Singapore Restaurant Festival – 15 Local Dishes You Shouldn’t Miss!

Singapore isn’t known as a food paradise for nothing. The Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) has just unveiled the inauguration of the Singapore Restaurant Festival (SRF) which will take place from 1 July to 30 September 2017. When you think of restaurants, you might think “huh, so expensive ah?” Don’t worry, SRF has got DBS/POSB cardholders covered with promotions and attractive discounts. For starters DBS and POSB cardmembers are entitled to purchase the exclusive Singapore Restaurant Festival Dining Voucher Set worth $100 at a discounted rate of $70, which is redeemable at over 200 participating restaurants! That’s equivalent to a 30% savings! That’s keeping good food accessible to all.

We, at Team Tam Chiak, love a good, affordable feast so we’ll let you in on some of the restaurants that are participating in this year’s festival. With the theme “Flavours of Singapore” this year, all participating restaurants will debut a locally-inspired dish for SRF. Remember to hashtag #singaporerestaurantfestival #srf2017 if you post any photographs at the participating outlets.

Umi+Vino

Umi + Vino is a seafood cum wine bar which is located at the basement of Marina Square Shopping Centre. As a commitment to this year’s theme, Umi + Vino presents the Trio of Asian Sliders ($18) which is inspired by the classic Hokkien kong ba bao dish. As it’s name suggests, there are three variations of the kong ba bao – Beef Cheeks encased in a Lotus Leaf Bun, Pork Belly encased in a Lotus Leaf bun, and Lotus Leaf Bun with a serving of house made Chilli Crab Sauce. The tender and flavourful beef cheeks are marinated for 24 hours in red wine. The delicious pork belly was on par with the beef cheeks as well. What stood out for me was the pairing of the chilli crab sauce with the lotus leaf bun. A generous amount of crab meat can be found in the rich and tangy chilli crab concoction.

Fremantle Seafood Market

At Fremantle Seafood Market, diners can select the freshest catch of the day from Fremantle’s live seafood gallery and have it prepared fresh on the spot. Fremantle Seafood Market is dishing out Cereal Tiger Prawns ($45) as well as the Singapore Chilli Crab ($18/100grams).

Coated with a generous amount of cereal, the Cereal Tiger Prawns had a commendable freshness. The body of the prawns had a firm bite which is bound to impress. My absolute favourite would be the Singapore Chilli Crab. The crab flesh was succulent, and paired really well with the rich and tangy chilli crab sauce that carried a slight heat. Aside from cooked seafood, Fremantle Seafood Market also offers a variety of chilled seafood platters. Fremantle Seafood Market is the place to be if you fancy seafood – chilled or warm!

MUSEO

MUSEO, at Quayside Isle, focuses on the delivery of casual fine-dining concept dishes. Food presentation is MUSEO’s key focus, so all their dishes are served in delicate glass jars to create a novel dining-in-a-cup experience. Guests who prefer an intimate and spontaneous atmosphere will certainly enjoy dining here! This is definitely one restaurant that I’ll revisit!

We started off with the Salted Egg Yolk Crispy Octopus ($13) which was highly addictive. Pop a piece of octopus in your mouth and feel the salted egg yolk crumbs melt on your tongue. Dinner ended on an excellent note with their rendition of the Soft Shell Chilli Crab ($14) which was light yet flavourful. A pleasant heat sets in soon after you take a bite into the crispy soft shell crab.

Cali Café & Bar

Cali Cafe, which serves primarily western cuisine, is a stone’s throw away from Buona Vista MRT. Cali Cafe brings out their highly popular Indian style dish, Chicken Tikka Pizza, to join in the fun at #SRF2017 this year. Stretch out and “Tikka” bite of the pizza topped with chunks of tandoori chicken and spices that pair flawlessly with the cheesy pizza.

8 Korean BBQ

Korean BBQ is all about meat. At some barbecue joints, you might be scarfing down generic slabs of meat with little to no character or flavour. However, that’s not the case at E!ght Korean BBQ. The focus is on exquisite cuts from premium beef and pork. This #SRF2017, try their Har Jeong (Prawn Paste) Mangalitza Pork belly, which is a cut gathered from the Hungarian Pig Mangalica. The har jeong flavour is sure to be a hit amongst Singaporeans!

Equilibrium

Bacaro & Ristorante is the new kid on the block. If you fancy local infusions in traditional pizza flavours, you will enjoy the Sambal Chicken Pizza, which is created for “Flavours of Singapore”. Made with dough that is freshly churned in-house daily, the hand-opened thin crust pizza is topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, red onions, chicken chunks in spicy sambal sauce, as well as a soft egg in the centre. Be sure to check out their chic establishment that comprises a wine bar.

Joo Bar

Ever heard of chicken rice risotto? This #Singaporerestaurantfestival, you might want to drop by Joo Bar which offers a curated selection of modern Korean bites. Joo Bar’s reinterpretation of the quintessential Singaporean dish, chicken rice, sees Arborio rice in an amped up stock, complete with tender chicken, chilli tulle and soy sauce gel. I love chicken rice, so this will be one of my go-to places these coming months.

