Dining in Singapore
 

Hello friends,
My husband and I will be honeymooning in Singapore for 2 nights at the Marina Bay Sands. We are very much looking forward to our stay and can't wait to get a feel of the city. With that said, we are what some may call "foodies". We LOVE a good meal. Unfortunately, Zagat does not review Singapore restaurants yet.

To get an idea of what we are looking for, in New York we usually visit cozy American (New) places that range from $150 to $230 for the both of us, including a bottle of wine. Of course, we are not going to Singapore to eat American food, I am just trying to give any idea of our tastes. We also love French, Italian, Spanish, Vietnamese, etc... (I do try to stay away from Thai food, though)

Any restaurant recommendation would be greatly appreciated!!

Very warm regards,
O. Brusov

Singapore is filled with fabulous food, from upscale restaurants to food stalls.

An old favorite of ours is Les Amis Au Jardin (French, of course) located in teh botanical gardens. It is a great place for a long, lingering lunch in the lush gardens.

Consider one of the restaurants at Raffles. Doc Cheng's is another old favorite of ours. They have romantic curtained booths and pan-Asian cuisine.

Thank you Kathie, I will definitely put Les Amis Au Jardin on the list.

I have heard good thing of the restaurants at Raffles. What kind of food and setting do they offer at Doc Cheng's?

Also, after doing some of my own research I found these three places that I thought were interesting, if anyone has any feedback - I would be happy to read it. 1. Le Bistrot du Sommelier, 2. Esquina, and 3. Wild Rocket.

Thank you!

The Straits Kitchen at the Grand Hyatt. I know, it's a buffet. However it it like a Hawker center, except in a lovely, Air conditioned setting. All the food will be cooked fresh while you wait. There are a whole bunch of stations, each one offering a different cuisine; Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, Nonya, Indian, etc. theres also a juice bar and a dessert stall.

The seafood restaurants out at Long Island are terrific. There are several, including Jumbo's, but are not in the least romantic. Excellent seafood, especially the local specialties of Chili Crab and pepper crab.

You really should check out the blog ieatishootipost written by a doctor in Singapore. He IS the Zagat of Singapore.

Greetings OBrusov, warm welcome to Fodors, and congratulations on forthcoming honeymoon stay in our fine home of Singapore.

Suspect you'll enjoy the Marina Bay Sands. Have never stayed at the property (pre-property purchase, the Four Seasons was my primary SIN business travel hotel), but upon her completion, I was invited for a tour of one of her Marina Suites. Very special lodging, up high, with numerous amenities and perks.

With only two nights in our little slice of heaven, tough to narrow down those dining options. Of those listed above, remain partial to one of 'our' sentimental, romantic favourites, Au Jardin. (And if desirous of upscale weekend dim sum for you and all, my review of Jade on my profile page doesn't begin to do her proper justice; great staff and a special friend at that place.)

Can't resist mentioning a recent (and popular; advance reservations, please) favourite, Restaurant Andre, overseen by the esteemed Chef Andre; talented gentleman. (We followed him over from his former locale, Jaan, at the Swissotel, The Stamford property - which remains special in her own right, gorgeous views and all.)

Any chance you will be departing Singapore via suites, first or business class on my primary business travel carrier, Singapore Airlines? If so, SIA Singapore-based catering has done a bit of a menu re-do with her Book the Cook offerings. Of late, have been partial to her Singaporean and Malay offerings. (And her Thai BTC options, flying SQ ex-SIN to Bangkok for work; have always loved Thai cuisine, nice way to kick off a BKK business trip.)

So much more to suggest for you, but a bit rushed on this Friday morning business travel day. Savour your planning and warm and early weekend wishes to you and all,

macintosh (robert)


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

Icuy, thank you for your great advice. I have actually heard of the Straits Kitchen before, glad to know it is still recommended.

I will review ieatishootipost, it sounds very interesting.

And who wouldn't love a good crab now and then, :-)

Robert,
Two nights is very little, I agree. We will be spending the majority of our honeymoon in Bali. Singapore will be our last stop before home. With two recommendations for Au Jardin in this post alone, we will be sure not to miss it.

I will look into Restaurant Andre, I believe I have already read some great things about it.

Unfortunately, we will not get a chance to relax on Singapore Airlines on our way home, we will be flying Delta. But we will try not to miss it on our next trip over.

Thank you, and good luck on your travels!

The indian restaurant at the Raffles - Tiffin Room, is quite good, if you are into that cuisine.

For a more continental fare - the Gordon Grill at GoodWood Park is a very nice choice.

