FOOD
PROMOTIONS
Flavours Of India At Melt
Chef Santosh Kumar returns to Melt - The World Cafe with a showcase of vibrant Indian cuisine. The spread includes a live chaat counter serving snacks such as bhuni shakarkandi ki chaat , sweet potatoes with chaat masala, chillies and lime juice; salads such as paneer tamatar, tomatoes with cottage cheese; tandoori and main course items such as tandoori chicken leg roulades stuffed with prawn saffron mousse, tender lamb chops in rich cashew and saffron gravy, tandoori cauliflower stuffed with cheese and mint, and well-spiced Goan fish balchao curry, rice dishes and fresh breads, as well as desserts such as gajrela a carrot pudding.
On Oct 28, a set dinner will pair Indian dishes with Craggy Range wines.
WHERE: Level 4 Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, Marina Square, 5 Raffles Avenue MRT: Promenade WHEN: Till Oct 31: lunch, Mon - Sat (noon - 2.30pm), dinner, daily (6.30 - 9.30pm) PRICE: Lunch, $68++ a person; dinner (Sun - Wed), $82++ a person; dinner (Thu - Sat), $88++ a person, inclusive of barbecue selections; wine dinner (Oct 28), $98++ a person TEL: 6885-3500 INFO: E-mail mosin-dining@mohg.com
Seasonal Dining Highlights At Raffles Hotel
At Raffles Grill, indulge in a trio of dishes crowned with seasonal white truffles from Alba (ongoing while stocks last, seasonal price) - slow-cooked creamy polenta with ceps, seared scallops with risotto, leek and carrots, and steamed turbot with pumpkin and roasted salsify.
At Long Bar Steakhouse, tuck into the new Tomahawk Steak Special ($265++, serves two to three persons), a 1.7kg air-flown grain-fed Australian ribeye steak on the bone, grill-seared and finished in the oven for a juicy centre and flavourful crust. Raffles Courtyard offers two new set menus - the three-course set ($55++ a person) includes an appetiser, a main course and a gelato, while the Courtyard Special ($88++ for two persons) includes an appetiser, a pizza, a pasta, a focaccia and a gelato. Dishes include Spaghetti Con Vongole, Zucchini E Bottarga and Quattro Formaggi pizza with mozzarella, taleggio, goat and blue cheeses.
WHERE: 1 Beach Road MRT: Esplanade TEL: 6412-1816 INFO: Go to www.raffles.com/singapore or e-mail dining.singapore@raffles.com
Sunday Lunch At Lollapalooza
The "free-style and borderless" restaurant now opens for lunch on Sunday, with produce-centric dishes perfect for sharing that change weekly. Highlights include whole burrata with seasonal fruit, roast pork belly, slow braised leg of lamb, dry-aged T-bone steak, arroz with seafood stew, French sea bream roasted in paperbark, roasted seasonal vegetables and fruit galettes.
WHERE: 1A Keong Saik Road MRT: Outram Park WHEN: Every Sunday, noon - 3pm PRICE: A la carte items from $8++ - $188++ TEL: 6221-3538 INFO: lollapalooza.sg
Ikyu Anniversary Culinary Collaboration
The restaurant marks its third anniversary with a collaboration between executive chef Takuma Seki and guest chef Travis Boltong, chef-owner of The Magnolia Mansfield in Victoria, Australia.
Within a four-course lunch menu and seven-course dinner menu, each chef will present his own dishes rooted in his homeland's produce and traditions, such as chef Seki's hamaguri clam soup with plum noodles, mitsuba and wakame and Chef Boltong's rotolo duck with apple, sage and brown butter sauce. Both chefs join forces for unique courses, such as a trio of halibut sushi with confit leek, baby french beans, olive tapenade and lemon vinaigrette; and chargrilled unagi and unagi croquette with Waldorf salad and creamy lemon. An optional pairing of Niigata sakes hand-picked by chef Seki is available at dinner.
