stumbling upon the good life – savoring food, discovering wine, and exploring places
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Many Singapore food folks in the know were already aware of chef Travis from his days at Wine Garage. The burger he served up at that trendy Clark Quay location was many people’s favorite in Singapore. Unfortunately we moved to Singapore after that time. So we only know Chef / Owener Travis’ food from Spruce. All I can say is that I’m only sorry it took me so long to make it over there.
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An outstanding Cantonese meal with impeccable service
I have a great fondness for Chinese cuisine. And at the top of my list are both Sichuan and Cantonese. Living in Chinatown in Singapore one might expect the best Chinese dining to be here…and while this is not entirely incorrect, we were recently blown away by a lunch at Summer Palace in the Regent Hotel. They have recently reinvigorated the restaurant with the addition of a new chef and the makeover of the interior. Having never visited before, I cannot comment on the degree of change, but one thing I can say is that this is the best Cantonese I have had outside of Hong Kong. It was, in a word, outstanding! [keep reading…]
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Hey all,
A favorite time of year for NYC food lovers is Restaurant Week, a yearly chance to sample some of NYC’s finest at lower than average prices. It was only a matter of time before Singapore, being as food focused as it is, did a restaurant week of it’s own. If you haven’t already booked, do so quickly as the restaurants are quickly filling up (I don’t know if 53 even lasted 10 minutes!). There are some regualar dining options offering 3-Course lunch sets for 25++ and 3-Course dinners for 35++! The premium restaurants are 40 and 55 dollars for the same courses… still a good deal if you’ve ever seen menu prices at FiftyThree or Garibaldi.
We’re unfortunately leaving right in the middle of the week for the Maldives, but are using the days we do have in town to try out a couple restaurants we’ve been wanting to try (Garibaldi’s, Krish, and I’ve personally only had Prime Society at tasting events).
If you haven’t yet made reservations check out the site. It’s super easy to browse the restaurants and make a reservation… you don’t even need to make a phone call. This an exciting and cheap way to sample some of the city’s best, trendiest, and most controversial restaurants. They should be on top form as these are specially designed menus and they know that many could be visiting their locations for the first time… so hopefully everyone will be stepping up their game and putting their best plates forward.
Restaurant Week Singapore
Monday the 22nd till Sunday the 28th of March
Paul
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We got on a plane and flew to get our ass kicked military style. Was it worth it? You bet!
I used to do a bootcamp workout when I lived in Bangkok through Fit Corp Asia. A friend at work told me about it…in retrospect I am not even sure why I was interested….she told me “sometimes people work so hard they puke” and “you will be seriously challenged, I doubt you can keep up.” While these words should have scared me, they did the opposite and intrigued me. I think it was because I was in my mid-30’s and simply just wanted to see what my body could still do. And so bootcamps became part of my fitness regime when living in Bangkok and I loved it. It was hard at first but with each session I saw my fitness level increase and after a short time I was in amazing shape. Not skinny, but a strong healthy body I was proud of. And not only was I more fit, but also even when I wasn’t working out, my energy level was sky high.
However, I will confess since Paul and I moved to Singapore last year, my workouts have been, in a word, erratic. When I did my taxes recently I discovered why…I had been out of the country and traveling more in 2009 then I had actually been at home in Singapore. That’s more nights in hotels than in my own bed! As such, you can imagine my workout schedule, and thus my fitness level, has been seriously impacted. When traveling, I had replaced after work training sessions with drinks and dinners with colleagues. When I actually find myself in Singapore, I have a trainer through UFit who I have been really happy with – but it is not his fault I cannot maintain a regular schedule. So when my former Bangkok trainer Daniel told me he and 2 other trainers from Hong Kong and Singapore were putting together Asia’s Biggest Bootcamp in Phuket, Thailand, we had to go and check it out. I envisioned a bootcamp weekend to be just the kick start I needed to get back on track. [keep reading…]
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Hey all,
I think my favorite days of the year go – Christmas, my birthday, and Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s. Seriously. It’s free ice cream, what’s not to love? In Singapore, to be honest, I’ve grown to prefer the smaller boutique places over the big multi-national ice cream chains (save the random late night Magnum or Cornetto), but a lot of that comes down to how expensive Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is in Singapore… I’ve had whole meals for the price of a couple scoops.
But cost isn’t a factor on this day. I’m thinking this year I’ll rent a van, get a small group together and travel to all the different Singapore locations. Been wanting to try all the new, to me, flavors – like Chocolate Macadamia Nut & Dublin Mudslide (hope that tastes better than it sounds 
).
Mark you calendars and be sure to make a visit to a Ben & Jerry’s outlet in your area on March 23rd, 2010! Hit me up if you want in on the van tour 
Paul
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It’s safe to say I’m not the biggest fan of Dempsey Hill. On my better meals at the former army barracks location I’ve simply been underwhelmed… on others I’ve felt outright ripped off. What was once an unique escape in Singapore has become a “destination”… meaning the now crazy high rent prices result in overpriced meals compounded with an expensive cab ride. This has taken away any potential value for most locations for me. So I set off for a Saturday night meet-up with some friends at Contemporary Melting Pot and Bar (CMPB here on out) with some reluctance. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised.
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I’d walked past Brussels Sprouts many times on my way to Epicurious or other places on the Quay in Singapore. I thought it was possibly a vegetarian restaurant. It always seemed busy, a good sign in Singapore, but for some reason I never visited. Thankfully some friends of ours invited us to join them for an after-work dinner. It’s a simple concept executed well.
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I first heard this term sometime last year when visiting New York. Come to find out the term had been in use for quite some time in the Western world, but had not yet migrated to Asia. But the idea of locavore fascinated me – basically it is someone who eats locally within a certain radius, e.g. 50 miles, 200 miles. Adapted from the word carnivore (one who eats meats) and herbivore (one who eats vegetables), a locavore is committed to consuming only what is naturally within reach and by extension, this also means eating only what is in season. It’s as if the idea of sustainability, seasonal eating and local farming were all rolled up into one. Brilliant! [keep reading…]
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It would be an understatement to say that I was excited to try Relish. I’ve been on an epic odyssey a search for my favorite burger in Singapore since arriving. Here was a whole restaurant devoted solely to the glorious hamburger in all its incarnations… not only that, but the burgers are individually paired with Belgian beers. It seemed like an instant recipe for success…. [keep reading…]
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How does Da Paolo Pizza measure up to this NYers discerning palate for pizza?
As it turns out pizza is all over Asia. Asians and Westerners alike love the food and so no matter where you go, it is not hard to find. In Singapore there are many options, one of the more popular being Da Paolo Pizza in Chip Bee Gardens. This former NYer has a discerning palette for pizza. Would Da Paolo measure up? [keep reading…]
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