I'm in Singapore now and can see Marina Sands from my room at the Mandarin Oriental. Tonight I ate at the hotel -- its on-site restaurants are good and, more importantly, I don't have to compete with throngs trying to get cabs on a week-end night. Last night, I walked over to the Merlion/Fullerton area and wandered around, sweating like a pig, and thought I'd catch a cab back from the Fullerton Hotel. The cab wait was over 40 minutes. I sucked it up and sweated my way back to the MO (not a long walk, but I was already hot and sweaty from other walks). This afternoon, I hung out in the AC at Ion Orchard, had tea at one of the TWG salons (recommended, I had the premium white tea and bought some Margaret's Hope Darjeeling Secong Flush to take back), then caught a cab home from IO -- at 7:30 pm, the wait wasn't so bad, only about 15 minutes, but I could see long lines at every taxi stand I passed on the way home. FWIW, the Cherry Garden and Wasabi restaurants here are nice and you can walk here from the Marina Sands.

LL - that is one reason I like to chose at hotel with easy access to the MRT.

50 best restaurants in Asia

http://www.camemberu.com/2013/02/asi...ants-2013.html

From Singapore
5. Restaurant Andre, Singapore
9. Iggy’s, Singapore
11. Waku Ghin, Singapore
14. Les Amis, Singapore
22. JAAN, Singapore
24. L’atelier De Joel Robuchon, Singapore
32. Shinji by Kanesaka, Singapore
35. Osteria Mozza, Singapore
43. Gunther’s, Singapore
49. Imperial Treasure, Singapore

I hate trying to find cabs in Singapore, especially since they changed the law about hailing them a couple of years ago.

Sky on 57 right where you are staying is a great experience and may be within your budget if you choose carefully...

Zagat is launching a Singapore guide online (see http://www.soshiok.com/article/21002) - be patient, it's coming up real soon.

Till then, I suggest these:
1. Restaurant Andre (about S$280++ per head)
2. Jaan (pick the artisan menu, priced at S$280 per head I think)
3. Binomio (book the gastronomic restaurant, not tapas area, for well-executed modern Spanish fare, budget about S$100+ per head)
4. Lolla for fusion tapas plates (http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/the-10...-in-world.html, budget about S$80 per head)
5. Le Bistrot du Sommelier for extremely well-executed French bistro fare (budget about S$50 per head)
6. Majestic (for modern Chinese, budget about S$80 per head)
7. Hua Ting (for classic Cantonese fare, about S$100 per head)
8. If you don't mind splurging up to S$500 per head, go to Shinji by Kanesaka for top-notch Japanese fare (they make excellent sushi).

All the best
Evelyn

Of course it may be much below your budget but we ate at an Indian place across the road from the Bot Garden. Very Indian, as we ate off banana leaves and the server came round with more and more tasty dishes. And the local limeaid drink was great. Cost, very acceptable to us. Mostly locals were eating on that Tuesday so there is not much 'face' gained as an 'expat'.

Another vote for restaurant Andre - we went there last year in May. Excellent!!!

bmk

First of all, thanks for asking this question as we are headed back to Singapore later this month and always looking for good restaurant suggestions!

Thought I'd mention two of our favorite spots, one for coffee and one for lunch since you have lots of dinner ideas...

40 Hands - http://bit.ly/HCe8Wj
Blk 78 Yong Siak Street, #01-12, Tiong Bahru Estate, www.40handscoffee.com
One of the best coffees we've had - and we have a bit of an obsession with good coffee - in an off-the-beaten path area of Singapore. We heard later that Yong Siak Street is an up-and-coming area for foodies.

ODP (Open Door Policy) - http://www.odpsingapore.com/
Same street as 40 Hands, we only snacked here, but will be back on our next trip. The food looks amazing, the bar and cocktail list are fantastic, they make an excellent coffee and the restaurant was packed before normal lunch hours. They have an extensive menu at lunch, dinner and brunch. (We ended up eating at 40 Hands, which was great, but more casual than ODP and we have heard only great things about it.)

Hope this helps. We lived in NYC and Paris and it sounds like we enjoy good food as much as you do, so I do hope you like these spots and enjoy your time in Singapore!

30Travel, I agree with you about the Tiong Bahru area. I loved walking around there (even in the heat!). Thanks for the ODP rec -- I will keep that in mind for the next trip.

30travel, thank you for the great advise. In my quest to find great dinner locales, I completely overlooked lunch! I will definitely look into the places you mentioned, especially since my husband loves good coffee (I am more of a tea drinker).