Places to Dine near Tanjong Pagar

Tanjong Pagar is located within the Central Business District and historical residential district. It is also home to many office towers, food centres, restaurants, cafes and bistro bars. 

I started to love traveling around for lunch whenever I have the opportunity to dine out together with my friends or colleagues. I have compiled a list of restaurants and cafes that I have tried around the areas. 

1. The Marmalade Pantry (Downtown)

Oasia Hotel Downtown is known for their nature inspired design around the hotel, I visited The Marmalade Pantry Downtown which share similar concept. With potted plants placed around the surrounding and canopy leave ceiling, the restaurant boasted a tropical garden vibe. Before the lush interior, The Marmalade Pantry serves a variety of modern-European meets Asian sensibility in swish, modern digs.

I had Seared Scallop & Prawn Linguine ($29++) which came with tiger prawns and Japanese scallop in prawn bisque sauce. The linguine was cooked al dente and was evenly coated with the prawn bisque sauce, it was savoury when paired with the tiger prawns and scallop.

A meal is not complete without dessert. We ended off with Sticky Date & Toffee Pudding ($16++) with toffee sauce, assorted berries and Udders’ French vanilla ice cream. The sticky date pudding was moist and enhanced with toffee aroma, I love the vanilla ice cream which which tasted different and better than the usual vanilla ice cream that I had.

The meal was even sweeter when there was 1 for 1 deal for main course and dessert. We definitely have to order both, allowing us to enjoy a good meal at wallet friendly price.

100 Peck Seah St, #01-01 Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore 079333

Operating hours: 11.30am to 10.30pm daily

2. Mouth Restaurant

Mouth Restaurant is the go to Cantonese restaurant for affordably-priced and innovative dim sum. It was almost full house when we were there for lunch. Do make a reservation before heading down to avoid disappointment.

We ordered a few dishes for sharing: 

Baked Flaky Skin Egg Tart where the egg custard was encased in the flaky yet buttery skin.

Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling which gave a good crunch and revealed the juicy prawn meat. 

Pan Fried Carrot Cake.

Xiao Long Bao which was filled with meaty ingredients and juicy broth. 

Salted Egg Yolk Bun is a must order, it resembled Tim Ho Wan's Char Siew Bun with the crispy pastry skin which encased the delicious creamy salted egg yolk.

Ended off the lunch with a cold refreshing dessert, Pomelo Sago w Mango & Ice Cream.

38 Maxwell Rd, #01-01/02 Airview Building, Air View Building, Singapore 069116

Operating hours: 11:30am to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm from Mon to Fri, 10am to 4pm and 6pm to 10pm on Sat and Sun

3. Izgara

Izgara is a Mediterranean-Turkish Grill & Bar that is known for their kebabs that will wow our tastebuds with every bite. It is located behind MAS building and can be easily spotted by their signboard.

I started off with Turkish Tea by Glass ($3+) which comes in a cute little glass where the size was just nice for me. 

We had Cheese Pide topped with Mozzarella, a thin crust cheesy pizza. The pizza was fragrant with cheesy aroma, chewy and buttery, but I recommend you to order one with meat so that it will enhance the overall taste and not so plain. The crust was also crispy at some edges and a cheese pull when I sliced.

The Chicken Kebap was my favourite among those I tried. The marinated cubed chicken grilled on skewer was flavourful and aromatic enough to hold it off, the meat was juicy and grilled to the point. It was so delicious when paired with butter rice.

We ended the lunch with some dessert. Künefe was a baked pastry filled with sweetness from the sugar syrup and cream. The sweet aroma lingered in my mouth after the bite. Sütlaç was Turkish rice and milk pudding, it was slightly bland compared to the Künefe.

2 Mistri Rd, #01-01, Singapore 079624

Operating hours: 11.30am to 3.30pm and 5pm to 10.30pm from Mon to Fri, 11.30am to 10.30pm on Sat and Sun

** 

Happenings in March - Chinese New Year with Clique + Fashion King Movie Review + World Gelato Tour 2.0

Wednesday 4/3/15

Managed to schedule a dinner gathering with my clique just before the end of CNY, it was hard to find a date where everyone can make it.

We had our dinner at 3+1 restaurant (三菜一汤) recommended by Andrew. It is located in Tanjong Pagar, the heart of the bustling Central Business District. They offer a fusion of authentic traditional Chinese cuisine from a number of provinces, along with a touch of modern flavor.

Yusheng is a mandatory to have during Chinese New Year. We ordered a large Yusheng to share among the nine of us.

May 2015 be an awesome year for all of us. Huat ar! Huat ar! Huat ar!

We had soup of the day - ABC soup.

The portion was just nice for the nine of us.

Curry fish tail. I mixed my rice with the curry and it tasted marvelous. Don;t really fancy the fish tail.

Prawn paste chicken wings.

The skin was super crispy and the meat was tender.

Our mandatory group photo, thanks Jasmine.

It was an enjoyable gathering, haven't seen some of them for a long time. Glad to know that they are all doing good. Meet up soon again (:

Wednesday 11/3/15

Fashion King is about the story of a high school boy discovering his passion for fashion and went on a makeover to win the girl of his dreams.

 Knowing that I love kpop, GF extended her ticket to bring me along for this movie. So happy :)

Cast: Joo Wan, Sulli, Ahn Jae-hyeon, Park Se-young, Kim Seong-oh

Synopsis: 

A teenage boy transforms from a ‘fashion terrorist’ to a ‘fashion king’ in order to win the heart of the prettiest girl in school.

Woo Ki Myung (Joo-Won) is an ordinary high school student, so ordinary he is seen as an all-around loser and being bullied every single day. Life has been miserable until  he decided to move his house and transferred to a high school.

In his new school, he has a crush on the prettiest girl in his class, Hye Jin (Park Se-young), but finds out that another guy in his school, Kim Won Ho (Ahn Jae-hyeon), is interested in her as well. 

In order to win Hye Jin's heart, Ki Myung decides to transform himself and become the coolest, best dressed person in the world. With the help of his mentor, Nam Jung (Kim Seong-oh), Ki Myung is introduced into the world of fashion. Meanwhile, he doesn't notice Eun-jin (Sulli), who harbors a secret crush on him.

Being ugly or ordinary always make you an easy target to be bullied in school. People make fun of you all the time because you are not fashionable and you don't look good to be mix with them. All these hurtful words could cause a great impact to the victims. Some could even went for plastic surgery because the people make the victim believe that he/she is ugly. 

I'm glad that Ki Myung did not take on the negative approach. He is inspired by his mentor to undergo a transformation into a fashion king and they turned the school into their fashion runway.

The movie is really hilarious, we laughed from the start till the end. Towards the ending, it was touching too. Usually I can control my tears such that it only welled up in my eyes. This time round, I couldn't stop my tears from flowing down. I was touched by his perseverance and never say die attitude.  

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It is entertaining and heart warming.

Saturday 21/3/15

The second edition of Gelato World Tour was held at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Singapore as Asia’s first Gelato Capital. The Gelato Village is set to flag off the “Formula One of Gelato” and celebrate fifty years of the Singapore Republic in the coolest way.

Gelato World Tour is the first international traveling competition in search of the best flavors in the world, is directed by the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University and Sigep, the most important exhibition in the world for the artisan production of gelato, pastry, confectionery and bakery products held in Rimini Italy. 

Entry to the Gelato Village is free or all visitors. Visitor can purchase the Gelato Ticket for 12 SGD at the Info Point tent (for 8 samples) and enjoy the magical world of gelato.

There are a total of 16 Gelato artisans taking part in Gelato World Tour. With their vast experience and expertise, they produced a sumptuous array of flavors with nutritious potential in it.

At our first stop, Antonino Lo Iacono from Australia.

I tried the Lemon Zest with Fig Marmalade & Dark Chocolate. With just one bite, I was blown away by the taste of the gelato. The sweetness of the gelato was just right, well balance by the lemon zest and dark chocolate. One of my 2 favourite gelato tasted.

Dropped by Singapore Sling, created by Charles Tan from Singapore. 

An inspiration on a renowned signature cocktail made by our very own Singapore’s famous mixologist of the “The Long Bar” of the Raffles Hotel.

With ingredients like Fresh pineapples, Grenadine syrup, Gin, Cherry liquor, Orange liquor, Benedictine and Sugars, the gelato tasted refreshing and chilling.

Kopi Fah Sung Thong by Angsna Dhippayom from Thailand.

This gelato is made from a combination of Kopi(coffee) and Fah Sung Thong (peanut candy). By combining the bitter unsweetened taste of Kopi with the crunchy mix of nuts and sesame, and enriching it with caramelized sugar, it brings back memories of romantic times in traditional kopi tiam coffee shops in Southeast Asia.

Even the trash bin at Gelato Village looked so cute and delicious.

Mango Ube Symphony by Zarah Zaragoza-Manikan from Philippines.

The mooth mango gelato is heightened with swirls of purple yam jam and accented with rhum-soaked dried mango strips. A truly unique, irresistible symphony of flavors!

Chendol Merdeka by Marco Alfero from Singapore.

Chendol is one of Singapore's traditional dessert rich in flavor, strong in character. Combining the fragrance of Coconut milk, freshly squeezed Pandan juice, flavorful Gula Melaka, velvety red beans and smooth chendol (green starched jelly), Chendol Merdeka Gelato tasted just like our Chendol dessert, perfect for the sunny days in our bustling city.

Kochi Popz by Chronos Chan & Eunice Soon from Singapore.

Using Yuzu specially flown in from Kochi Japan, this light gelato is filled with chocolate coated pop rocks, which sizzles when chewed.

I have a yummilious time tasting the different signature flavours of gelato made by the best Gelato Artisans of Asia Pacific.

Thanks Meryl for the group photo. 

Glad that we came in a group so that we can share the gelato and savour more flavours.

For more information, please visit http://www.gelatoworldtour.com