Located on Stanley Street, the Singapore outpost of Barcelona's Michelin-starred Restaurant Gaig serves delish Spanish plates, with a focus on Catalan classics. While cosy, the white-washed space is inviting, and the rustic cooking is steadily winning the Burpple community over. The Paellas (from $28.20) are foolproof, but it's the Catalan dishes that are likely to lure you back. Try the flawless Stuffed Baby Calamari ($24.50), which sees the calamari stuffed with minced squid, beef, pork and egg, and slicked in a rich tomato-based sauce, and the Pig Trotter with Turnips ($19.20), a super comforting dish that features melt-in-the-mouth meat. Order the Chocolate Beignets ($12.70) for dessert. Battered, deep-fried dark chocolate ganache balls that are crisp on the outside and silky smooth within? Yes please.
Avg Price: $40 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Blueskies Cottonclouds
Thankfully, the team at Gaig recommended that we try the stuffed baby calamaris. I was bowled over by it. Cooked in a rich tomato based sauce, the baby calamaris were stuffed with minced squid, beef, pork and egg. We finished this stew in no time and slurped up all the sauce. I can't wait to come back and try the other stews.
The cooking here has a rustic and homely charm which we enjoyed a lot. This classic Catalan special of Stuffed Baby Calamari was one of the dishes we ordered and it had us wiping up every bit of it in the pot.
Each little squid was delectably tender but it was what's inside that propelled it to exceptional status. The minced filling of squid tentacles, beef, pork and egg was deliciously juicy and full of natural sweetness.
The distinct rice grains possessed formidable bite – assisted by little bits of baby calamari tentacles for added crunchiness – and a home-style wok char. Elsewhere, the seafood was undeniably fresh – the clams squirted out its inner fresh brine with energetic gusto, the fish was positively Chinese in its steamed personality, and while the calamari retained its natural oceanic odour within its labyrinthine walls, it never came across as needing a bath. 4/5