WHERE: 5 Yong Siak Street MRT: Tiong Bahru WHEN: Oct 21 & 22: lunch seatings (11.30am - 1pm & 1.30 - 3pm), dinner seatings (6.30 - 8pm & 8.30 - 10pm) PRICE: Lunch, $50++ a person; dinner, $120++ a person; additional $50++ for Niigata sake pairing TEL: 9663-2003 INFO: E-mail ikyu@ikyu.com.sg
White Truffle Season At Oso
Chef Diego Chiarini celebrates white truffle season with special dishes, such as homemade baby peaches marinated in white truffle oil, homemade white truffle salame, tagliatelle with three-year vintage Parmigiano cheese and white truffle, pan-fried sea scallops with soft polenta and white truffle, burrata cheese filled with white truffle cream and roasted milk-fed Holland veal chop with chestnuts and white truffle.
WHERE: 46 Bukit Pasoh Road MRT: Outram Park WHEN: Ongoing, while stocks last PRICE: A la carte items from $18++ - $98++, each dish includes 5g of white truffle, additional truffle upon request at $10++ a gram TEL: 6327-8378 INFO: oso.sg
Diwali At Shahi Maharani
Shahi Maharani offers elegantly packaged Diwali goodies handmade by its resident halwai (Indian sweets chef). The Shahi Gift Box ($28+) comprises an assortment of 12 pieces of sweets, the Shahi Corporate Gift Box ($40+) has 16 pieces and the Celebration Sweet Box ($60+) includes 24 pieces. Among the sweets are Mango Surprise; pistachio-stuffed cashew rolls; milk cake; chocolate, gram-flour and mixed nut burfis; walnut ladoos and, new for this year, hazelnut and dark chocolate ladoos. Also available are savouries ($20+), such as spiced cashew nuts and mathri pastries. The Celebration Sugar & Spice Box ($40+) combines sweets with savouries. Also, a Diwali day festive banquet (Nov 10, 6.30 - 10.30pm, $70++ a person) features chaat items, sizzling vegetarian and non-vegetarian kebabs, plus mains such as Bengali Fish Curry, Raan Sikandra and Malai Kofta. To finish, tuck into sumptuous desserts such as rasmalai and burfis. Live musicians will perform ghazals and Bollywood tunes.
WHERE: 03-21B (Level 3, Fairmont Singapore) Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road MRT: City Hall WHEN: Open for orders, collection from Oct 27 - Nov 9, 48 hours' advance notice required for orders, walk-in purchases from Nov 2 - 9, subject to availability TEL: 6235-8840 INFO: www.shahimaharani.com
Axis Bar And Lounge
The monthly Singapore Food Trail afternoon tea takes a mysterious turn for this month. The Halloween menu includes monstrous delights such as Monster Fingers (pistachio scones), Bloody Pie (braised cabbage and chorizo pie) and Ogre's Eyeball (orange marmalade cheese mousse), as well as Indian dishes such as crispy moong dal vada with tangy tamarind sauce, tandoori chicken sub sandwiches with red onion and mint, and slow-cooked phirni rice pudding with mango and almonds. The spread includes gourmet teas and coffee.
WHERE: Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, Marina Square, 5 Raffles Avenue MRT: Promenade WHEN: Till Oct 31, daily from 3 - 5pm, additional 12.30 - 2.30pm seating on weekend & public holiday PRICE: $42++ a person; $80++ for two persons TEL: 6885-3500 INFO: E-mail mosin-dining@mohg.com
HAIRY CRAB SEASON
Li Bai
Chef Chung Yiu Ming presents air-flown crabs in three new creations - braised bird's nest wrapped in egg with hairy crab meat and crab roe ($88++ a person), pan-fried lobster with hairy crab meat and crab roe ($44++ a person) and king prawn with hairy crab meat and crab roe ($36++ a person). Also available are stewed crystal hor fun with hairy crab meat and crab roe in claypot ($78++) and traditional steamed hairy crab ($60++ a piece). On Nov 6, a special degustation dinner will pair hairy crab dishes with wines ($198++ a person).
