavours. The National Day set menu is priced at $78++ per person.
The Lobby Lounge At Shangri-La Hotel Unveils Heritage-inspired Tea Set
Have a uniquely Singapore tea for two this month at Shangri-La Hotel’s The Lobby Lounge. Start with a tea of your choice, then proceed to nibble on the bottom tier of the set, which features a medley of crunchy, airy vegetable curry and chilli crab puffs, a sweet taro ball, savoury hae bi hiam finger sandwich as well as otak otak with mantou. The middle tier includes a sweet ondeh ondeh, gula melaka, a delightful rainbow lapis made with pandan-kissed coconut cream and different kinds of kueh. Saving the best for last, the top tier has classic scones infused with gula melaka and pandan flavours, a durian mousse which has carefully shaped spikes to look like the fruit, and a pulut hitam cake topped with fragrant Chantilly cream. Available from 3pm to 5.30pm at $38++ for two, the set also comes with pork or chicken satay and pulut hitam that will complete the satisfying meal.
Six New Spins On The Singapore Sling
For the month of August, classic French orange liqueur Cointreau has brought together six bars around the island to showcase creative renditions of our national cocktail, The Singapore Sling. The six bartenders — Anti:dote’s Bannie Kang, TESS Bar & Kitchen’s Bell Paradee, Summerlong’s Summer Chen, Publico’s Claudio Russo, Kuvo’s Vladyslav Buzko and Caffe Fernet’s Aki Egushi — hail from different corners of the world and have each put their own spin on The Singapore Sling. For example, Mija’s Sling at Anti:dote is a play on the Korean five-flavour berry, omija, Caffe Fernet’s Singapore “Sakura” Sling infuses Japanese floral touches and the Thai Teh O Sling at Tess Bar gets tropical with pineapple foam.
Le Binchotan’s Singapore-centric Bites
The grill-centric French-Japanese restaurant introduces its take on three local dishes — satay, Hokkien mee and bubur cha cha. The Iberico Pork Collar Satay ($17 for three sticks) is char-grilled to a seductively dark hue, partially thanks to its savoury-sweet marinade of kicap manis, gula melaka, nutmeg and a dash of heat from turmeric powder. For more sweetness, dip the morsels in an accompanying dip made with shishito, banana shallots and togarashi.
The Hokkien mee ($18) is redolent of the deeply aromatic bisque-style stock that is brewed with at least 4kg of roasted prawn and lobster shells, dried Japanese scallops, bacon and pork belly, and topped with a skewer of binchotan-grilled tiger prawns and a fiery sambal belachan. Wash the food down with a bubur cha cha-inspired cocktail ($16) concocted with taro-infused vodka sweetened with coconut and pandan syrup. Tapioca jelly chunks, coconut cream and whipped cream bring the bubur cha cha flavours to the fore.
New Ubin Seafood Delights At The Clifford Pier
Diners can ogle at the spectacular firework display on 9 August at the Marina Bay Floating Platform as they dig into zichar-style dishes from New Ubin Seafood, which is teaming up with The Clifford Pier at The Fullerton Bay Hotel till the end of the month. The owner of this Bib Gourmand restaurant, Pang Seng Meng, has introduced a new dish, The Pier Hokkien Mee ($28++), which is inspired by his fond memories of tucking into Hokkien mee at the roadside stalls at Clifford Pier in the 1950s. The mix of white and yellow noodles brims with umami flavour from being braised in a potent prawn stock. The highlight is the slabs of chicken liver that give an earthy flavour and creaminess, alongside the usual garnish of prawns, sotong, lala clams and pork lard.
There are also 11 other dishes from New Ubin Seafood, such as the crowd-favourite grilled USDA Black Angus Rib Eye Steak ($99++) served with the “Heart Attack” Fried Rice that is indulgently cooked with beef fat drippings and studded with charred beef edges and served with truffle fries; smoked pork curry with rice ($26++) and pan-seared sea bass with chinchalok sambal petai and rice ($46++).
