The cold spell is well underway, but November’s dining scene is hotter than ever. As the month right before the festive season, there is no better time to do pre-celebrations and treat your appetites right for a fraction of next month’s prices. Expect bold concepts, free food giveaways, new local dishes, and hidden gems in this month’s curated selections.
L’Entrecôte Celebrates 7 Years With Free Fries Day
There are times when we want to find someone to thank for the existence of french fries. Call it what you will, but the perennial popularity of this starchy staple is something that cannot be challenged. So when we hear free fries, our next question will naturally be, “Will there be enough?”
Known for their steak-frites, L’Entrecôte The Steak & Fries Bistro will be giving out free fries this coming Saturday, from 3pm to 6pm. Celebrating their seventh year in Singapore, the restaurant has deemed this year as lucky enough to kick off the annual celebrations. The fries will come with their L’Entrecôte Legendary Sauce, a recipe that has been fiercely guarded by the restaurant over the last seven years. While the main event will be located at the Glasshouse by DHM, fries redemption will also be available at 36 Duxton Hill.
When? 11 Nov, 3pm — 6pm
Glasshouse by DHM, 260 Orchard Road, #01-40 & #02-03, Singapore 238855
‘Friends with Mitzo’ Ends With A Shensational Bang
The last instalment of the ‘Friends with Mitzo’ dinner series features the culinary nomad, Chef Shen Tan, and her masterful take on nasi lemak and traditional soup dumplings. The six-course dinner kicks off with Nasi Lemak, presented as sushi rolls and served with spicy baked seabass. The Pork Rib & Coconut Soup with Dumplings is perhaps a dish that is unprecedented in its skill: young coconut water double boiled with pork ribs, giving it an incredibly sweet and clean finish, before elevating its flavour with the addition of two unique dumplings, blah keluak and prawn with laksa leaf pesto.
Chef Nicky Ng’s espresso barbecue pork will also make an exclusive appearance in the Mitzo Platter, giving his previously acclaimed char siew some serious competition because there is nothing like the thick, sticky texture of slightly bitter espresso to bring out the natural flavour of the meat (think coffee ribs). We are hoping that this dish becomes a menu staple after the conclusion of this dinner series because delicious things need to stick around just a little longer.
Friends of Mitzo: Shen Tan x Mitzo
When? 15 — 16 Nov, 6.30pm — 10pm
Mitzo Restaurant & Bar, Grand Park Orchard, 270 Orchard Road, Singapore 238857
$118 onwards per person for a six-course menu, $168 onwards with cocktail pairing
25 Degrees Is The Riverdale Hangout In Town
If someone told us that we could get a giant macaronic and cheese burger, malt vanilla milkshake, unpretentious truffle fries, and still have spare change to go home at 3am, we will be tickled or insulted. Until 25 Degrees Burgers & Liquor Bar came into our vicinity with their Cheesy Mac Attack Burger, which fulfils every single checkbox of our dream food pairing, including cheese, beef, burger, and more cheese.
It almost belongs to one of those farfetched American food videos on Facebook, but lucky for us, it is an incredibly delicious reality in Singapore. Priced at $18 onwards, this giant burger features two slabs of mac & cheese, toasted with breadcrumbs, before hugging a juicy sirloin patty, bacon, caramelized onions, and then topped with more cheddar cheese and arugula. The burger comes with salad, but on the side note, their truffle fries are chunky-good and drenched with truffle oil. Eating like this will be too messy an affair for first dates, but this meal could also potentially be better than any dates.
When? Now till 30 Nov
25 Degrees Burgers & Liquor Bar, 200 Middle Rd, Singapore188980
Getting Loco With Lucha Loco
Tucked at the top of Duxton Hill, Lucha Loco’s one of those places that stay out of the radar for a very good reason: it is a party every night. Celebrating the kaleidoscopic nature of “Lucha Libre”, the newly revamped alfresco dining area has Mexican street vibes plastered all over its walls, complete with low seating couches, swanky lighting, and a random masked wrestler/bartender who serves tequila shots out of a portable bar. The atmosphere is fantastic for big groups and those looking to spice things up, because hey, what can be better than Mexican food and really classy tequila?
The menu is also leaner, with new dishes such as the Tostada de Atun, their version of an open sandwich with torched tuna and creamy avocado; and the Pollo a la Barbacoa, a huge plate of Asado chili spiced chicken, barbecued to tender perfection. Make sure to save room for desserts because their Pastel del Maíz will change your life. This innocent-looking sweetcorn cake hits all the notes in its flavour profile: it is light, moist, crunchy (from the corn), sweet, savoury, warm, cold (from the sweet corn ice cream that comes on it), and really damn addictive.
When? Now till otherwise specified
Lucha Loco, 15 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089598
Open Farm Community Hosts Paris Popup for ‘Kampong French’
Fans of Open Farm Community will be delighted to know that the Paris Popup, composed of London native chef Harry Cummins and Montreal-born sommelier Laura Vidal, will be taking over the restaurant for three weeks with the concept ‘Kampong French’. Having clinched Le Fooding’s “Best Pop-Up Restaurant of 2016”, this will mark their 35th pop-up stop around the world in the last five years. It will be a marriage of both cultures and cuisine as Cummins will be presenting an all-day dining menu of 12 small and sharing plates with a contemporary French flair, with ingredients sourced from local farms and even OFC’s very own agricultural landscape. If you want to take it up a notch, request for an omakase experience with Cummins, and really experience the liberal culture behind OFC’s philosophy by pairing the food with wines specially curated by Vidal.
