Spaghetti with Pan-fried Sea Bass ($18)
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Back @papercranesg for their 1-for-1 pastas (every tues & thurs) and I cannot think of a better pasta deal elsewhere! You get to choose any 2 pastas (doesn’t have to be the same choice) from their seasonal menu promising to bring you you their freshest produce and latest creations. This spaghetti was tossed in brown butter and roasted onion sauce, delivering a light yet tasty flavour. The seabass cubes are prepared using fresh seabass supplied by Ah Hua Kelong! I’m so sad to see this place become just a memory by month end.
Had my eye on this for quite some time now and I finally got to try it yesterday (during their 1-for-1 pastas day)! There's something so curious about their pastas with weird, funky flavours but they mostly seem to work wonders!
This was right up my alley. Served slightly chilled, the perfectly al dente pasta in a slick and super fragrant sauce and umami braised mushrooms was just super appetizing. Inspired by their Hong Kong travels, you can see how their experience has translated into this unique take on a pasta dish. 🍝
Really sad it took me soooo long to finally visit Paper Crane as this will be their last month in operations. If you've visited them before and liked their food (or even if you haven't), drop by and have a meal before the shutters go down on Sep 29th! 🏃
Southern Style Fried Chicken ($15)
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Shooting myself in the foot for not popping by earlier even though I’ve heard about @papercranesg for some time from @nantheless . There couldn’t be a better time to pop by than on Mondays for a fried chicken fanatic. Mondays is one-for-one day for their popular southern style fried chicken and therefore, at $15, you get 2 plates of 3 LARGE and juicy pieces of fried chicken with an absolutely crispy, crunchy and crumbly crust that’s addictively good to munch on. Accompany that with their tangy and slightly fiery house-made chilli paste and I’m sure a return trip would be necessary!
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Papercrane also serves up other one-for-one offers on other days. I’ll be heading over soon for their one-for-one pastas every Tuesdays and Thursdays! How’s that for a great deal!
Ah Hua Kelong Mussels ($20)
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@Papercranesg is a strong supporter of Ah Hua Kelong’s fresh catch and hence they serve up seasonal catches on their menu. This picture does little justice to the bowl of XL sized mussels simmered in white wine herb broth. The umami-laden broth was so slurp-worthy it was a dilemma of whether to slurp it up or worry about the calories. I caved in. The mussels were so fresh and plump without any tinge of the smelly fishy taste. Place a mussel on a spoon full of broth and the result upon entry into the mouth is pure bliss. I love the thoughtfulness of the owner, serving up a side plate of toast with their housemade green chilli paste for you to mop up the broth. A wickedly awesome complement to the mussels! A tip is to make a trip down on Saturdays when their mussels is at 50% off for the 2nd serving ordered!
Southern Fried Chicken 🍗 ($15)
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Buuuuut it's 1-for-1 on Mondays at Paper Crane! Super worth it and really tasty as well, the crusty batter was yummo and covered tender slabs of chicken. While the chicken was thinly cut, it still gave a nice meaty bite most of the time (and there's three massive pieces to boot!). You'll also get some of their homemade chilli that's bright and tangy and great for cutting through all the heaviness from the fried chicken. 🌶
They have different promotions everyday (saaaay, 1-for-1 pastas or $10 beer battered FnC), so there's always something that's great value for money everyday!🤑 Just note that there's limited indoor seating so you might wanna chope a seat online before heading down.
My second visit to this cafe because we missed the fish&chips! Went on a wednesday night and got this at $10 nett! Super good quality dish because the seabass (from ah hua kelong) is so fresh and well fried without losing the tenderness.
The sauce deserve a special mention because they are prepared by the cafe and are very delicious.
We also ordered the ginger pineapple drink ($4) which was a surprisingly refreshing combination.
The papercrane cafe has different promotion on weekdays. Definitely worth a visit!
Honestly I wasn't expecting this to turn out quite as fusion as this given its name, but I am actually quite happy having this. It's something meant for those with heavier palettes for how this pasta is an umami and savoury affair. It's laced up with quite a fair bit of ginger scallion oil, so expect slurpy pasta with just a hint of garlicky yet umami flavour that comes with a light touch of ginger and dried shrimp that helps to enhance the flavours further. Very Asian, yet goes with the pasta very well.
