Kee’s 

Past and present, East and West, they all meet at Kee’s, a restaurant in Carpenter Street. 

Led by Irish Michelin-starred chef Andrew Walsh, it serves up a mix of European and Pan-Asian dishes in a heritage building. Former remittance house Chye Hua Seng Wee Kee has been transformed into a swanky 1930s-inspired bistro that gleams with contemporary cool. 

The menu starts small with a selection of nibbles and dips, before gradually building up to the larger, heartier main courses. 

Surprisingly, my favourite starter is the citrus kale salad ($18). Fresh and fruity, it is tossed with mounds of crispy kale leaves, ribbons of pickled ginger and peanut brittle, all drenched in a zesty lime dressing. 

But if you do not fancy the sensation of plunging into a spring garden, there are meatier options. No one can fault the crispy salt and pepper chicken ($14) for lack of flavour, especially when dunked in the curry mayonnaise sauce it is served with. 

Remember to leave enough room for the main courses. You do not want to miss the Japanese sea bream ($40), which is pan-fried to perfection and served with coconut rice and green curry. The ribeye steak frites ($40), with its smoky pepper crust, caramelised fat and deep pink centre, is a solid pick too. 

End the meal with some grilled brie ($15), which can be paired with fig chutney and slathered on sourdough toast. For something sweeter, opt for the chocolate mousse ($14), dotted with flecks of cocoa tuile and shards of pandan meringue. 

Where: 21 Carpenter Street
MRT: Clarke Quay
Open: 7am to midnight daily
Info: kees.com.sg

Any1 Choco 

I have never quite been convinced of the wonders of plant-based milk. Limp and watery, it often lacks the thick silkiness that has made the original dairy product a mainstay in the diets of many communities around the world. 

And yet, I decide to give Any1 Choco – a new chocolatier in Telok Ayer – a chance. 

I am glad I do. The Japanese brand whips white kidney bean milk into its dark, milk and white chocolate bars. The result is a smooth, creamy block, full and rich enough to disguise its vegan origins. 

If you crave some relief from the heat, you can slurp the chocolate in liquid form instead. I order the iced milk chocolate ($9) and enjoy a velvety shot of cold that is mercifully free of any grassiness, though it is a tad sweet and on the steep side.

I am told that the dark chocolate drink ($9) makes for a less sugary choice. You can choose to get it hot ($8) too.

Before I leave, the saleswoman urges me to try a box of chocolate-coated mochi pellets ($12.80) in the roasted green tea flavour. They are tiny, chewy and subtly sweet – just the right size for subconsciously popping into your mouth in a fit of undisciplined snacking. 

Like the brand’s name implies, these chocolates are for anyone – even the plant-based milk sceptics.

Where: 114 Telok Ayer Street
MRT: Telok Ayer
Open: 11am to 9pm daily
Info: @anyonechoco_singapore on Instagram

New Station Rice Bar 

It has been many years since I last dined at zi char eatery New Station Snack Bar, but I still have fond memories of my meals there. 

My friends and I used to crowd round the tiny joint at Far East Plaza, wait for what felt like hours, then squeeze as many plastic stools as we could on either side of a skinny wooden table. Our order was always stir-fried kang kong, hotplate tofu and, of course, salted egg pork.

That last dish is now available at Fortune Centre at an offshoot joint named New Station Rice Bar, also run by the family behind the original eatery.

It is packed to the rafters when I visit at about 1pm on a Tuesday. But most diners do not linger long. Dishes are served as individual portions of rice with meat or vegetables, perfect for an express lunch in the middle of a busy work day. 

For old times’ sake, I get the salted egg pork rice ($8.50). It arrives within 10 minutes, a steaming heap of pan-fried pork fillets doused in a luscious, golden gravy. The salted egg sauce is just as punchy as I remember, and collects in delicious pools on the fork-tender chunks of pork. 

I give the curry chicken cutlet rice ($9.50) a go as well. The generously sized, deep-fried chicken cutlet comes perched on a bed of lettuce, which keeps it just above the moat of gravy flooding the plate. The curry has a lovely sweet-savoury depth and is gentle on spice, administering a light kick rather than a knock-out blow.

The menu partially changes daily, with the day’s offerings scrawled on a blackboard at the cashier. There are six dishes to pick from during my visit, with a note at the end attributing the limited selection to manpower shortages. I note with some regret the absence of dumplings and make a mental note to return.

Where: 03-04 Fortune Centre, 190 Middle Road
MRT: Bencoolen/Bras Basah
Open: 11am to 3pm, Mondays to Saturdays
Info: @newstationricebar on Instagram