Singapore Restaurant Week is back again!
Looks like DiningCity Singapore, the event organiser, is making up for lost time with a vengeance. If I recall correctly, this will already be the third run this year.
They’re calling it the “Autumn 2022” edition, signaling that it’s probably going to be held quarterly moving forward.
Which is great news, given that it has introduced us to many nice restaurants over the many years, including our current favourite: FOC Restaurant, at Hong Kong Street.
This time round, there’s a bumper crop of 83 restaurants to choose from, spanning across a wide range of cuisines. Typically, we use Restaurant Week to explore interesting eateries that we wouldn’t normally come across.
The fixed price menus provide us with the opportunity to try out these new places at a lower risk. And so far, we’ve had more hits than misses. Especially with restaurants that make an effort to showcase their specials, instead of offering generic menu items.
Our Selection Process
How we usually choose is for The Wife and I to generate our individual shortlists, and we then pick from the common pool. Any that appear on both our lists are prioritised, and the number of bookings we finally make depends on how often we feel like dining out during that period.
There was an exceptionally large number to choose from in this particular run, with many of them featuring interesting menus. The Wife did her shortlist first and ended up with 10 restaurants, way more than her usual three or four.
Given that she had spent so much time and effort whittling down her choices, I decided to defer to her better judgement. The real reason was, of course, that I was just lazy.
“Let’s go for all 10!” I declared enthusiastically, and that thought lingered on our minds for the briefest of moments. But we quickly realised that eating out so often, in such a short period of time, wouldn’t be such a good idea.
So now I had homework to do.
I would have to go through each of the 10 choices, read their respective menus and rank them based on my personal preference. The Wife will then take that into consideration and make a final decision as to how many, and which ones, to choose.
For ease of future reference, I’ve included links to the Restaurant Week menus for each of the shortlisted restaurants, as well as a photo from their respective IG accounts.
Ikimasho!
1. Aapon
We’re big fans of Indian food and have a few restaurants that we visit regularly, including Daawat Tandoori, Manam and the vegetarian outlet Nalan. But we’ve never tried Bengali food before, and this would be a good opportunity to expand our Indian food horizons into the Northeastern region.
2. Alegria
The menu features elements of Spanish, Mexican and Filipino cuisine, which can easily descend into fusion/confusion. But if they manage to do it right, I think the flavour combination will result in a very interesting meal. I’m curious to find out where they land.
3. Poisson
Similar to their sister establishment Boeuf, this restaurant’s name leaves no doubt as to their specialisation. Lunch is a four course affair with three of them highlighting seafood. “Fish of the Day” is the main course, and given the quality of food we had at Boeuf, my expectations are high.
4. Cherki
With dishes like Buah Keluak Ravioli and Kaya Gula Melaka Tiramisu, you know that you’re in for a wild ride on a fusion Peranakan rollercoaster. While this ranks relatively high on my list, I’m somewhat hesitant given that our previous foray into modern Nyonya food didn’t quite impress.
5. Beurre
Purely based on the menu, the preliminary reading of our proprietary Fusion-O-MeterTM indicates that it will be the inverse of our previous meal at 15 Stamford, with Western elements taking centre stage and Asian ingredients playing a supporting role. I assume that they use copious amounts of butter, which definitely can’t hurt.
6. Beirut Grill
After appearing on our shortlist so many times, it’s quite amazing that we’ve yet to actually eat here. The Mediterranean food seems to be quite similar to what we’ve had before at Alaturka which, by the way, was quite delicious. Let’s hope it finally makes the cut this time.
7. House On The Moon
Honestly, I’m a bit on the fence with this one. It could turn out to be fantastic fine dining meal, or it could be a total dud. The menu prices are on the higher end, but the reviews are pretty good though and the platings look beautiful. This will probably be decided with a coin toss.
8. The Spot
You know, I may have eaten here before, back in the days when I used to work in MBFC. But the name doesn’t ring a bell, so maybe they’ve changed management. But the food does seem similar, with straight-forward and hearty dishes featuring robust flavours.
9. L’Entrecôte
This seems like a classic French bistro serving steak frites and other traditional dishes like escargots, charcuteries and terrines. It’s probably as close as we can get to the real deal, without having to take a 13 hour flight across 6 timezones.
10. Binary
A gastro-bar located in an alfresco terrace within the fancy Palais Renaissance building? It feels like this would be a perfect tai-tai hangout. I think I’ll pass on this one until The Wife has had a chance to check it out with her pals during one of her girls’ night out.
Final Decision
Now that I’ve submitted my assigned homework, and provided The Wife with my ranking of her shortlist, I’ll leave our epicurean fate in her hands.
Which restaurants will make the final cut, and which will be relegated for future consideration? Tune in next month to find out!
Featured image credit: DiningCity Singapore
