Da Luca
#01-19/21, 6258-4846.
This 55-seater, three-month-old Italian joint is the pioneering effort of young Italian chef Luca Pucciani, who hand-makes all his pastas in his kitchen, ensuring the authenticity of his dishes. Already a favorite among the Italian community in this city, highlights include linguini with fresh prawns in squid ink sauce ($22.90) and T-bone steak with seasonal vegetable and mustard sauce ($54.90). Top off an excellent meal here with a glass of house wine from $12.
Pub
#01-01, 6259-9053.
Shoot the breeze at this mostly-expat joint where the beers are cheap ($8 upwards) and the crowd convivial. The vibe is similar to that of Charlie’s, so just kick back, relax and perhaps, make a few new friends along the way.
ROSZY’s tiffin house
#01-203, 6225-4788.
Set up by former shipping consultant Rosny James, this cozy café offers homestyle Javanese cuisine like nasi ambeng ($18 per person), a stacked rice platter that’s usually prepared during weddings in Java, and a very delicious one at that. It comes complete with seven dishes, including fried ikan teggiri, sambal goreng and bagadel (Indonesian potato cutlet). The mango sambal here is also pretty awesome.
Udders
155 Thomson Rd., 6254-6629.
Great after a hot day under the sun, Udders offers a huge range of liqueur and Asian-inspired homemade ice-creams including lychee martini, java whiskey choc and Bailey’s & Bourbon. The ice-cream café’s modern layout is also very inviting.
Wine + Superstore
#01-05/11, 6253-9151.
A massive 4,000 sq. ft. showroom which stocks over 500 wine labels and a wide variety of champagne, whiskey, liquor and spirits. Prices are competitive, but it’s the weekly in-store promotional prices and regular wine tastings that make it worth visiting often. And, it has the biggest white wine collection in the city.
