I acknowledge that there are indeed a lot of food options around Bugis/Little India area. Here're some restaurants/cafes that we managed to try out during our staycation. If you are also interested in these places, maybe you can read our opinions first before making your way there.
Tabbouleh Lebanese Gourmet Cafe and Restaurant
Address: 41 Arab St, Singapore 199740.
Opening hours: 11am to 10.30pm
Note: Available on Eatigo with up to 50% discount. Our bill size was $38.00 following 50% discounts.
(+) Relatively delicious food that comes in big portion
(-) Touristy price (particularly for the drinks)
This is probably my first time trying Arabic cuisine. To be honest, I have no benchmark to compare with, so I cannot be sure that my verdict is 100% accurate. There are too many similar options available in Arab Quarter/Kampong Glam and it gets difficult to pick the "right" one. We stumbled upon Tabbouleh through our favourite Eatigo app and decided to give it a try.
Named after the iconic Lebanese vegetarian dish, Tabbouleh is a casual family restaurant located right outside Mosque Sultan. It took me a while to figure out the dishes displayed on the menu. In the end, we went for Mezza Platter (were trying to be adventurous and this allowed us to sample multiple traditional Lebanese dishes) and Lamb Mandi (looked promising on the menu and we couldn't go wrong with grilled meat).
Overall, it's a unique but relatively good dining experience for us. We saw negative online reviews about the slow service and inattentive staff, but we didn't experience the same issues, probably because there was less crowd on that day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We absolutely enjoyed the food though it's questionable if I am willing to pay for them at original prices.
Mezza Platter.
Tabbouleh: A healthy dish made from lots of parsley, mint, tomatoes, onions and a bunch of other yummy stuff. People who enjoy herbs like me will surely enjoy the dish.
Hummus: Undoubtedly the top dish of the day. Very smooth and rich; it goes very well with pita bread. One of the best hummus I have tasted before.
Waran' Inab: Lebanese stuffed grape leaves. The stuffing tasted "extraordinary" with a tinge of sourness. I took a bite and gave up instantly.
Falafel: The deep-fried ball in the middle. Crispy outside but soft and creamy within. Yummy! But would be more perfect if they were less greasy.
The other two red-coloured dishes: Apologies that I couldn't recognise these dishes, but both tasted decent.
Lamb Mandi. A decent dish that most people should be able to accept the seasonings.
Address: 43 Cuff Rd, Singapore 209753.
Opening hours: 11am to 11pm daily; closed on Tues
(+) Friendly staff, affordable price, delicious food
(-) Nothing in particular
I can't praise this place enough and the high review scores on Google are totally understandable. A humble place that serves great food. One thing that I like about the restaurant is that they serve free-flow herbal drinks to quench your thirst. If you come during lunch hours between 11am to 4.30pm, you can opt for their 21-course buffet ($15.00/pax). The dishes are constantly topped up. However, as we wanted to try dishes not served in the buffet, we went for a South Indian Thali meal (contains 15 dishes from the buffet) instead, and the highly-rated Mushroom Masala.
After our meal, the male owner (I supposed) also came and asked for our feedback about the food. When we told him that the food was delicious but we weren't quite sure what the dishes were, he kindly explained every single item on the plate! I am going to try my best to replicate what he had said below to provide you an idea about what were being served (but unfortunately, only half of the contents were retained in my mind).
If you happen to drop by Little India, don't forget to come and support this vegetarian-friendly restaurant that serves authentic South Indian food - thumbs up from us for everything!
South Indian Thali Meal ($12.00).
Stirred fried banana flowers: Uncle kept emphasising how difficult it is to make this dish given the amount of work needed to prep the banana flowers.
Keerai: Spinach curry. One of my favourite.
Dhal curry: A staple dish in Indian cuisine.
Medhu Vada: Deep-fried Indian lentil dumpling that looks a mini donut.
And finally, end the meal with refreshing yogurt.
Mushroom Masala ($6.50) and Chappathi. Another must-order dish.
Victor's Kitchen
Address: 91 Bencoolen St, #01-49 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652.
Opening hours: Sun to Thurs: 10.30am to 8pm; Fri and Sat: 10:30am to 9pm
(+) Affordable dim sum
(-) Crowded and noisy during peak hours
After Muslim and Indian food, what's on our list next is a humble place that sells high quality yet affordable dim sum. This place has been popular since my days in university. It was our top dining place whenever we needed to visit Sunshine Plaza (e.g. to get printing jobs done).
I don't think I have to give any special recommendation on the food, because basically nothing goes wrong at Victor's Kitchen. My all-time favourite dish is the deep-fried carrot cake with Thousand Island dressing - crispy crusts with soft flavourful carrot cake within. In fact, I have never seen this version of carrot cake at anywhere else.
Address: 56 Arab St, Singapore 199753.
Opening hours: 8am to 8pm daily
After sumptuous meals, it's time for a cuppa? Name me something else that created more hype than this coffee chain originated from Hong Kong/Japan in the past few months. Every time I walk past their branch at Somerset, I always see a huge crowd, be it queuing to place the orders or enjoying the coffee at their seats. This time round, we paid a visit to their very first branch at a less prominent location that requires a short walk from MRT station, Arab Street.
I really like the minimalist interiors of the cafe - simple white furnishing with bright lighting. Considered the idea to adopt a similar style for my future house but concluded that it would be too challenging to do the cleaning, HAHA. Back to topic, we ordered a basic hot Latte. It had the essential elements of good coffee - fragrant, strong taste and smooth creamy texture. For people who prefer a sweeter version, you might want to try their signature Spanish lattes with the addition of condensed milk.
Conclusive remarks
Probably not going to update much for the next 1-2 months following the "Stay at Home" advice issued by the government. Be a socially responsible resident and this should pass eventually!
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