In a rather belated take to an article in the Straits Times, identifying ‘hot spots’ in Singapore- I liked Chip Bee Gardens, found Rochester Park rather faddish, have yet to fully appreciate Dempsey, was never the Wessex Estate ‘type’.
The article remarked about business at Rochester Park having ’slowed down’ after Tanglin Village wrested for media attention. Rochester Park was intended to be a sustainable cultural/entertainment hub, where dinner at Rochester Park was a precursor to a spot of cultured entertainment at NUS’s Theatre. Tanglin Village, meanwhile, had always been an aberration in land scarce Singapore- an expanse of greenery in a neighbourhood characterized by some of the most impressive black and white bungalows and a scattering of ambassadorial residences.
My takes for each neighbourhood(solely on decor and vibe of space- please don’t ask me about the food. My palate’s not the most sophisticated there is out there):
Chip Bee Gardens-
Da Paolo Pizza Bar- impossibly glamorous decor by Bedmar and Shi . Outdoor dining option.
Bunalun - Chic black and white organic food store and cafe. I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about the food but the chocolate cake is thick and moist(rivals Corduroy and Fitch’s in my opinion) and the salmon cakes are another personal favourite.
This isn’t related to food but the decor makes it worth a mention anyway-
Sloane Clinic is an aesthetic clinic with counter-intuitive ceiling to floor glass walls, curved mosaic walls and bright modern furniture.
Greenwood
Straits Times’ representation of the neighbourhood was the semi-institutional Lana Cake Shop.
A really cozy, non-too crowded, still-unpretentious stretch of restaurants serving the nearby residential areas where you hardly ever feel like your personal space has been invaded.
Chat Masala Too whose tagline is ‘where the food is spicy and the gossip, spicier’. Or something along those lines. I love the butter prawns(butter chicken on the menu- I ask for a prawn substitute). Interesting ethnic decor- check out the frescoes done by the manager. The original Chat Masala is located on East Coast.
Shiro By reservation only, with a strict No Children policy. I find the latter a definite incentive on weekends.
Covo Bistro & Lounge – Pared down utilitarian chic. You can dine near the airwell and water feature. Just ask the waiter for lots of tealight candles to keep away the mosquitoes. Owners are the landscapers are few doors down(their signature look seems to involve a lot of cement screed and stainless steel- will check them out).
photos from streetdirectory.com
Full article of the Straits Times that set me off on a tangent can be found here:
| Sep 16, 2007 |  |
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Hot spots to chill out |
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| With so many lifestyle hubs popping up, people are spoilt for choice for hangout spots | |||
| By Mak Mun San | |||
ANOTHER weekend, another lifestyle hub. So it seems these days, as rustic retreats pop up here, there and everywhere to lure winers and diners in search of the next must-go spot for a quiet drink in leafy surrounds. They used to be content with bohemian Holland Village, but the quest for a leafy chillout zone has taken the alfresco crowd first to nearby Chip Bee Gardens, and then further afield. Rochester Park beckoned, then Gillman Village and Greenwood Avenue, plus current hotspot Dempsey, reinvented as Tanglin Village. Well, the Village People have a new destination to look forward to: Wessex Village Square. At present it is a peaceful village with lush greenery and heritage architecture, in Wessex Estate, off Portsdown Road. Not for much longer.
It looks set to become the next trendy hangout when a new restaurant and bar, Cicada, opens its doors next weekend. Behind Cicada is entrepreneur Michel Lu, who also owns Hacienda wine bar in Tanglin Village. |
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Following up on Shawn’s post:The website is up- suitably designer-ish, Flash-based, interactive site. Check out the resident artists- Xin&AnnGee, Sokkuan&Kuanth and the ongoing Le Monde est Nous exhibition.
Other blogs referencing this new gallery cum bar are: Ee Shaun’s and Pat Law’s
The name reminds me(in a very tangential way) of Francois Truffaut’s Night forDay.
Photo above from Superfamous’ website.
I took some photos on my camera phone but am currently too lazy to upload it.- Am pretty sure it’d look better than the above after some photoshop-ping. The latest Michel Lu (of Centro 360 fame) looked divine in photos. As most fickle-minded diners in Singapore, I love new places with sleek design and proximity to water(water features, the sea, a longkang), is something I find very appealing.
Not having been to the general vicinity of an after-hours Raffles City for a long time, I felt I had very few expectations of the place other than for the restaurant I thought I was going to try. There were the same impossibly chic women in impossibly high heels, the same people milling around the start of Boat Quay on a Friday night(more on that later), a relatively sedate after-5 but before anything really starts period.
And no, Superfamous does not serve dinner as I was to find out- although the lunch menu does sound very good. Which leads me down the hellways of Boat Quay, subjecting myself to solicitations from touts(never a good experience on an empty stomach) alternating with the smell of alcohol around the bars(not good either) .
Once the witching hour starts(7pm in my books), the true after hour colours of Raffles Place reveals itself- with suits heading to the nearest speed-enhanced, neon-lit, fishtank-like gymnasiums, stopping by Mix for a power smoothie or hamming it up in some after-hours schmoozefest. Very Matrix-like and makes me wonder why living close to your workplace has been touted to be the next big trend in real estate.
Photo is from Stomp.
Adding an element of visual theatre to food has always been a recipe to success- everything from PapaBubble to the noodle stall in the basement of Paragon to the teriyaki chefs at your nearest Japanese restaurant.
Which is why icecreamchefs , an ice cream parlour conceptualised after custom-made mix-in ice-cream chain Cold Stone Creamery, would at least warrant taking up the invite by your girlfriend to visit her new home in the East Coast.
icecreamchefs can be found here:
520 East Coast Road #01-06 (Ocean Park)
Tel: 64466355
Beside St. Patricks School & Along East Coast Road.
Located in a condominium complex, it comes with free parking for visitors- as their website points out. I should make a list of restaurants-within-condominiums.
icecreamchefs’ youtube video can be found here:
As rentals escalate and displaced retailers bring an urban sensibility to the heartland ,
another reason why HDBs have always been fun would be the homegrown pasar malams and its attendant perks.
Eat Ramly burgers- it’s politically subversive.
A great video on ‘how to make a ramly burger’ can be found on Marina’s blog. Photo above from Marina’s blog as well.
To track down your nearest pasar malam, check out sgforums (information courtesy of Marina).