5 Restaurants with Refreshed Menus To Keep Your Tastebuds Dancing
CONTENT: Michelle Ng
We’re very spoilt for choice in a food haven like Singapore – there will be no shortage of restaurants or cafes to discover because it feels like there’s a new one opening every day. While I do enjoy visiting new restaurants, there are a few hotspots which keeps me going back because their food is just that good.
Here are 5 restaurants that have been around for a while, but has just refreshed their menus and we’re all for it because it’s another reason to head back!
Kaarla Wood-fire Bar & Grill
Kaarla Wood-fire Bar & Grill returns as a casual bar and grill, turning the spotlight on Australia and Japanese flavours in their updated menu. The Australian cuisine surfaces in fresh ingredients and produce, while the Japanese flavours brings out the best of the ingredients with balanced seasonings.
Dishes are designed to be shared, with addicting snacks like the deep-fried Lotus Root Chips topped with furikake and dashi honey and the freshly baked Parker Brioche with shio kombu butter. You can tell a lot about the restaurant from their beef tartare, and Kaarla’s rendition comes with pickled onions and a smoky sauce to add a touch of wood-char. Highlights are of course the grilled dishes; try the Sanchoku Wagyu Sirloin MBS 6 complemented with tamari beef jus, flakey John Dory in a lemon sauce and ikura, and juicy Charred Cauliflower. With expansive views of the Marina Bay skyline and happy hour $15 pours, Kaarla makes for an excellent go-to spot in the heart of town whether you’re catching up with some friends or talking shop with colleagues.
88 Market St, #51-02, CapitaSpring Singapore 048948
Dolce Vita, Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Dolce Vita reopens its doors at the recently renovated Mandarin Oriental Singapore with a new Restaurant Chef Roberto Zorzoli. The Italian chef is in his element here, lending his Italian roots and two years of culinary experience to breathe new life into Dolce Vita’s current small but carefully curated menu.
Classics like Polpette – also known as huge juicy Italian meatballs, a Fritto Misto feast of battered calamari, crunchy prawns and sea bass, and Burrata Caprese are a good way to start your meal. Defintiely make room for the Aragostga – a savoury Boston lobster bisque with charred lobster chunks or the Al Nero Di Seppia, their signature squid ink risotto that doesn’t overdo the umami with cuttlefish and mullet roe. Come with a group of friends to share the Tomahawk steak, 1.5kg of tender meat that just falls off the bone with red wine steak jus. And of course we can have a taste of home as Chef Roberto knows it, with his grandmother’s recipes used in dishes like Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola and Tiramisu.
Level 5, 5 Raffles Avenue, Mandarin Oriental Singapore, Singapore 039797
Altro Zafferano
Another jewel hidden in the high-rise office towers, Altro Zafferano has done a little spring cleaning on their menu with the power chef duo Executive Chef Andrea De Paola from Milan and Head Chef Daniele La Rocca from Rome. The four-course experience menu allows you to curate your own experience from the ala-carte menu, with a range of flavours and classic Southern Italian dishes to suit various palettes.
For starters, start with a Hokkaido Scallops Crudo, where succulent scallop slices are layered with baby zucchini slices and salmon ikura for a burst of texture and flavour, or the Poached White Asparagus, a crunchy yet punchy stalks are served with a savoury black garlic puree. If you could only have one pasta, the Pappardelle will not let down, with a creamy mushroom sauce with Morel Mushrooms and pungent Black Truffle. The mains present a selection of seafood and premium meats, like the Jac Wagyu MBS 7+ Striploin with Smoked Marrow Jus where the tender meat just melts in your mouth, or the Wild Dover Sole, flaky fish served with a light Prosecco sauce that pairs well with a rose to bring out the fruity flavours. Dessert’s a fun one, with a tangy Limoncello Granita to end the meal on a lighter, citrusy note, or indulge in a sinful Giffoni Hazelnut and Dark Chocolate cake.
10 Collyer Quay, Level 43, Singapore 049315
Madison’s, Pullman Singapore Hill Street
Sundays at Madison’s is a New York affair with their newest Madison Square Brunch. Mix and match your own brunch platter for sharing amongst your friends, with selections of Mad’s Fried Chicken with Waffles, Reuben! Reuben! Sandwiches, as well as Madison’s all-time favourites. Other popular dishes include the Egg Avocaddict, their take on the classic Eggs Benedict but packed with avocado, and the Tempting Table with a curated selection of cheese and charcuterie. Fill up on the Land & Sea Platter, heaped with juicy sausages, grilled tiger prawns and MB3 Black Angus in BBQ and grain mustard sauce.
What’s brunch without bottomless drinks? The restaurant also has a new Hendrick’s Gin & Spritz Station, and has package add-ons for free-flow gins, Spritzes, Prosecco, and Champagne.
1 Hill Street, Pullman Singapore, Singapore 179949
5 ON 25, Andaz Singapore
5 ON 5 reinvents Cantonese cuisine with a refined balance between tradition and innovation as its open its doors with an exciting new menu by Chinese Head Chef Lim Hong Lih. Start your gastronomic journey with Fried Asutralian Jumbo Quail Legs, which has a crispy golden skin that belays subtle gamey flesh, or the Chef’s Signature Wok-Fried South African Perlemoen Abalone with Green Peppercorn, where the auspicious dish tastes heavenly with a balance of heat and sweetness.
As you gather with friends and family, the 5 ON 25 Cantonese Style Roasted Cage-Free Cherry Valley Duck or the Drunken Herbal Anxin Chicken in Aged Shaoxing Wine will pair well with their selection of Chinese wines from Allofme or Tiansai Vineyard. Even their desserts are equally indulgent, with a Chilled Toasted Sesame Pudding & Apricot Egg Tart and a trio combination of Sweetened Pistachio Soup, Lychee Lime Sorbet, Chinese Walnut Cookies to end your meal on a sweet note.
5 Fraser St, Level 25, Andaz Singapore, Singapore 189354