Like if this helps you! 👌
💵 Cash/NETS only
☀ Alfresco seats only
🌬 2 pax air-con seats next to cashier
🚫 No service charge or GST
Happy hour is from 5-8PM; all beers (bottled) are $10 nett 😏
💵 Cash/NETS only
☀ Alfresco seats only
🌬 2 pax air-con seats next to cashier
🚫 No service charge or GST
Spaghetti in Pesto ($10)
This was alright, with some mushrooms here & there. It's great that it is wallet-friendly, but lacks the oomph I'd look for in a good pesto pasta.
Kimchi Fries with Grilled Steak in Cilantro Mayo ($15 nett)
If you're looking for flaming hot kimchi, please adjust your expectations. The kimchi wasn't spicy to me- but added a good refreshing sourness with the thick cut fries. Wish there were more kimchi though because I ran out quite quickly & was left with plain fries.
Grilled steak was perfectly done, in bite-sized slices. Wish there were more in quantity but for the price, I am not complaining.
Cilantro Mayo is quite something- a good sauce with either the fries or steak or BOTH 😉
Spaghetti with Pan Fried Sea Bass in Brown Butter & Onions ($18 nett)
Perfectly cooked sea bass chunks, onions & garlic cloves browned just right, & cherry tomatoes that add enough acidity to the dish. I think some might consider this bland, but it was just right for me.
If you blink, you might miss it! Paper Crane is nestled in the grounds of SCWO. Dress comfortably, as most of the seats here are outdoors - I think only 3 seats in the air-conditioned space next to the cashier.
Rather obscure location that takes a while to walk to (under the sun) but What Value For Money!!! Where else can u find 90g of beautifully seasoned steak for 5 dollars nett? Didnt really like the chicken personally but the fennel onion pasta was really good, and the seabass was fresh and tender as well(ala carte 10nett add-on). Lots and lots of protein for a meat lover at a really reasonable price.
I think this isn't on the menu, and was a special request from Nan to Kamei the owner to prepare it for us.
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The pork loin was wrapped with bacon and stuffed with otah sourced from Ah Hua kelong, then served with this yummy sauce made from pork fats! They're still making changes to how they cook this so it may be different and better when you have it next.
i maintain that adding kimchi to food makes it taste better. case in point - kimchi fries. crisp fries paired with crunchy slivers of sour cabbage - the koreans are geniuses!!
and beneath that slightly thick beer batter is seabass, people. not blah-tasting mushy dory but seabass. with just enough firmness and juiciness - it might just be my favourite fish.
#BurppleXChope
The grilled salmon has very crispy skin while being super tender on the inside. It is served with their usual super delicious fries and salad. The salmon here is sourced fresh everyday. You don’t get any frozen salmon here at Paper Crane. I'm honestly quite satisfied with their rendition and I'll definitely be back for this! 😉
See our updated review at http://thehungrygeek.com/2016/03/24/paper-crane-cafe-buttermilk-chicken/
Quite something that I quite liked even though I don't really fancy things with ginger. It's a rather easy drink for it carries of an easy sweet start, but gulp it in and that's when it carries a rather mild spiciness that seems to stay on both on the tongue and lips and builds on with subsequent sips. This works so well with fried food especially, and even better if you have chili dip for the fried food — every single sip just seems to help add a little bit more spiciness to the food which makes it a really interesting drink to try.
This is a surprisingly good combination of flavours that mashes the best fragrance from east and west. You can get it at only S$15! 😙
Full review at http://thehungrygeek.com/2016/03/24/paper-crane-cafe-buttermilk-chicken/ (active link at bio)
The beer-batter is made using Dead Pony Pale Ale which has grapefruit, orange peel and pine flavours all rolled into one. The batter is just like their fries, perfectly crispy. The sea bass is soft, fresh and fragrant. We requested for cilantro mayonnaise to go with their sea bass and it matched perfectly.
Fish and chips lovers MUST try this!
See full review at http://thehungrygeek.com/2016/03/24/paper-crane-cafe-buttermilk-chicken/
