 UPDATED 28/11/2007 Recommended restaurants in Singapore : THE
ALKAFF MANSION (*****): Because we had to postpone our visit from dinner to lunch the next day, we just missed this unique Dutch influenced Indonesian cuisine, which makes the place like a jewel in Singapore, as they only serve it IN THE EVENING, following a long noteworthy protocol. "Rijsttaffel" means "rice on the table". It comes with a spread of spicy seafood, meat and vegetable dishes, as well as a variety of tasty condiments. Traditional "Rijsttaffel" service should be elaborate and elegant: reminiscent of a gentle wealthy refined colonial past. A majestic dinner gong intones the commencement of the ceremony and we are swept back in time to the highlands of Java, perhaps the garden city of Bogor. Then, a procession of lovely ladies dressed in traditional Indonesian sarong kebayas emerges to personally introduce and serve each dish. Touristy, isn't it? Sure; but what's the matter if this is entertaining and elegant, and if the food tastes so good? And we missed all that! So, next time we fly to Singapore, we will, one more time, make THE ALKAFF MANSION our top priority, for a dinner we will take pleasure in reviewing in much detail for your kind attention. Till then, why not do like us: try lunch first, then have the ultra fine dinning. Good things should come step by step! An unforgettable experience and not so expensive for the famous top end restaurant in town. THE ALKAFF MANSION:
PINE COURT
(*****): Chinese food is superb in Singapore;
but to upgrade its excellence, the PINE COURT is currently "importing"
cooks from Hong Kong. The best in the world, according to the gourmets
!
The dinning itself, as huge and impersonally luxurious as a top class chinese restaurant has to be, has its proper style. Fully booked the day of our visit, with an active and friendly staff slaloming between the large tables, it gets a warm and authentic Chinese atmosphere. A lot of local guests, indeed: proof of authenticity. Some foreign businessmen also, who certainly came here for the prestige of the place. A lot of celebrities visiting Singapore also drop by regularly. We started with DEEP FRIED SEAFOOD ROLLS, much richer thought not much more expensive (SN$3.50 per portion) than the ones available from the street stalls in Bugis. We advise you to have their delicious PAN-FRIED BEAN CURD SKIN WITH SHRIMP ROLLS which, in the same range of much affordable price, offers a gourmet pleasure one would just find in a three star Michelin restaurant in Paris ! These appetizers are listed in the "Dian Xin" express menu, together with the STEAMED CRYSTAL CHIVES DUMPLINGS and the STEAMED SCALLOPS WITH PRAWN DUMPLINGS, we also warmly recommend. Chinese like soups; we too ! Mostly when it comes to the aristocratic BRAISED SHARK'S FIN SOUP WITH CRAB MEAT AND ROE, a real delicacy enjoyed on special occasion. We were once more surprised by the price: SN$25. We paid more in Bangkok, reputed to be a cheap destination, for a meal with the same name but not the same savour at all. When it comes to seafood, do not hesitate and have their SAUTÉED PRAWNS WITH SPICY SAUCE. Take, at least, a medium portion (SN$38): as they are simply superlative. This was actually the course we preferred. The giant prawns were al dente: the texture being as important as the taste (a perfect one !) for the real Chinese gourmet. Extracted from their aquarium, they are cooked alive with some honey and black pepper. A curious mixture, which tastes like Cognac: strange and palatable, indeed. Prawns are treated quite well also, together with squids, with the more popular though fine CRISPY EGG NOODLES WITH SEAFOOD (SN$27 for a medium portion). Meat is also excellent. Of course, it is difficult to miss the TRADITIONAL BEIJING DUCK SERVED WITH HOME-MADE CHINESE PANCAKES. This is kind of a show to see the cook coming by your table with a trolley, and prepare the whole duck (SN$50) according to the rules. First of all, the well roasted and crispy skin is removed carefully. Then, the skin is rolled inside what they call pancakes, but which actually rather looks like the Greek Pita bread. Much enjoyable: both for the eyes and the palate. Then, the duck meat is chopped, and served with some sunflower seeds. That wonderful specialty can be enjoyed as a main