WHERE: Sheraton Towers Singapore, 39 Scotts Road, Lower Lobby Level MRT: Newton WHEN: Till Nov 30 TEL: 6839-5623 INFO: E-mail libai@sheratonsingapore.com
Crystal Jade
Crabs from Yang Cheng lake feature in dishes at Crystal Jade Palace, Crystal Jade Golden Palace and Crystal Jade Dining In. Dishes include steamed hairy crab ($42++ a piece, each weighs from 175 to 199g), chilled hairy crab steeped in Hua Tiao wine ($45++ a piece), hairy crab xiao long bao ($6++ each), braised shark's fin with hairy crab roe ($35++), sauteed pea sprouts with hairy crab meat and hairy crab roe sauce ($42++) and deep-fried spring rolls with hairy crab meat ($24++ for four pieces). A seven-course set menu ($118++ a person) includes all the above dishes, plus braised abalone with vegetables and glutinous rice dumpling in ginger soup. DBS and POSB cardholders enjoy 10 per cent off hairy crab a la carte dishes and the set menu at $98++ (excluding public holiday and eve of public holiday).
Hai Tien Lo
Executive chef Lai Tong Ping presents eight a la carte items and a six-course set menu showcasing the crustaceans. A la carte items include steamed whole hairy crab with perilla leaves; braised beancurd with prawns, hairy crab meat and roe; stewed Boston lobster with egg white, crab meat and roe; and steamed minced pork dumplings with hairy crab meat and roe. Highlights of the set menu include seafood with bamboo pith, hairy crab meat and roe in thick broth, and braised sea cucumber stuffed with prawn paste and minced pork in crab meat and roe.
WHERE: Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard MRT: Promenade WHEN: Till Nov 29 PRICE: A la carte items from $6.80++ - $78++; six-course menu at $188++ a person, minimum two to dine TEL: 6826-8240 INFO: E-mail celebrate.sin@panpacific.com
Putien
Air-flown male and female hairy crabs from Taihu Lake, with sweet, succulent flesh and creamy golden roe, are on the menu at all Putien outlets.
WHERE: 127 Kitchener Road MRT: Farrer Park TEL: 6295-6358 WHERE: 02-18 Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road MRT: City Hall TEL: 6336-2184 WHERE: 02-131/132 VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk MRT: HarbourFront TEL: 6376-9358 (go to the website for full list of outlets & contact details) WHEN: Ongoing, while stocks last PRICE: Male crabs, $48++ for 200g; female crabs, $40++ for 150g INFO: putien.com
WINE EVENTS
The Bar & Billiard Room
Whisky Program
Raffles Singapore's resident whisky expert and Whisky World founder Christoph B. Nyfeler leads this series of spirited events. The Whisky Appreciation Night (Oct 21 and Nov 18, 7pm, from $68++ a person) will showcase the production details and resulting complexities of three single malts from Bar & Billiard Room's extensive collection, alongside light bites. The Whisky Dinner (Nov 4, 7pm, $148++ a person) pairs four courses curated by Nyfeler and executive chef Pierre Burgade with Scottish single malts. Also, the Enthusiast masterclass (Nov 11, 7pm, $48++ a person) tackles production and maturation, cask types, Scottish and Japanese distilleries, as well as the difference between whisky and whiskey, while the Connoisseur masterclass (Dec 9, 7pm, $48++ a person) examines whisky flavour profiles and food pairings.
WHERE: Raffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road MRT: Esplanade TEL: 6412-1816 INFO: E-mail dining.singapore@raffles.com
Piedmont Wine Dinner At Zafferano
Hosted by owner and winemaker Valter Fissore of Elvio Cogno winery in Italy's Langhe region, the dinner matches five courses by head chef Marco Guccio with wines which include Barolos that are top-rated by United States wine critic Robert Parker. Sample pairings such as liquorice-scented roasted pork belly with potato cream, rosemary pineapple and berry sauce, with the Barolo Cascina Nuova 2011; and 12-hour marinated and slow-roasted veal cheek in red wine, with the Barolo Ravera DOCG 2011. Limited seats, so reservations are required.
WHERE: Level 43 Ocean Financial Centre, 10 Collyer Quay, MRT: Raffles Place WHEN: Tue, 7.30pm PRICE: $108++ a person TEL: 6509-1488 INFO: zafferano.sg
