Old Chang Kee Returns To Original Location With Flagship Shop
Home-grown snack chain Old Chang Kee has come back to a full circle by returning to its original location at a nondescript coffeeshop near Rex Cinema that started in 1956. Its founder, Han Keen Juan, bought over a curry puff stall that was run by an elderly Hainanese hawker in 1986. Han recalls that the stall occupied such a small spot in the coffeeshop that he had to stand outside of the shop to peddle freshly deep-fried curry puffs from a gigantic wok. Fast forward 32 years and Old Chang Kee has 90 outlets in Singapore and in cities such as Perth, Jakarta and London, where its first European outlet will be opening later this week.
The 50-seat flagship restaurant serves signature dishes from Old Chang Kee and its subsidiary brands such as Curry Times, Bun Times and Dip ‘n’ Go. Besides the famed hand-crimped curry puffs and curry rice bowls, dig into new items such as Flower Bread ($11.90, above), a fluffy ring-shaped sesame seed bun that encircles a pot of curry chicken. Paying homage to Old Chang Kee’s Hainanese heritage are dishes such as beef stew rice, chap chye (vegetable stew) and soon-to-be-launched Hainanese lamb stew. Other dishes include a piquant dry laksa goreng that is liberally tossed in a fiery rempah, nasi lemak with dry curry chicken and an addictive assortment of snacks such as deep-fried chicken skin and fries. 19-23 Mackenzie Road, 01-01
Clan Cafe: The Sole Public Spot At Members-Only Straits Clan
Can’t afford the membership fees at the impeccably chic Straits Clan (we heard that it starts from $2,500)? Aspiring members can hang out at Clan Cafe — the sole public spot in the four-storey conservation building that used to be New Majestic Hotel. One of the one-month-old club’s four dining concepts, the breezy 50-seater is a casual all-day cafe that serves up East-meets-West grain bowls, salads, broths and tea brews that are inspired by traditional Chinese medicine. The most substantial sustenance on the menu are grain bowls that are lined with a nutty blend of red and brown rice, koshihikari and red quinoa laced with an umami shoyu dashi.
Grain bowls include the Kakiage ($15, above), a crunchy bouquet of fried tempura vegetables such as kale, okra, murasaki imo (purple sweet potato) and mushrooms. The tinge of bitterness from the kale melds well with the accompanying herbal genmaicha broth. Other bowls include the miso salmon and grilled Angus ribeye. Slurp the rice with soul-warming broths such as the collagen-rich chicken and leek broth ($9) that has an entire chicken boiled down and simmered for six hours, while the spiced beef broth ($9) perks the palate with dashes of lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. The menu also comprises brunch items such as prawn and mackerel otah sandwich and avocado toast, and serves cocktails and bar snacks. 31- 37 Bukit Pasoh Road, Level 1
New Modern Chinese Restaurant Yellow Pot Opens At Six Senses Duxton Boutique Hotel
Bangkok-based hospitality group Six Senses, which is known for its resorts and spas in exotic spots, has opened its first urban property in Singapore — Six Senses Duxton in the hip Duxton Hill enclave. The 49-room conservation shophouse hotel now sports a dramatic black facade with lacquered luxe interiors that are dominated by hues of black and yellow. Inspired by the yellow porcelain pots that are sourced by the hotel’s acclaimed designer Anouska Hempel is the hotel’s sole F&B outlet called Yellow Pot.
The modern Chinese restaurant, which is helmed by chef Sebastian Goh, serves modern Chinese food with innovative touches. Perk your appetite with a deceptively sweet-looking chilled organic vine-ripened tomatoes ($8), which are soaked with an intensely sour Li Hing plum infusion. The tomatoes also make an appearance in the chicken soup, albeit stuffed with shimeji mushrooms. Juicy smooth slabs steamed barramundi ($22, above) get smeared with scallion and ginger pesto is gently infused into the fish. Other dishes include the hot and sour soup and braised sweet and sour eggplant, which has the same house-made fermented bean paste sauce to give the dish a burst of umami. 88 Duxton Road
Wolfgang Steakhouse Offers New Set Lunch
A glamourous steak dinner never goes out of style. If you do not have the time or stomach space for a full dinner, the Wolfgang Experience set lunch menu at Wolfgang Steakhouse condenses the grandeur of dining in a New York steakhouse to 1½ hours. The four-course menu (from $55 to $90) kicks off with the classic chilled trio of seafood appetisers — a creamy, sweet Boston lobster salad, poached jumbo shrimp and a DIY-style avocado tuna tartare that is meant to be slathered on grilled toast. Then there are salads such as the Caesar salad, which includes a thick slab of broiled house-cured bacon that has streaks of crispy edges.
Make space for the hunky stars of the show — USDA Prime Beef that has been dry-aged for 28 days to intensify the meat flavours and tenderise the meat. For those who prefer lusciously soft-centred sirloin steak, up your game by slathering the chunk of meat with clarified butter. If you prefer more bite to your meat, the popular bone-in ribeye steak, which is about 700g, is a decadent slab of beef that is flanked with a sinfully thick layer of rich buttery fat. Close the meal with a tiramisu that is eclipsed by an ethereal soft mountain of schlag, a sweet house-made whipped cream. InterContinental Robertson Quay, 1 Nanson Road, #02-01.
Took Lae Dee, one of Bangkok’s most famous 24-hour restaurant chains, has ventured on its first-ever overseas foray into Singapore. The restaurant’s name means “cheap and good” and aspires to bring the dishes so loved by Bangkok to Singapore, without losing their authentic local Thai taste. At the same time, it aims to serve up some of the cheapest Thai dishes in Singapore in a restaurant setting, such as its Pad Krapow, priced at just $3.80 and is a flavourful mixture of minced pork or chicken with fragrant Thai holy basil leaves. Also go for the Pad Thai, which consists of noodles stir-fried with eggs, fresh bean sprouts and tamarind pulp, topped with roasted peanuts and chilli flakes.
Other Thai classics include the Tom Yum Thai Spicy And Sour Chicken/Seafood, which is incorporates the flavours of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, chillies and Thai herbs and spices. Too hot to handle? Wash down the spices with the Took Lae Dee Iced Milk Tea, a well-loved Thai beverage concocted from condensed and evaporated milk, sugar and Ceylon tea. 18 Tai Seng St