Kampong French
When? 13 Nov — 3 Dec
Open Farm Community, 130E Minden Road, Singapore 248819
Pezzo Gets Even Cheesier With Cheese Tea
Cheese tea has an acquired taste, and we have LiHo to thank for that train’s pervasive nature over the last few months. For those who are looking for an alternative that is slightly friendly on the wallet, we bring your attention to the pizza franchise Pezzo and its newest menu offering, the Creme of Earl Grey Lemon Tea. For $2.90, expect a decent-sized cup filled with black earl grey tea, lemon slices, and mascarpone crème. The lemon is a really good vehicle to enjoy the drink’s creamy, cheesy, and otherwise gelat profile, giving it a surprisingly fragrant ending. It is only available in three outlets and can replace combo drinks for additional top up.
When? Now till otherwise specified
Only available at three Pezzo outlets: Bedok Mall, Waterway Point and ION Orchard
A Bountiful Brunch Weekend At Ginett
It is no secret that brunch is one of the more popular meals in Singapore’s culture, but there are times when the projected cost is enough to put one’s appetite off permanently. Situated at Hotel G, Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar’s new T.U.F (Till U’re Full) Brunch Feast may be the answer to this conundrum. For $42 onwards/pax, the brunch package features four separate categories covering a wide selection of brunch treats: eggs, appetisers, main courses, and desserts. Each diner can customise up to two choices per category, and there are heavier add-ons such as oysters, lobster, ribeye cuts, and even a free flow of Bloody Mary, Mimosa and Muscadet for another $32 onwards.
For the eggs, we recommend their signatures: smoked salmon egg cocotte and duck gravy. The former is a creamy concoction of smokey yolk goodness, perfect with their buttered toast, and the latter features juicy, savoury duck strips on a bed of crispy hash browns. Another highlight is their baked salmon fillet from the main courses, prepared very simply but pairs extremely well with the creamy spinach. End the meal with their rich Crème Brûlée custard, infused with a robust Madagascar vanilla, and you will be staggering out of the restaurant, ready to take on the weekend.
T.U.F (Till U’re Full) Brunch Feast
When? Now till otherwise specified, only weekends, 11am — 4pm
Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar, 200 Middle Rd, Singapore188980
Tsuta’s New Dishes Are Very Seducktive
In conjunction with their first year anniversary, Tsuta unveiled the ingredient chosen to entice the Singaporean palate: duck. Chef Yuki Onishi used an entire year in order to research and develop the two new ramen dishes, the Kamo Paitan Soba (Soup) and Kamo Abura Soba (Dry), and boy, did his efforts pay off. The Kamo Abura Soba is a refreshing way to enjoy traditional ramen, incorporating the technique of tossed oil noodles with a Japanese twist. The noodles are marinated with premium shoyu and homemade duck oil, coupled with poached duck breast. The flavour is strikingly innovative and definitely something that is worth going back for seconds. It is also priced very affordable at $10, with the option to add on duck wontons and egg.
When? Now till otherwise specified
Tsuta Ramen, 9 Scotts Road, #01-01, Pacific Plaza, Singapore 228210
Brie On The European Cheese Pop-up Bars
Sweet dreams are made of cheese and we know it. Come mid-November, the Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière (CNIEL), along with the European Union, will be setting up a pop-up cheese bar over two days for the public to taste and learn more about European cheese. There will be cheese treats such as Brie Stuffed With Mushroom Duxelles and Blue Cheese With Poached Pear and Strawberry Gel, campaign ambassadors doling out complimentary cheese samples, recipe booklets, photo booths and even a dedicated corner for rest when the dairy consumption gets too overwhelming.
Enjoy European Cheese: Pop-up Cheese Bars
When? 17 Nov, 12pm — 3pm
South Beach Avenue, 26 Beach Road, Basement 1, Singapore 189768
When? 18 Nov, 12pm — 6pm
Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, 8 Grange Road, Level 1 (outdoors), Singapore 239695
Something Sweet & Naughty At Sugarhaus
Previously known as a takeaway ice cream concept called “Bing Qi Lin”, Sugarhaus is back at Serene Centre with a new sister brand, Fat Belly, embedded within the charming dessert parlour space. The front area is taken up by their coffee counter and ice cream display, which has 18 different homemade flavours in rotation. One might be tempted to dive right into desserts, but for those who still prefer to enjoy a savoury lunch, Sugarhaus’ new menu will be a hit.
The dishes are prepared clean with a green and organic focus so that customers can indulge in desserts after without reservations. Their highly Instagrammable Avocado is a twist on the traditional Eggs Benedict, featuring smashed avocado, poached eggs, and garlic aioli on a fluffy pancake. More filling options include Beef & Foie Gras, served over Japanese pearl rice and with an onsen egg; Salmon, a smoked maple soy glazed fillet with quinoa; and our personal favourite, the creamy Risotto, substituting rice with pearl barley, cured meat, and mushrooms.
When? Now till otherwise specified
Sugarhaus, 10 Jalan Serene, #01-03A, Serene Centre, Singapore 258748
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