course: a duck can generously accommodate four hungry people. Another alternative is the MARINATED BACKED LAMB, prepared just like in Beijing: well grilled, and crispy. A medium portion is SN$30. We know they serve the most prestigious wines and Cognac, but we preferred to enjoy the all lunch with a selection of their best teas: the Chinese way ! As a dessert, you can either try that very special CHILLED HERBAL JELLY, extremely popular in Singapore. We had a lot of it during our stay, and this strange thing (half dessert, half drink...) could be enjoyed by some of you... They also have DOUBLE BOILED BIRD'S NEST WITH ROCK SUGAR: an expensive (SN$50) "delicacy" we successfully succeed to avoid during our multiple visits to Chinese restaurants. As one already understood, we are not fond of Chinese desserts ! We preferred to have an Italian ice-cream (prepared by a French chef) at the TOP OF THE M, the unique revolving restaurant in town. From the 39th floor of the MANDARIN SINGAPORE, we could enjoy our dessert and our expresso while discovering a dramatic panorama over a city which, after all, looks greener than one could imagine from the ground. The Indonesian islands are not that far, and we can see Malaysia quite clearly. Just for a coffee or, better, for a romantic dinner, it is worth visiting the place. PINE
COURT (MANDARIN SINGAPORE HOTEL): 333, Orchard Rd, Singapore 238867
(35th floor, main tower)
MIN
JIANG (****): Located in the very plush GOODWOOD
PARK HOTEL, the MIN JIANG is an excellent Chinese restaurant. This
is a must for all successful Singaporean businessmen, spending here a significant
percentage of their astronomic wages. We have been truly We then had a Live Local Lobster anointed with Chinese Herbs: very fresh indeed, perfectly though simply cooked. Three sizes and seasonal rates are available. For our selection, the price charged was S$50 (about US$30): a little bit expensive for South-East Asia, but still OK for Singapore where such a fine meal is a real delicacy. And we are at the legendary GOODWOOD's: don't forget it! Very affordable and recommended are the Frog Legs Stir Fried with Ginger and Spring Onions (about S$15). By the way: did you know that Chinese share with French people a particular taste for frogs ? They cook them just like the best chefs do in our country. We still remember the ones Alain Senderens (Lucas-Carton Paris) prepared to our special attention one day in Bangkok. We found here the same know-how, with this "je-ne-sais-quoi" making this meal absolutely enjoyable. It was even able to made us forget our lobster: can you imagine ?! As a dessert, the Mango Pudding was fine, light, with a completely original taste. Note that if you really want to impress your guests, or your neighbors, they propose (what were reported to us as) the best sharks fins in Singapore... providing you order the "ultimate grade" Double Boiled Superior Sharks Fins with Snow Frogs (between S$200 and 350)... going, but of course, very well with a bottle of Dom Perignon. A so very glamorous and excellent restaurant, where you can definitely be sure not to be crossed by backpackers; even on Sunday, when the "TIM-SUM BREAKFAST" goes for a ridiculously inexpensive S$12.80 (on the period of our visit, June 1997). MIN JIANG (at GOODWOOD
PARK HOTEL)
CHATTERBOX COFFEE HOUSE
(****): We usually don't pay attention to the large hotels cafeterias:
all get the same impersonal and strictly business oriented appearance,
and The chicken they serve here is quite a sophisticated one, indeed. It receives a special breeding by farm in Malaysia, and comes very tender in the plate. Each serving comprises succulent, deboned chicken with fragrant Thai rice, bean curd soup, freshly made chili sauce, quality dark soya sauce, and ground ginger. We found portions that generous that we ordered nothing more. One 2kg chicken provides four portions: twice more, at least, than at any hawker's. The meal is that much enjoyed, that the most portions sold in one single day was 1422 ! We ignore of it was quoted in the Guiness Book of Records; but we know that THE MANDARIN SINGAPORE had been multi awarded for its aristocratic chicken. The MANDARIN CHICKEN RICE is also served outside the hotel, at OUB
CHATTERBOX and OUB CENTRE at Raffles Place, in Singapore business district.
