Food Picks: GastroBeats food festival returns from May 29 to June 22 at Bayfront Event Space
Sign up now: Weekly recommendations for the best eats in town
Go all out with Jett Barbecue's Everything Platter ($135), which includes a full beef rib, beef cheek tacos, loaded tater tots and mashed potatoes.
PHOTO: COCA-COLA SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE – Popular food festival GastroBeats makes its return, running from May 29 to June 22 at the Bayfront Event Space next to Marina Bay Sands.
Judging from the media preview on May 27, this may well be my favourite edition so far for its curation of food vendors, plenty of photo spots and overall ambience with live music and spacious seating. It is pet-friendly too.
A major plus point is the return of some familiar brands – delivery-only Jett Barbecue, famed for its show-stopping Texas-style smoked dino beef ribs (from $19 for 100g) and smoked beef cheek tacos ($24 for two pieces); La Levain bakery, dishing out sourdough pizzas with Asian touches such as nasi lemak, tom yam and laksa ($13.80 for half, $22.80 for whole); and Warabimochi Kamakura, with its event-exclusive kinako strawberry royale (from $13.90), kinako Hokkaido milk (from $10.90) and black sesame warabimochi ($19.90 for 10 pieces).
Kamakura Warabimochi’s black sesame warabimochi (left) and Kinako Strawberry Royale Warabimochi Drink.
There is also Golden Bao, which I first discovered at the Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar in March, churning out the popular handmade “Chinese roti”.
Then there are new discoveries for me. Slurp Your Oysters offers fresh oysters (from $16 for three) – raw or grilled – topped with garlic chilli, mentaiko or Thai chilli; and No Time Hot Pot (from $14.80) for convenient hotpot in a cup which I had missed at GastroBeats in 2024.
Slurp Your Oysters offers fresh oysters – raw or grilled – with different toppings.
Beat the heat with drinks such as the new Somersby Mango & Lime cider and Carlsberg beer at the retro-cool Carlsberg Kopitiam booth.
Coca-Cola Singapore has an Insta-worthy section to take photos, play games to win merchandise or personalise drink cans. Get $1 off your drink when you buy a Coca-Cola combo from any food stall at the event.
End the night at the immersive music experience Rewind Replay Remix: SG Edition (from $19.90 a person, including one drink, 30 to 45 minutes a session). There are three air-conditioned zones with pumping music that take you from retro to disco to Y2K eras.
Or walk off the food coma around the Marina Bay, which is set aglow with art installations by light festival i Light Singapore.
Where: Bayfront Event Space (next to Marina Bay Sands), 12A Bayfront Avenue
MRT: Bayfront
When: May 29 to June 22, 4 to 11pm daily
Info: gastrobeats.com.sg and ilightsingapore.gov.sg
