Whenever I walk down Circular Road, there’s always a sense of nostalgia. I used to work in a cubicle farm nearby and would often head there for lunch.
There were numerous eateries, including nasi padang at Sinar Pagi (which, sadly, has moved), yong tau foo at 109 Yong Tau Foo (which, surprisingly, is still there) and beef noodles at Hock Lam Beef (which closed, but now seems to be back).
Once in a while, we’d have dinner and/or drinks at the many restaurants and bars that lined both sides of the street. Fridays nights were especially happening, though I’m sure the atmosphere has changed drastically since the pandemic.
As The Wife and I strolled down the street for our lunch reservation at Apéro Bistro & Wine, I didn’t recognise any of the restaurants we passed along the way. Competition in the F&B industry must be fierce, and in Singapore, customers are spoilt for choice.
We were the first to arrive, and were welcomed into a small and cosy space with 20 or so seats. The colour scheme was brown, beige and white, lending a breezy and relaxed atmosphere.
Since our booking was made under Restaurant Week, the menu was already sitting on our table. It was a three course lunch, with two choices each for our starter, main and dessert.
At S$38+ (yay! no 9% GST), it was closer to the lower end of the advertised range for the biannual event. The Restaurant Week website still advertises “lunch from S$28”, but it’s rare to find one at that price. I suppose they can still make that claim as long as one restaurant offers it.
A tall Caucasian man came by to take our order and I replied with “one of each”, the most logical choice in these situations. Judging from the fact that he wasn’t wearing any uniform, I assume he was the owner of the establishment.
We passed on the wine list, which had an good selection at reasonable (for Singapore) prices, but asked to take a look at their ala carte menu.
The starters looked interesting, and since lunch is our main meal of the day, we decided to order the grilled eggplant and smoked sardine crostini to complement our set menu starters.
The Wife was amused by how skinny the parma ham-wrapped pencil asparagus were. She had the impression that they were normal sized ones, but called as such because their tips were sharpened like pencils.
They looked cute though and had a pleasant nutty flavour that went well with the ham, roasted cherry tomatoes and honey glaze.
A very buttery white wine broth accompanied the sauteed clams, together with generous amounts of minced garlic. Even though there were only a few pieces of chilli padi, they packed quite a punch.
The grilled eggplant arrived peeled and came with cashews, reduced balsamic vinegar, a tiny mound of alfalfa sprouts and thin and pretty slice of mini turnip.
While the eggplant itself was relatively bland, the combination of all the items on the plate made for a nice appetiser. I’m generally not a fan of grassy-tasting alfalfa, but in this case, the combination worked well.
So far, the food was decent, but not particularly noteworthy. That impression immediately changed once we bit into the smoked sardine crostini.
Even though there were literally just three ingredients — toast, sardines and chopped chives — the simple dish was a flavour explosion.
We had expected to taste oily fish with briny, vinegary notes and perhaps a touch of smoke. But no, these were totally different.
Yes, the sardines still carried their characteristically strong flavour, but they had a surprising lightness somehow. The smokiness was off the charts, but not in an overpowering way.
Every bite was delightful, with powerful flavours that worked harmoniously together.
We complimented the owner on the sardines, and he replied matter-of-factly: “Of course, they are the best sardines in the world.”
Ok, so now I was curious.
Googling for Dehesa smoked sardines led me to the website of Maison Dehesa. Specifically to the product page for their “Japanese Smoked Sardine Sashimi XXL €16.50”.
“Maison DEHESA is reinventing sashimi-style canned sardines, thanks to Japanese smoking methods. Their deboning with tweezers, also unique, gives them the lowest salt level on the market. In addition to the salting process, they are cold smoked in order to sublimate their fat and give them a firm yet melting texture like sashimi.
Our sardines come from sustainable fishing, in the port of Santoña in Cantabria. Our fisherman Alberto knows how to find the largest sizes of sardines in the world to offer you an XXL product of choice.
Selected and processed according to an artisanal and ancestral Japanese method immediately after being brought into port, the sardines are then smoked with natural beech wood before undergoing a classic salting process.
In order to preserve its natural crunch and the flavor of its noble fat, often drowned in oil and salt from canning, Maison Dehesa has reinvented the sardine in the style of a Sashimi: an original combination of Mediterranean and Japanese techniques, to obtain a semi-raw product that explodes in the mouth!”
Thank you, Alberto from Cantabria.
Unfortunately, after such a superb dish, the rest of the meal couldn’t quite match up.
Don’t get me wrong. The Seared sole fish with caper butter and French yellow chicken (yellow because corn-fed) with tarragon jus were perfectly fine main courses.
Their only sin was that they weren’t exceptional.
Likewise for the affogato and creme brûlée desserts.
We left Apéro that afternoon happy.
Happy that we were given the chance to taste such a delicious ingredient. We’re fans of Spanish seafood, especially their canned anchovies.
But these Spanish smoked sardines made by a French specialty food store using Japanese techniques was really something else.
It wasn’t something that we expected to experience in a French bistro, but it’s things like this that makes exploring new restaurants in Singapore so much fun.
