Every time I’m on a trip, be it holiday or business, I always do some little research about the destination. The weather, the transportation, shopping destination (well, of course) and… the food.
Eating good food is one simple pleasure in life for me. And for you who share the same passion, or you who haven’t discovered the joy of food yet, I would like to share my Singapore culinary experience.
On the last article, I wrote about Blackmarket. So you know that I was kinda lost before finally found the place. But when I arrived at 11.30 AM, I found out that the boutique would only open after lunch time (I’m not sure whether it’s their regular operation time or they were just a bit late that day), so off I went to find good food.
At first we (I was accompanied by several friends) wanted to go to Zam Zam restaurant that is said to serve the best murtabak in town. But the long queue in front of the store made us cancel our plan, as we had a long day ahead us. Luckily, just right next to Blackmarket, there’s a small restaurant that seemed promising (We judged from the good smell of the food). We were right. Hj. Maimunah sells very good (if not the best) Melayu food, or –as stated on their website-kampong style cuisine.
When we entered the place, we were greeted by array of foods and queue sign. We had to stand on the line, point at the food we wanted to order, and bringt the plate to the cashier so she can tally it.
The food was very good and the portion was very generous. You might want to be careful when ordering there, as one serving can easily satisfy two hungry people. The price was reasonable, and looking at the crowd there, it seemed that this place has quite some returning customers. Oh but the people behind the food tray could really use a smile :p unlike the girl who served the drink when I ate there, who was very friendly and nice.
And as you can see on the picture below, this place even have a merchandise 😀 Wanna buy t-shirt as souvenir on your next visit? Why not try this one? 😉
Dempsey Hill
If you want to enjoy lazy day, sipping cappuccino while reading your favorite book and enjoy a nice ambiance, or have nice quality time with girlfriends and have a glass or two margarita, or even nice romantic dinner with your loved ones, then to Dempsey Hill you should go. Even though the location is not too far from downtown, but the atmosphere is really different. There are several restaurants there, it was tough for us to decide which one to visit on our very limited time.
The restaurant on the first picture, Jones the Grocer looks really interesting. They arrange the place like a supermarket, where you can eat between the aisle. But most of the restaurants there have some kind of unique way to decorate their place. Like Hacienda on the second picture, that uses air balloon as their sign age, or Ben&Jerry’s with van and cow sign.
Then we decided to go to P.S Cafe. The place was beautiful. It’s located in the edge of the hill, so you can see a fabulous scenery from their big windows. The place was divided into two sections, inside the restaurant and outside for the smokers. Actually that was more interesting for me, because you can really feel the breeze and even though people smoke there, you can still breathe the fresh mountain air. But it was raining at that day and it was too dark (they only have very dim light) so it was almost impossible for me to take picture.
The food was a bit pricey, but still reasonable. Not only they looked good, they tasted nice, too. I tried the tiger prawn penne and I would recommend it should you want to try to eat there. And hey, can you guys recognize those pretty girls in the last pictures? Yes they are our lovely forum fellows.
Hon Guo
At first I didn’t plan to write about this place, as I didn’t really plan to visit this place. I found this place during the visit to Bugis Junction. But after I tasted the food, I definitely didn’t want to miss it as the food must be the best food during my trip at that time.
It looked like typical Chinese restaurant. Busy, a bit noisy and the people move very fast. We tried the Guo Qiao Mi Xian that looks like Chinese version of shabu-shabu or steamboat. Juleha, one of our forum members who also accompanied me that day told the story about the dish. Once upon a time, there was a guy who worked very far from home and every time he wanted to eat his lunch, it was already cold. So his wife made a very hot steaming stock, and packed the meat and vegetables separately. The stock was so hot, it was still warm during lunch time, so the husband only needed to put the meat and vegetables and he ate his warm lunch happily.
However, the restaurant might forget that we don’t work that far because they serve it super hot and it burnt our tongue. But it was delicious really. As delicious as the other dishes. And now my mouth goes all watery just thinking of this place.
Toastbox
But this is Singapore. Of course we should visit kopi tiam. After a long day in Sentosa, we stopped by at Toastbox in Vivo City for some kaya toast. And the very cold air con in Vivo made us crave for hot Milo. But seriously, who could have said no to a place that was as nicely decorated as this one, with good view, scrumptious food and…. a mountain of butter in the counter? Definitely not me…
As you know, Singapore is having it’s annual great sale soon. And now you have some recommendation for eating between the shopping sport 😉 Have fun!
