Orchard Road is a vibrant place if you want to be in the thick of things but if you’re looking for something low-key or a chill night, Tanjong Pagar is your best bet. Home to trendy bars and cafes, it offers respite from the hectic city center and our busy schedules. Here’s a list of new nosheries that have sprouted in Tanjong Pagar.
Ash & Char
Ash & Char serves authentic Asian cuisines with charred and smoked elements incorporated into them, accompanied by a wide range of wine and alcohol options.There’s an open-concept bar on the corner of the 50-seater restaurant that’s decked out in cool shades of black and brown. Their most popular dish is the Vietnamese loaded fries, which really is just regular fries tossed with hoisin, mayo and hot sauce. They also serve Asian dishes like the tom yum seafood pasta and a slow cooked chicken leg that comes with charred broccoli, sweet potato crumble, king oyster mushroom and truffle chicken jus. Besides the usual spirits, they also have their signature cocktails like the pestle and mortar which is a rum-based mojito, and the elder flower fuss which is made up of gin and grapefruit juice.
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather is a fusion restaurant and bar with a rather calm ambiance, serving Western cuisine with a Sichuan twist. Its interiors are inspired by Chengdu—the capital of the Sichuan province that’s known for its greenery and fertile land—which explains the liberal use of plants. Food wise, they serve dishes like their signature burger made up of charcoal grilled beef patty, foie gras, cheddar, caramelized onions with a chilli soy tapenade for both lunch and dinner, the healthier roasted chicken and avocado salad with Sichuan pepper and the hot and sour Chazuke accompanied by Niigata rice and a spicy pickled mustard green broth, charcoal-grilled barramundi and mentaiko. But if you’re after something lighter, they also have small plates of crispy pork trotters in a bag, crispy gyoza with truffle soy vinaigrette and a decent selection of cakes and desserts. As for their drinks situation, they have a pretty extensive list of specialty coffees and teas, fresh juices, smoothies, beer, Old and New World wines, spirits and some classic and house cocktails.
Chalong
Chalong, located at Tanjong Pagar is perfect for the working crowd as they serve up fuss-free meat rice bowls. All their meat are sous vide and grilled in the Josper Charcoal Oven and is also smoked with apple wood, to add more flavour to the meat. Highlights include their iberico jowl that has been sous vide for 18 hours, alongside their homemade chilli sauce and their black angus striploin, which is coated with red wine sauce and yogurt. Their meat bowls come with Japanese rice and a half-cooked egg. You could pump up this hearty bowl by also adding vegetables like grilled asparagus, tomatoes and white button mushrooms.
The Coconut Club
Founded by food enthusiasts Lee Eng Su, Kamal Samuel and Lee Chan Wai, The Coconut Club started as an idea after attending a nasi lemak convention in Kuala Lumpur in 2014. What matters the most at this rustic-looking eatery is the nasi lemak, which is pretty much the only thing on the menu besides add-ons like fried fish (market price) and charcoal grilled otak-otak, along with cendol, hot and cold beverages and beer on tap. For their coconut rice, they use Malaysian West African hybrid (MAWA) coconuts that are imported three times a week from Selangor. Then they spend about nine hours to clean and juice them by hand and use it to cook the jasmine rice, that’s indigenous ofthe north-eastern region of Thailand. The chicken used for the ayam goreng berempah that comes with the dish is from Malaysia; and the ikan bilis, from Pangkor Island, a Malaysian resort island. That’s a lot of effort for a simple dish, but it’s details like these that really make it stand out.
The Ottoman Room
Brought you by the people behind Fat Prince, The Ottoman Room is hidden behind the casual kebab noshery and can only be accessed through a beautiful arched black and gold walkway. It follows a similar Middle Eastern theme, but with nuances of luxury in a much more intimate setting. The portions of dishes here are relatively bigger so that they can be shared. Using a wood-fired earth pit (typical in Istanbul establishments), the food is grilled for eight hours to give that rich smokey and charcoal roasted flavors. Food items on the menu include their grilled fish which is served with cucumber labneh (yoghurt cheese), duck breast that’s coated with Lebanese spices, and their spiced short ribs which come with a side of pumpkin puree. Diners can expect a trolley of gastronomical Middle Eastern appetizers such as a variety of hummus infused with other ingredients, lentil soup and salmon tartare with smoked date puree and almond dukkah; all served throughout your meal.
Thirteen Duxton Hill
Located in a small shop house tucked away in a quiet corner of the otherwise happening Duxton Hill, Thirteen Duxton Hill is a contemporary bistro which is a cafe by day and a bar by night. Owned by chef John-Paul Fiechtner and sommelier Sally Humble (who were owners of Australian restaurant Lûmé), the all-day dining bar has a homely and cozy atmosphere with a simple outlook. The menu changes every day and will be prepared according to what chef Fiechtner buys from the market that morning. They offer two menus of experimental dishes: one is an ever-changing breakfast/dinner menu and the other is a selection of thirteen sharing dishes, 10 of which are savory, one is cheesy and the last two are desserts. Each day, the latter menu will be lovingly handwritten on a piece of paper. Although the menu rotates daily, if you’re lucky enough, be sure to try their corn with prawn head and butter , asparagus with pumpkin seeds in miso, bone marrow and flowers and the black chicken with burdock root and kimchi; all suggestions from the chef himself. Oh, oh be sure to try the croissants on their breakfast menu; something which their former restaurant was famous for. Drinks wise, they’re keeping it “local” and importing wine and other spirits straight from Australia.
