middle eastern
Showing posts with label middle eastern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label middle eastern. Show all posts

fat prince, peck seah street.

i've been eyeing fat prince's brunch for the longest time, but because their last order timing is pretty early at 2.30 p.m., it's been hard.

we finally managed to make our way over one rainy saturday afternoon. liked the vibe of the place- it was laidback and chill; the perfect place for a rainy saturday brunch.

i had my eye on the lamb kofte menemen ($26) from the start. never had menemen before and had no idea what it was, but the menu description of scrambled egg, roasted eggplant, crispy potato (!) and zaatar yogurt sounded really good. i was also briefly tempted by the falafel scotch egg ($22), because it's a combination of everything i like, but i wanted something more substantial. J decided on the roasted mushroom menemen ($23).



our food came after a brief wait, and in short, it was good. portions were, happily enough, on the generous side, especially the scrambled eggs. they'd added some sort of middle eastern spice to the scrambled eggs, so they tasted a bit different from the usual. i liked how they'd also included a small side salad of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives, as the other items were pretty heavy on the palate. what i didn't get, though, was the bread- it was crispy, sure, but i felt i needed something to dip it into, and the scrambled eggs weren't quite runny enough.



the food was good, but it leant towards the expensive side, and it's not somewhere i can go back regularly to. i was also slightly miffed that they'd added $1 per person to our bill for water, listing it as a donation (?!) for sustainable water. i don't mind donating, but i wish they'd at least informed us beforehand before just charging us. still, i'm glad to have checked it off my to-try list, and the food was good enough that we left satisfied.


fat prince
48 peck seah street
http://www.fatprincesg.com
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artichoke, middle road.

i've wanted to try artichoke's brunch offerings for quite a while now, especially after seeing rave reviews. the menu (available online) was intriguing as well- it had a middle eastern slant, and none of the regular brunch stuff.

it was good that we'd made a reservation. it was a hot day, and they were running at almost full house, it seemed. plus, a lot of the tables were outside (singapore's weather is really not conducive for al fresco dining). happily enough, we were given a table inside.



i'd already made up my mind to have the lamb shakshouka ($26), so really, i didn't have much to deliberate upon. my sister, however, was torn between the cauliflower sabbich ($22) and the smoked salmon pancake ($24). having seen numerous rave reviews of the cauliflower sabbich, i convinced her into trying it. sadly enough, when we were ordering, we were told that they were out of the fried cauliflower, and would replace that with brussels sprouts. my sister isn't a fan of brussels sprouts, so she went with the smoked salmon in the end.



given that the place was crowded, i was bracing myself for a long wait for the food. the food, however, arrived really quickly (like within five to ten minutes), taking us by (welcome) surprise. i'm impressed by the efficiency of their kitchen- A LOT of places have to learn from that, really.



i ended up really liking what i ordered. the tomato based sauce was piping hot and flavoursome, while the kewpie yogurt gave it additional creaminess. the lamb shoulder was cooked till tender, and came apart easily. plus, they were really generous with the portion. i would happily pay for it again. in fact, if i were to come back (and i will), i'd probably just go with the same thing, because it was just so good. and that, i think, is the highest compliment one could pay.



like me, my sister was happy with what she ordered. i tried a bite of it, and agreed fully. the sweetness of the pancake surprised me, though- i was envisioning something more neutral. still, it was a sweet-savoury combination that worked well.



when we were done with our food, a waitress walked by with a huge slab of bacon. and of course, being gluttonous, we were tempted into ordering it. the moment the maple glazed bacon chop ($10) was put on our table, my sister commented that she could smell the maple. it was good, but perhaps just a little too fatty for my liking- i ended up cutting off some of the fat. i think that's just me, though.

service was friendly, efficient and attentive- our water jar was quickly replaced once it was empty, and they were generous with smiles. it's one of those places that i'd gladly go back to. not cheap, but worth it.


artichoke
161 middle road
http://www.artichoke.com.sg
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deli moroccan, bussorah street.

thought it sounded interesting (because i like middle eastern food and reviews generally seemed alright) so i bought the groupon and went with L.

we went for an early dinner on saturday evening, so there was only one other table occupied. on hindsight, probably a good thing that we went early because there seemed to be only one waitress, and later on, after we'd finished our food, she seemed to be overwhelmed with things to do.



spent quite a while deciding what to eat, because the menu was confusing (they had two separate menus) and the descriptions didn't help. we enlisted the help of the waitress to figure out what to order, but when the food came, annoyingly enough, it wasn't what she described. we picked the six item mezi platter ($22) after asking what it contained (the magic word was falafel). the first time i ever had middle eastern was actually in london, and their mezze platter was really huge and full of variety- i was envisioning that. this, though, was a far cry. portions were measly. the falafel that we'd anticipated failed to materialize. also couldn't believe that olives could be considered as one of the six items?? as L said, we could have it at subway, thanks. portions aside, the items tasted alright, except the hummus that was way too salty- we didn't finish it. the platter came with two pitas, but still, wouldn't pay $22 for this. felt like a rip off. 


in addition to the mezi platter we also got the beef kufta tagine ($15) and chicken kebabs ($9). the tagine was basically meatballs in tomato sauce- tasted okay but as L said, it was like the chinese stir fried tomato with egg, just with meatballs. the chicken kebabs fared better, being tender and with a crackly skin. 


with the discount we paid $30 for this (surprisingly no service charge!) so that made the mezi platter easier to swallow. being served the mezi platter probably already gave us a bad impression though (false representation! i want my falafels!). even with the groupon discount, i wouldn't come back. the whole area is filled with middle eastern restaurants that i suspect would serve better food.

deli moroccan
30 bussorah street
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fill-a-pita, shenton way.

it's been a while since i've been to fill-a-pita- happy to find that their pitas are still as good.

housed in a nondescript looking coffeeshop, it's hard to imagine that a place like this would sell something other than the usual coffeeshop fare. business seems good though- when i was there during lunch time there was a queue and i had to wait about fifteen minutes.



the wait was worth it- my usual fava bean pita ($6) was good. generously filled with red cabbage, beans, tomatoes and tahini sauce, it made for a deliciously messy eat. no glam way to eat this, but when the food's this good, who cares. it's hard to imagine that beans could be this tasty- when i first found out about this place, the fava bean pita was recommended over the falafel; i found that hard to believe since i love falafel. i have to say though, i am a convert. 



fill-a-pita
3 shenton way
https://www.facebook.com/Fill.a.Pita
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