Our Top 5 Foodie Deals This Month

I have been inundated with so much news on good food deals in Singapore lately, that the only way I can think of to share them before the promotions are over is to give you a list of recommendations. I must admit this story may not be my most inspired work, but read on and you will be inspired to sally forth and eat! That’s because I picked out only the news that I myself am compelled to go for or have keyed into my iphone’s ‘Notes’ for convenient and necessary reference!

With too much disaster and bad news around the world these days, get a bit of gastro-TLC at 1-TwentySix with an order of oysters and Champagne. For S$126++, get a bottle of Moët & Chandon and a dozen succulent oysters and slurp away by the East Coast Beach. Daily from 5pm to 8pm. (902 East Coast Parkway, #01-26 Playground @ Big Splash Tel: 6348 2126)

Bedrock Bar & Grill is not just for meat, it’s a good spot for a spot of drinks too. Happy Hour falls between 5pm and 7pm Monday to Thursdays. What’s the deal here? Until May, any Belvedere or Strathisla drink comes with free Mini Chopped Steak Burgers. There’s also 40 single malt whiskies to be had, and two cocktails come highly recommended – Cumquat Cadillac ($16) made with tequila, cumquats, honey & ginger syrup, lime juice and orange bitters; and Pisco Punch ($16), featuring a sweet-spice syrup (infusing pineapple with cinnamon, clove, star anise and vanilla), pisco, citrus and a splash of prosecco. Good to know also: free wine tastings take place at the al fresco terrace bar on every second Monday of the month (next one is on 11 April) where you can sample a range wines and at the same time buy them if you like; and oops! whaddya know? Every Monday is BYO night! (96 Somerset Road, #01-05, Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Tel: 6238-0054)

My rambling here bears a point – one of the best kaiseki meals (which doesn’t blast your bank account into the Underworld, that is) I have had is in Singapore at Keyaki Restaurant at Pan Pacific Singapore. This April, the restaurant is serving up a 10-course Sakura Kaiseki menu at $160++ per person – good value too! Highlights include  Boiled Sea Bream Roe and Fuki,  Appetisers of  Seared Scallop with Okura, White Asparagus, Smoked Salmon with Cucumber, Simmered Ikanago Fish, Bamboo Shoot with Kinome Miso, Deep-fried Chicken Liver, Grilled Baby Lobster with Sea Urchin, Sashimi  of Blue Tuna Toro, Sea Bream, Stripe Jack, etc. Tempting, huh?

For sweet-toothed fairies hankering for a super Sunday indulgence, the Marriott Café at the Singapore Marriott is doling out the longest dessert buffet set up in Singapore, spanning over 12 metres with yums like Raspberry Linzer Praline Pop Rock Cups, Matcha Macaroon Cheesecake to Deconstructed Tiramisu with Pistachios. What’s also great is that the hot food is all served a la minute – nice French word you can bandy about meaning cooked when you order, so everything comes to you piping hot. Not cheap, brunch with free flowing bubby (Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut N.V) and wine is $118++, but if you are driving, it’ll be $80++ minus the fun.

One of my more recent ‘re-discoveries’, Cherry Garden at Mandarin Oriental Singapore is hiding a really talented and creative chef, Executive Chinese Chef Hiew Gun Khong who approaches his food with brains and belly! Until 30 April, he is serving up Sichuan specialities with good value set menus on a per person basis – with menus starting from $45 per head for a minimum of two people, while set menus for a minimum of four people begin at S$52 per guest. Dishes include Braised Eggplant with Minced Pork, Mushrooms and Water Chestnuts in Sichuan Chilli Sauce, Braised Sea Cucumber with Chinese Leeks, Black Mushrooms, Bamboo Shoots and Minced Chicken in Mandarin Chilli Sauce, Sichuan Drunken Chicken and Sliced Pork Belly with Garlic Sauce. His desserts are out of this world creative – Cream of Guava Served with Sour Plum Crystal Jelly and Mandarin Sorbet and Cherries in Nui Er Hong and Kuei Hua Chen Cocktail Jelly. A la carte dishes start from $18. Through his menu, Chew Hiew wants to show that Sichuan cuisine is not all about fiery flavours and numbed tongues, but an elegant cuisine. (Tel: 6885 3538)

Considering the awful disaster that has hit Japan just short of its cherry blossom season, I just think it would be great if the restaurant donated at least part of the proceeds from this menu to helping Japan get through the tough times.