CHATTERBOX
COFFEE HOUSE (THE MANDARIN SINGAPORE): 333, Orchard Rd, Singapore 238867
PALM'S
(****): Even if management calls
the place an "Asian brasserie" -which sounds weird!- the PALM'S is actually,
to the sophisticated eye and palate, a Californian He prepared for us a Filet of Canadian Salmon, with a Salad of Watercress and fried Potatoes Vermicelli. Delicious and light, this was a pleasant meal fitting the tropical weather in Singapore. The Stuffed Boneless Turkey with Honey Soy Sauce was tenderly tasty. For dessert, we could hardly formulate our choice amidst such delicious indecision due to the variety of pastries, creams and fruits available on the buffet. We finally selected a Walnuts Cake, just like the ones we already enjoyed in the good Parisian "bistros". The bread transported our taste buds to France, so similar was the quality: crispy outside and smooth inside. Only our old-fashioned bakers still make it that great. Wine was an Australian "Mountadam - Pinot Noir 1995": very good value and a most pleasant one. Gourmet travelers with a purse thinner than their stomach will delight in the "Everlasting Spread Buffet" which, every Saturday, non-stop from 11.30am till 10.30pm, allows them to enjoy an unlimited selection of delicious dishes... for about US$25. This is the cheapest banquet in Singapore, indeed ! PALM'S (NOVOTEL ORCHID SINGAPORE)
: 214, Dunearn Road, Singapore 299526
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 FIRST
CLASS AROUND THE WORLD |
This
is THE restaurant in Singapore. Before selecting our airline, booking the
hotels and organizing the tours, we just made sure about one key thing:
we must have a reservation at THE ALKAFF MANSION. This superb residence
used to be the property of the prosperous Alkaff muslim family. The mansion,
on the top of the Telok Blangah Green, is a visible reminder of the strong
colonial presence in the Singapore of the 1920's. Reaching this top hill
mansion is by itself a pleasant experience, which brings you quite exhausted
and thirsty to the doors (if you didn't take a cab!) There is greenery
and flowers abounding. The house communicates intimately with the visitor
inducing the feeling that he is the warmly expected guest of some millionaire
friends: there is a beautiful park, a huge reception area, and a magnificent
dinning room on the first floor with a dramatic view expanding over the
city and the Indonesian islands. To make you feel as if you are anywhere
but in a restaurant, the management has a sophisticated trick: there is
no uniformity among the tables or the chairs, as if your host was obliged
to corral them from the other rooms to receive so many guests... Now, what
about the food? This is when we went nuts realizing what we missed! We
came for lunch, enjoyed very tasty meals in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere,
with the pleasant company of a beautiful PR Manager sure... but we were
proposed international cuisine. OK, the lobster was excellent. Sure the
grilled salmon was impeccably first class. Of course the dessert made out
of fresh mangoes was digestive. But where were the real specialties of
THE ALKAFF MANSION: we mean, the "RIJSTTAFFELS"?!
This
is actually the most celebrated restaurant inside the 
impressed
by the food proposed in the a la carte menu: the choice was huge, generous,
and the quality absolutely worth a detour. Take small portions, please!:
as by "small" they do mean medium. We were even unable to finish some of
our meals: which was a pity. If you are not Chinese, please do follow our
suggestions: Start with the Dim Sum (they call here "Tim Sum"). They are
not the cheap and ordinary ones you can buy for peanuts in the hawker food
centers downtown; they arrive rich and savourous, stuffed with fine seafood.
Selections with the crab meat were great, but with Saint-Jacques it was
simply superb !
all
serve the same standard international food. The CHATTERBOX COFFEE HOUSE,
in 
restaurant.
High-tech with light decoration, modern minimalist shaped wood tables and
banquettes contrasting with sophisticated black marble counters displaying
meals on silver plated trays: the dining room should suit the requirements
of the New Age golden boys from San Francisco. The chef, Steven Keil, hails
from this inventive city where he used to be employed in the highly reputed
kitchens of the SOFITEL.