RESTAURANTS BARS SINGAPORE

In the Lion City, authentic Asian offerings are available for a song, and haute cuisine makes your heart sing. By Yu-Mei Balasingamchow

Majestic Restaurant
New Majestic Hotel 31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road +65 6511 4718 11.30am to 3.30pm; 6.30 to 11pm daily
Located in the swanky New Majestic Hotel, Majestic Restaurant presents an innovative twist on traditional Cantonese cuisine. With its modern decor, cosy setting and two degustation menus, there really isn’t another Cantonese restaurant like this in Singapore. The a la carte menu showcases an impressive variety of live seafood dishes and unusual fare such as shark’s bone soup with fish maw and Beijing cabbage. Not to be missed are the chef’s signature dishes such as crispy prawn with wasabi dressing, Peking duck impeccably matched with pan-seared foie gras and grilled rack of lamb in Chinese honey, served with delicious pan-fried carrot cake. Leave room for dessert: the crispy ice cream durian is to die for! Dinner will set you back SGD60-80 a person.

Cafe Cosmo
47 Amoy Street +65 6220 9510 `
3pm to midnight (Mon-Fri); 5pm to 12am (Sat)
In just one year, this eclectic cafe has built up a reputation for itself as the place to go to chill out. Run by two indie music lovers, its quirky setting is the perfect venue to meet other music aficionados and performers for a beer or a coffee (no more than SGD10 each), and sample all the best music that you won’t hear on radio. The cafe’s impressive CD collection ranges from techno and electronica to dub, reggae and trip-hop. You can also pick up rare imported music CDs or a vintage music T-shirt, or listen to local independent DJs and musicians. On Thursdays, the CD decks and floor are open to anyone who wants to spin music or perform an acoustic set, while Fridays are Indie Pop Nite.

Fortunate Restaurant
181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh #02-602
+65 6363 1717 8am to 11pm daily
For over 30 years, Fortunate Restaurant has served up piping hot dim sum favourites that just keep the crowds coming. It carries, astoundingly, more than 100 items in its lunchtime spread. Besides familiar items such as siew mai (meat dumplings) and har gow (crystal prawn dumplings), Fortunate’s award-winning Hong Kong chef Huang Ching Biao has also dreamed up many original concoctions, like moist prawn and pork meatballs wrapped in strips of crispy wonton skin, and fresh scallop and asparagus dumplings. Also savour coffee-flavoured pork ribs and Hunan style shredded pork with chives and black beans, and prawns in a light sour plum sauce. On weekends, get a reservation or be prepared to wait. Prices start at SGD3.

Restaurant 1827 Thai
1 Parliament House, #01-02, Old Parliament House +65 6337 1871
Noon to 3pm; 6 to 11pm daily
Step into the boudoir-like 1827 and you’ll instantly feel like reclining on the plush seats, seductively shaded by a metal bead curtain. The food is just as sexy: let the crisply attired staff introduce you to an astonishing menu that takes modern Thai cuisine into a new dimension. Start with their fresh green mango salad with seared scallops, or a steamed egg custard with shark’s fin – heaven! Then try their roast duck curry with caramelised grapes and honey pineapples or their braised lamb shank in tom yum flavoured sauce. You can’t leave without their wonderful desserts such as pandan tiramisu. A meal for two will set you back about SGD100.

RESTAURANTS CHIANGMAI

Ask those in the know: Chiang Mai has a very sophisticated wining and dining scene. By Pim Kemasingki.

Darling Wine Pub
49/21 Huay Kaew Road
+66 (53) 353 383
5pm till midnight
Darling is a favourite with wine connoisseurs and those who simply enjoy good ambience and conversation. The first wine bar in the north, Darling is different every night – some evenings you will find expatriates arguing over politics; other nights partygoers dance the night away; and yet on other nights lovers cast lingering glances over a nightcap. Wines and champagnes are imported from Australia, Chile, France, Italy and other European countries, and start at a reasonable THB750 (SGD31.20) a bottle.