Jin Shan Lou

Jin Shan Lou brings you into a world where culinary art reaches its peak in austere Asian fashion. Savour a delicate spread of authentic Cantonese, Hunan and Sichuan dishes prepared by world-class Master Chef Huang Ching Biao. Witness the brilliant fusion of salted egg and excellent seafood in their Fried Fragrant Prawns with Butter and Salted Egg Crumbs. Prepared with the freshest wild sea prawns and a secret cooking technique that yields a tender and crunchy texture in the prawns, the dish is exceptionally palatable. Located on the first level of the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Jin Shan Lou will captivate you with their interior design and Asian cuisine.

Ishizuchi Sake Bar

Singapore’s first integrated Japanese Emporium and renowned sake brewery Ishizuchi Shuzo brings us Ishizuchi Sake Bar which carries a variety of sake blends that would excite sake aficionados. Located at Emporium Shokuhin, the sake bar has a 9-seater bar counter for your after-work drinks. You can also book their private room for small-group. Looking for a bite? Fret not, as the sake bar has created the Chashu Pastilla, which features a savoury pork chashu delicately wrapped in popiah skin, before it is deep fried to a crispy golden brown.

Jumping Jack

Inspired by all things British, from the cobblestone markets of Morecambe Bay to the bustling streets of Leicester Square, Jumping jack brings you delicious, no-frills British fare at great value. This #Singaporerestaurantfestival, look forward to one of my personal favourites – the Laksa Slipper Lobster, which is served dry with slipper lobsters and prawns.

Patara Fine Thai Cuisine

Nestled in the cozy enclave of Tanglin, Patara Fine Thai Cuisine is a world-class restaurant that remains humble despite its achievement in the culinary world. Noted for its classic Thai dishes whipped up with premium ingredients, the restaurant stays relevant in changing times by constantly innovating to dazzle diners’ evolving tastebuds without straying too far from the heart and soul of the original dishes. Living up to the restaurant’s belief in simplicity and quality, Patara debuts the Morning Glory with Sambal Sauce this #SRF2017! The sambal adds a spicy tangy note to the crunchy greens and is highly addictive.

Peach Garden

Established by restaurant veterans, Veronica Tan and Angela Ho, in 2002, Peach Garden continues to be a master in authentic Chinese cuisine. Though they remain a traditional Cantonese-style restaurant, Peach Garden is successful in their creation of the Chilled Black Glutinous Rice with Ice Cream in Young Coconut which is inspired by the well-loved Bubur Pulut Hitam. Made using black glutinous rice, the dessert is served with coconut milk and palm sugar. Peach Garden serves the dessert chilled in a young coconut, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Putien

PUTIEN traces its roots to its namesake city, Putian – a beautiful coastal suburb in Fujian. Modern Putian cuisine embodies the essence of its rich history – unpretentious, simple and pure. To celebrate the #Singaporerestaurantfestival, the Chinese restaurant brings to the table their PUTIEN Signature Lor Mee. Highly revered for it’s generous ingredients and delicious broth, the lor mee is cooked over slow fire for 8 hours to allow the essence of fresh pork marrow and chicken to infuse completely into the broth.

Seoul Yummy

Conceptualized as the first Korean casual dining restaurant in Singapore, Seoul Yummy aims to highlight the best of K-culture. Diners can look forward to bonding over good food and quality service. Don’t miss their featured dish, the Ginseng Chicken Soup, which is a nutritious and delicious dish that is simmered and prepared the traditional way. If you dig deep, you’ll find the ginseng chicken generously stuffed with glutinous rice, pine nuts and red dates.

Shio & Pepe Japanese-Italian Kitchen

Witness the fusion of the best of Japanese and Italian influences at Shio & Pepe, a casual restaurant serving up hearty and affordable popular classics such as hamburg steaks and omu rice. To end off your #Singaporerestaurantfestival experience, why not indulge in their special gelato concoction ‘I Love SG’? The gelato is specially made for Singapore, and I’m sure you can seek some cold comfort in this aptly named strawberry gelato to commemorate the inaugural #SRF2017.

An array of fine dining choices, as well as great discounts await this #Singaporerestaurantfestival. There is irrefutably something for everyone! In collaboration with DBS and POSB, DBS and POSB cardholders dining at the participating restaurants can enjoy great savings through card promotions and exclusive promotions such as purchasing the Singapore Restaurant Festival Dining Voucher Set (worth $100) at a special price of $70! For more information on the complete list of participating restaurants and restaurants that offer the Dining Voucher Set, visit www.singaporerestaurantfestival.com

For the first time, the RAS and the Singapore Chefs Association will introduce the Star Chef Competition (Home Edition) 2017. This is a competition where the best home cooks can pit their culinary skills against each other for a chance at attractive cash prizes. The details of the competition are as follows:

Date: Saturday, 26 August 2017
Time: EITHER 8am to 12pm OR 1pm to 5pm
Location: Asian Culinary Institute, 11 Eunos Road 8, #03-01 Lifelong
Organizer: Restaurant Association of Singapore and Singapore Chefs Association
Price: $53.50 per person

For the criteria inclusion, please visit https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/star-chef-competition-home-edition-2017-tickets-33514811704 for more information.

*Purchase not applicable with Singapore Restaurant Festival Dining Vouchers

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This post was brought to you by RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE.