Cocktails and Nightlife, Singapore

This started out as a food porn post. But then I got kinda carried away and wanted to show you some of the highlights of Singapore's awesome skyline by night.

After drinks on a roof bar (Singapore is full of them, it's amazing), we headed to Catalunya for cocktails as it was a Wednesday and Wednesday's is 'one-for-one' (English: two-for-one) cocktail night at Catalunya. 

I'm jolly glad we went, actually, because the cocktails were pretty damn good.  The highlight has got to be this quirky little number - made with Amaretto, honey, lime juice, Amontillado sherry, gin and cheese.  That's right.  Cheese.  It's even garnished with a little sliver.

They even bring you a little cocktail test tube - in it's own wee ice bucket (or perhaps that should be 'ice baked bean tin?) - to top up your drink, in case the first glass isn't enough.  Which, let's face it, when it comes to cocktails it never is.

Also, the eats were pretty damn good.  We had a spherical olives too, which were wholly unimpressive to look at and incredibly amazing to eat.  I won't spoil the fun but just think a little... Heston.

Then it was on to Ku De Ta for more drinks and more stunning views.

- GrubsterBoy -

Kaya Toast, Singapore

Anyone spending any amount of time in Singapore is likely to become quickly versed in the culinary oddity that is a breakfast of kaya toast and kopi.

I'm not altogether sure if anyone can properly articulate where this unique start to the day comes from.  It's faintly bizarre – at least to the Western palate. 

Basically, there are three elements to this most local of breakfasts.

First, we have the toast itself.  Very finely sliced, it is filled with an ultra-sweet coconut jam and slabs of butter.  Literally, slabs – it's not spread on but cut off the block.  It's a funny old thing – not at all unpleasant, but extremely rich and sweet.

Then we have the accompanying eggs.  They're described as soft boiled.  Now, I've had plenty of soft boiled eggs in my time.  In fact, as a kid they were a regular Sunday night supper if we were good – dippy eggs and Marmite soldiers.  These are not soft boiled eggs, in my experience.  They’re hardly cooked eggs.

Slathering them in soy sauce is the local way to go about your business.  And despite all of my initial hesitation at eating what are basically uncooked eggs (salmonella fears rushing to mind) the combination of the toast and the eggs was fantastic.  The saltiness of the yolks and the salty-sharp taste of the soy acting as the perfect foil to the sweet, rich toast filling.

Then there's the coffee.  Or kopi, as it is known.

There's something faintly disquieting about Kopi.  Because I drink a fair amount of coffee, generally.  I know coffee when I see it.  I am friends with coffee.  Singapore, this is not coffee. 

Instead, robusta beans (which are stronger and have a higher caffeine content) are roasted in margarine to the make the base.  Then condensed and evaporated milk is added.  What's produced is a drink that reminds you strongly of coffee without actually being an awful lot like coffee.  That's not to say it's bad – not at all, I quite enjoyed it – it's just different.  And rich.  And sweet.  Very sweet.  So very rich and very sweet that I had difficulty getting through a whole cup.

Altogether, I really enjoyed the experience.  Would I go back?  I don’t know.  Ya Kun is supposedly one of the finest purveyors of kaya toast (even if it is a bit chain-ey), and I can’t fault them.  And it was nice.  But it was also very, very rich and equally sweet.  Which isn’t necessarily what an Englishman wants for breakfast.

 - GrubsterBoy -

Thai Feast, Kata, Phuket

Grimly aware that it was our last day on the island, before the slog back to the City and (for Astrid at least; I was still on holiday...) a return to work, we set out to get ourselves a bang up meal before heading to the airport.

 

We had had our sights set on a rather swish place we'd discovered earlier in our stay.  Sadly, however, it was closed for lunch so a roadside canteen had to suffice.  In hindsight, I am jolly glad.

 

We ordered ourselves up a great big feast, starting with a mound of pad Thai  For those who don’t know, it's a dish of rice noodles stir fried with eggs, tamarind, shrimp, chilli, palm sugar, fish sauce and whole lot else.  Ours came with crumbled peanuts and raw beansprouts on the side, and a lime wedge for drizzling, which is pretty standard.  All in all, it was damn good and didn’t last long.

Next up we had chicken wrapped in pandanus  This is a kind of leaf that gives the chicken a delicate aroma and, crucially, keeps it from drying out during the cooking process.  The result is beautifully soft, tender meat.

And to keep it company, we had a plate of morning glory (which in Texas they call swamp spinach...). 

Finally, we treated ourselves to a duck red curry. It being our last day in Thailand I was reluctant to miss out on it. I just absolutely love Thai curries and - for some inexplicable reason - I never seem to eat them that much at home.  There's something intoxicatingly good about their hot, punchy spiciness combined with the cooling flavours of the coconut cream and the lemongrass.  For me, it's heaven.

This example was good, there's no denying it.  Sadly, the duck itself was a little disappointing – tough and a touch flavourless.  But otherwise, the curry was great.

Our whole feast was washed down with fresh watermelon juice, beautifully served.

I was sad to leave Phuket, in the end.  It was a wonderful escape from the day-to-day desk job of life at home, and a great way to kickstart a week's holiday in Asia.  Not a bad looking island, too.

- GrubsterBoy -

Patong Night Market, Phuket

Having rounded off a cracking supper at Baan Rim Pa we decided that a wander through the town was in order.  As we did so, we happened upon a fantastic little night market, largely set up for entertainment, in the form of bizarre variations on the standard fairground games of 'skill' and 'luck', complete with life-size stuffed animals as prizes, and food.  And boy, was there a lot of food to be eaten.

Some of it looked fantastic – almost too good to skip, although sadly our dinner had left us stuffed to the gunnels. 

Some of it was perhaps... less appetising. 

And then there was pudding galore.

Patong is a funny old town, really.  It's got great spots – like this market, like Baan Rim Pa.  But it's also got a massively seedy side, complete with the ping pong shows and open-air strip clubs of lore. 

So I guess it's kind of up to you what to make of it.

 - GrubsterBoy -

Baan Rim Pa, Phuket

Having brunched to our hearts' content in downtown Singapore, it was time to take advantage of one of the City's greatest assets: its proximity to so many other equally wonderful places.  For us, it was a weekend away in the Thai island of Phuket.

After an exhausting day sunning ourselves by the pool, sundowners on the beach were called for.  Mojitos and sunsets are natural best friends.  Even if the drink itself could hardly be less local, they were good and hit the spot nicely. 

For dinner we headed to Baan Rim Pa, a picturesque spot perched on the cliffs that surround the shoreline and one of Patong's smartest restaurants.  It has a real old-school charm, almost colonial with its wooden sculpted bar, deep rattan chairs and billowing fans.

But the real star of the show is the food – which is a good thing, given that it's what we'd ventured out for. 

We kicked off proceedings with a couple of starters.  Po pia sod, fresh spring rolls, which turn out to be simply spring rolls as you and I know them but not deep fried (which was something of a relief – it's hardly a healthy cuisine generally).  The somewhat softer shells were a relief, actually.  I love a good Thai spring roll as much as the next man, but these were somehow lighter, easier eating than the average roll, which suited the hot and humid environment well.

We also ate latieng, a mixture of minced prawns and nuts, wrapped up in a spider's web of eggs.  Heaven knows how they make those things, but thank goodness they do – they were yummy. 

For mains, Astrid ordered pla nueng kratiam - a whole steamed fish marinated in garlic and soy.

I had panaeng ped, a duck curry with lychees.  Again, beautifully done – soft, tender duck with a tasty sauce (although my one criticism might be that there wasn't enough sauce – I want it swimming, like a good old red curry). 

Pudding was lemongrass sorbet.  Megayums.

There's no getting away from it: Baan Rim Paa is expensive.  You're paying London prices for the food and drink, which is fine, except that you're in Thailand.  We had eaten the night before at Kampong Kata Hill which is not quite as good but a fraction of the price.  Baan Rim Pa is excellent, and beautiful, but the bill seems out of kilter with the rest of the island.

 - GrubsterBoy -

Level 33, Singapore

First, many apologies for my absence of late.  I have been enjoying my first proper holiday abroad (and first full week off) since June last year, so have been somewhat incommunicado. 

 

A great friend of mine, with whom I trained professionally, moved out to Singapore about six months ago.  Never one to miss the opportunity of a free sofa-crash, I headed out to see what the buzz was all about just as soon as I could.

 

Like all good Singapore tourists, we elected to abandon the city and head out to the Thai island of Phuket for the first weekend.  Singapore is wonderfully positioned in that there is masses to do around it – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand all within a few hours plane ride... and even further afield, if you like. 

 

But before we jetted off it was essential that we indulge in Singapore's favourite way of starting the weekend: Brunch.  The venue of choice: Level 33, the highest brewery in the world.

 

You read that right, and it's an odd concept, I won’t deny it.  Basically, someone has built a microbrewery into an skyscraper.  The upside of this (and there appears to be no downside, although how you get the malted barley up there is a mystery to me) is the absolutely stunning views.

 

 

Now, I'm not sure, if I'm honest, that I have a great amount of faith in the brews.  Beer is pretty easy to make, it turns out, so there was little risk that they'd be bad – I just didn’t think that they'd be great.  After all, this is a brewery in an office block in the business district of a city not famous for its beer.  It's a marketing gimmick, surely?

 

No, not at all.  Quite the contrary in fact.  The beer making process is one that is clearly taken pretty damned seriously.  Having brought a master brewer over from Germany, the results were impressive.

 

 

To enjoy the early morning views I kicked off proceedings with a glass of their porter, a slightly lighter version of the Irish stout they produce, and a very refreshing, if hearty, drink. 

 

 

We headed inside and sat down at our tables, preparing for a robust breakfast.  We were not disappointed.  My friend had the scrambled eggs and gravadlax.  Beautifully done, and well presented, with cured, seared salmon so tender it melts in your mouth.

 

 

Being a stout Englishman, I went for the full English breakfast.  Because there's nothing like fried bacon and eggs to keep you from missing home.  What came was beautiful – as aesthetically pleasing as it was tasty.  Homemade beans, bloody mary ketchup, real bacon and sausage (rarities outside the UK) and a perfectly done egg in its own wee frying pan.  A real win. 

 

 

And to wash it all down?  Beer, of course – that's the beauty of brunch: drinking with breakfast is totally OK.  The beer I went for was Level 33's weissbier, a wheat beer.  And damned good it was too.

 

If you're hanging about in Singapore, looking for a decent breakfast with fantastic views, you can do a whole lot worse than Level 33. 

 

 - GrubsterBoy -

British Pie Week at the White Swan

Last week was British Pie Week. 

It's true, it actually was.  Sadly, this is one of those festivals that is not nearly well celebrated enough.  In fact, for most average punters, I rather imagine that British Pie Week went by unnoticed.  Fortunately, one of the people to notice it was owners of the White Swan.

It is not without a hint of irony that I note that British Pie Week has come around just as the British weather has started to (finally!) improve.  I have written before about how I believe that pies are best eaten when the weather is cold and miserable (with the exception of cold meat pies, like a pork pie or a game pie, which wants to be eaten and a hot, sunny picnic).  Nevertheless, this Grubster (together with a couple of work mates) steeled itself to venture out during the day to sample the crusts.

And thank heavens we did. 

We were offered a trio of carb-crusted meats to sample: cottage pie, steak, ale and oyster or pigs' cheek pudding.  Josh and I opted, rather unimaginatively, for the steak, ale and oyster.

Now, I'm not especially good with oysters, I won’t lie.  And by 'not especially good' I mean that they make me wretch.  So I was nervous to say the least.  I am very glad I let the joy of the beef win out over the fear of the mollusc, because this was quite simply one of the very best pies I have ever had in my life.  Ever. 

The gravy was rich, silky, smooth.  The oysters, far from the fear I had, added a distinct, saltine, almost maritime, bite to the dish.  It was a thing of absolute beauty – from the presentation through the textures to the taste.  I could not have asked for better.  It even came with a little, garlic crumb-crusted oyster on the side.  It was only because I was in polite company that restrained myself from licking the bowl.

Toby had the pigs' cheek pudding.  Proper suet puddings are few and far between – probably with good reason, given the health consideration – which is a sad thing.  Because they a beautiful beasts.  A dainty wee pudding like this, complete with curly kale and chopped, sautéed kidneys, was more than enough for a casual lunch – and, I gather, very tasty.

My only regret of pie week is this: now that it’s over, the pies are off the menu.  This is truly a tragedy, as with pie-making skill like that, the Swan should be dishing them out every damn day.

The White Swan itself is a great venue – a top-notch City boozer just off Fleet Street. 

I've eaten there a few times before and always enjoyed the food – whether it's been a lobster salad or fish and chips.  The chef clearly isn't afraid of cooking the unpopular (yet increasingly fashionable) bits we don’t like to think about – I remember that, for a long time, the bar snacks menu proudly displayed an offering of ducks hearts and livers on toast – now sadly off the menu.  The standard burger is, I am happy to say, one of the best pub burgers out there.

So if you're in the neighbourhood, pop in.  even if you can’t get a pie.

- GrubsterBoy -