European / American

This new fusion tapas restaurant opened at 📍Telok Ayer serves up western dishes with an Asian twist. I love the warm and modern interior here, which really sets the mood for romantic dates!

It's also on 🌠 burpple beyond 🌠 which means 1 for 1 for plates not from the bincho.

Note that the plates here are tapas-style so they're quite small; my partner and I ordered 5 plates + 1 dessert in total (~$50 each) and we were just satisfied. However, you can be assured that each dish will be an exciting culinary treat -- each dish combined hints of Asian flavours innovatively without detracting from each one's western roots.

My only gripe was perhaps the music choice. I appreciate a good indie R&B now and then but it didn't quite fit the mood in the restaurant.

Baste shoestring fries ($14) 🍟 4/5

I'm a sucker for fries and couldn't resist ordering this despite the price point. I'd have to say these were one of the most well-seasoned fries I've ever had. I'm not sure what the spices were but I suspect a hint of hae bee hiam. 😶

This was another shot in the dark. But it turned out so good! Ricotta is usually tasteless to me but there was a certain sweet umami to this one that balanced out the sharpness of the juicy cherry tomatoes.

I was skeptical about the sambal, but this one blew our socks away as well. The hint of the fiery paste wasn't too overpowering, and combined with the cincalok left me with a memory of rich chili crab sauce. The dish is served cold but the octopus itself was firm and tender.

I thought this was pretty tender but the method of plating had it cooling down too fast... Comparatively, this was a decent steak but wasn't as exciting as the other mod-sin influenced dishes.

Also, the butter had a strange preserved taste added on by the dried shrimp. I didn't like it.

This was seared to perfection! Just look at that colour. The more lean parts of the pork turned out a little dry though but was balanced out by the more fatty parts if you eat it vertically.

I was expecting the same caramelised apples found in the pork in this one, but all I got were saccharine... dates? The ice cream didn't taste creamy enough either, and didn't have any visible vanilla bits in them. Felt a bit like a letdown after the amazing meal 😪

One of the more eye-catching restaurants under #burpplebeyond at 📍Suntec City, @madforgarlicsg offers pizzas, pastas, and mains with a focus on well... garlic. I quite liked the dark, mysterious interior of this corner restaurant, which lends it a swankier feel than other cafes at this price range.

This pizza was simple yet stunning. The toppings had us scratching our head because they comprised shrimp, pineapples, garlic chips, and decadent layer of parmesan cheese, but they all came together beautifully. I also loved the cripsy thin crust, which I found myself devouring even though I usually leave my pizza crusts aside.

I was on the fence about asking them to ditch the pineapple but I'm glad I kept them on because they really helped cut through the pungent garlic chips. A must try to stave off the vampires!

Do not be fooled, this pizza holds itself out as a cheeseburger but tastes more like a big mac 👀 maybe for legal reasons...? The toppings were alright but tasted kind of strange with the thin crust.

Perched atop Mount Faber, catch spectacular views here ! This location is so scenic it's also popular for weddings -- an adjacent restaurant was hosting 2 that day. You may also recognise this as the end of the Harbourfront cablecar.

As this was their signature dish, I knew I had to order it. I don't care much for prawns but these were definitely fresh! The angel hair in lobster infused oil with the spring onions tasted a bit like wanton mee to my boorish buds but a very delicious one.

Mediocre calamari rings and a mediocre batter. We asked for more mayonnaise and they refused us even though they served some pink mayo-based sauce with this.

So hear me out. This may be $88 but it gives you 4 pieces of bone in lamb ribs. Also, we asked for medium rare and got the most beautifully pink meat that was consistent throughout.

I really can't resist ordering this cafe classic wherever I go. This version with halibut was alright but I expected more crisp out of beer batter.