Palaad Tawanron
End of Suthep Road +66 (53) 216 039, +66 (53) 216 576
11.30am to midnight
It is the only restaurant in the foothills of Suthep Mountain overlooking the entire city, with the distant sounds of Palaad Waterfall. Musicians sing love ballads at your table and you’re privy to a huge menu of international and Thai food. Remember not to drink and drive – it’s a winding road downhill.

Glass Onion
Room 1 Project 61 Nimmanhaemin Road +66 (53) 218 479 6pm to 1am
Owned by a Singaporean, this chic and sophisticated bar comes complete with grand piano, shaggy blood-red carpets, vermillion bar-chairs, art deco chandeliers and a cocktail menu that arrives in all colours. Prices are from THB120 (SGD5) to THB180 (SGD7.50). One almost pictures Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan nursing a martini while leaning against the grand piano.

Le Crystal
74/2 Paton Road +66 (53) 872 890/1 11.30am to 2pm; 6pm to 10.30pm
This piece of bling-bling on the Ping River is one of Chiang Mai’s most exclusive restaurants. Serving fine French cuisine in a Lanna-inspired wooden building that opens up to garden and river views, Le Crystal is dripping with chandeliers and champagne. Check out the 300-bottle wine cellar – prices start at THB1,500 (SGD62.45) to “dipping into the trust fund”. Delicious dishes such as golden oscietre caviar served with traditional condiments and blinis, foie gras with apple sauce for starters, and grilled lamb chop with potato croutons lamb gravy and garlic sauce, make for a memorable dining experience. Lunch sets start at THB380 (SGD15.80) a person while a three-course dinner should cost about THB2,000 (SGD83.25) a person.

RESTAURANTS DARWIN

Most of the action is in Darwin on Mitchell Street, and the restaurants and bars are close enough to bar-hop all night. By Cowboy Caleb.

Red Salt
Crowne Plaza Darwin, 32 Mitchell Street
tel: +61 (8) 8981 1765 6pm to midnight
Hundred-day grain-fed organic and certified Grainge and Wangyu beef are the highlights at this grill and restaurant in the Crowne Plaza. The steaks (AUD24-50 or SGD27.80-57.90) here are seasoned with red salt from the Murray River, hence the name. Always let your waiter choose your wine, they know what they’re doing here. And be sure to try the caviar omelette (AUD25 or SGD29) as well.

The Coffee Club
Shop 14, Casuarina Square Shopping Centre, 247 Trower Road
Tel: +61 (8) 8945 5479 8am t0 5pm
The problem with Darwin is that there isn’t a global coffee franchise to get your caffeine fix from. The solution is The Coffee Club – a stylish upmarket coffee chain that positions itself as a meeting place for people who want great food and coffee. Meals are an event, with scintillating choices such as Barkers Creek King Rib Pork Cutlet and Diamantina Gold Rib Fillet of beef, and a great veggie selection as well. Cappuccinos are only AUD3.90 (SGD4.50). It’s no wonder there are now 105 outlets all over Australia.

Sirocco
Holiday Inn Darwin, 122 The Esplanade tel: +61 (8) 8991 5388 6pm to midnight
It’s the only place in town for a Mediterranean fusion menu with an extraordinary wine list. Be sure to ask your waiter to choose the wine to accompany your meal if you aren’t sure. The ambience is cosy and upmarket with dim lighting and candles on each table. Or you can eat al fresco, by the pool (a little warm though).

It’s just been redecorated and rebranded with a new menu. Their signature dish is the King Prawn Linguine (AUD24 or SGD27.80). Prices for their starters range from AUD16-27 (SGD18.55-31.30) and their mains are priced from AUD20 (SGD23.20)

Ducks Nuts and Grill
76 Mitchell Street tel: +61 (8) 8942 2122 7am to 2am
Stylish, cool and relaxed – people come here for a bite and drink. Open seven days a week from breakfast till late, be sure to check out the 50 flavours of infused vodka at the adjoining Tzars Vodka Bar, or get your caffeine fix at the Bar Expresso instead. Thursday is ladies night, in the Tzars Vodka Bar, with complimentary Skyy Blue vodkas and lots of fun-loving females.