Singapore Restaurant Week
The bold flavours and generous portions of Loulou French Cuisine
If you could transform a Bollywood dance scene into a dish, this gaspacho be how it would taste — exciting, dynamic and entertaining.
Classical French with a touch of the Mediterranean at Joséphine
My generous portion of duck confit arrived with an equally impressive amount of red wine sauce. It looked a bit scary, almost like a pool of blood, but it was very tasty.
An all French affair for Singapore Restaurant Week Spring 2024
Our usual shortlisting process is rigorous and time consuming. For this season, we chose to go with a simpler approach, and focused only on French restaurants.
Cherki is not afraid to experiment with bold Peranakan flavours
We eagerly scanned through all 38 items on the menu. They all sounded really enticing, and the thought of ordering everything briefly crossed our minds.
13% Wine Bistro is more than just a place for drinks
The Seafood Bisque tasted like something that could have been served at a fancier restaurant, and not in a wine bar with a tiny kitchen and minimal staff.
Here is our shortlist for Singapore Restaurant Week Autumn 2023
In the immortal words of Kenji Fukui, the OG Iron Chef announcer: “Who takes it? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?”
Basilico has restored our faith in all-you-can-eat buffets
Its specialisation in Italian cuisine, focus on quality not quantity and the pièce de résistance, an amazing cheese room, truly sets it apart.
Our first foray into Portuguese cuisine, courtesy of Lusitano Restaurant
I know we’re definitely coming back for a return visit. We do, however, need to make sure we bring in sufficient reinforcements next time.
Akanoya Robatayaki was nice, but not as fun as expected
Sometimes, dining out is not just about enjoying good food, it’s also about experiencing unique entertainment.
It’s homework time again: Singapore Restaurant Week Spring 2023
It took me quite a while to review each of the individual menus, weigh their relative pros and cons and identify any unique must-try dishes. Here is our shortlist, ranked in descending order of preference.
Curating a seven course dinner using memorable dishes from 2022
On this last day of 2022, I wanted to spend some time revisiting the memorable dishes that we had over the course of the year.
Elotes, Sisig and other Mexican x Filipino dishes at Alegria
Uniquely Mexican items were featured prominently in the interior décor, including colourful sombreros and vivid Día de los Muertos masks.
Lunch at Beirut Grill has made us fans of Lebanese cuisine
The blobs of chickpea Hummus and mashed eggplant Baba Ghanoush were familiar sights, but there was also the cheese yoghurt Labneh, red pepper Muhamarra, Cucumber Yoghurt and eggplant Moutabal.
Poisson should have let their seafood take centre stage
Overall, it was a decent meal. But compared with those that we’ve had at other Restaurant Week places, it was somewhat disappointing.
The intriguing and inventive Bengali flavours of Aapon
I know nothing about Bengali cuisine. But half the fun of dining out is trying out brand new flavours and expanding taste boundaries.
So much food, so little time: Singapore Restaurant Week Autumn 2022 edition
This time round, there’s a bumper crop of 83 restaurants to choose from, spanning across a wide range of cuisines. Which ones will make it to our shortlist?
We walked past the 15 Stamford Bar and fell down the rum rabbit hole
When we stopped at the bar that afternoon, all we wanted to know was where to get the pretty golden pineapples on display. But we ended up accidently spending an enjoyable and boozy two hours, courtesy of Tim the awesome bartender.
If you like Spanish food and wine, you’re going to love FOC Restaurant
It’s safe to say that FOC is now our favourite restaurant in Singapore. The food is great, the wines are interesting, and most of all, the service is amazing.
Boeuf is totally worth the beef overdose
Part Two of our beef expedition during Restaurant Week brought us to Boeuf. Compared to the laid-back nature of our first outing at Gemma Steakhouse, Boeuf was a hardcore meat joint that screamed: “BEEF!”
A relaxing weekday lunch at Gemma Steakhouse
The artichoke-filled fresh pasta, with cute but savoury baby crayfish and lightly-spiced sauce offered a combination of flavours that were a welcome departure from typical tomato or cream-based pastas.
Fusion food is hard to pull off, but 15 Stamford does it masterfully
It’s easy to descend into fusion/confusion when mixing ingredients, cooking methods, seasonings and presentations across so many different cuisines, but 15 Stamford navigated it wonderfully.
The semi-buffet at One-Ninety offers a great balance of choice and quality
The good thing about buffets is the large amount and variety of food on offer, ensuring that everyone gets to choose what they want to eat. The bad thing about buffets is that, for the very same reasons, the quality of food tends to be mediocre.
When you can’t fly to Japan, head to Tanoke for good food and lots of sake
The six bottles of sake on display were only a small sample, because once you turn around, you’re greeted with a wall of chillers packed with sake from all over Japan. It’s not a terribly large collection, but it is impressive and not a common sight in Singapore.
We really tried our best to finish the generous lunch at Beach Road Kitchen
As we were browsing the various restaurants participating in this year’s Restaurant Week, the menu and compelling price point at Beach Road Kitchen caught The Wife’s attention and we found ourselves there on a weekday afternoon.
