Hipster Singaporean food at Sinpopo Brand - Katong / Joo Chiat.

With dozens of restaurants and cafés popping up around Singapore seemingly almost daily, eateries can sometimes tend to feel a little generic - after all, a burger joint is a burger joint is a burger joint, no? It takes quite a bit of differentiation and something special to get stand out of the crowd - which is what Sinpopo Brand is trying to do with its hipster, retro take on Singapore-Malaysian food favorites!


There's a bunch of interesting-sounding drinks - for example, Fake Bird's Nest and Longan Slushie - which we skip in favor of a childhood favorite a little closer to our hearts - the Sng Muay Pop ($5). It's essentially kat chai suen mui Mark-II: lime, bits of sour plum frozen in sour ice balls, plopped into sweetened soda water, and is actually pretty damn good.


The Crab Wantons ($8) were a decent, if less than epiphanic starter. The the house dip was flavourful, and the wantons were nice and crispy, but were just missing a little depth of flavour.


For our main course we went with the house special - Nasi Lemak for Two ($25), with free flow sambal (and presumably rice). The rice itself was a little mushy and underwhelming, which disappointed a little; The accompaniments ranged from utterly delicious (har cheong kai wings), so-so-lah (luncheon meat crisps, sambal fishballs, potatoes in curry) to "meh" (rojak slaw). Overall the set was pretty nice, but we weren't so sure if it's something we'd crave for in the future.


With advancement in age comes a reduction in stomach capacity and a shrinking sweet tooth; so we only tried one dessert - the Gula Melaka Cake ($7). The cake has really simple execution - it's just a sponge cake with a layer of gula melaka glazing, but the balance of flavours and textures is sublime. Definitely a nice, sweet and satisfying end to the meal.


At just over $25 a person, we thought that the food was pretty reasonably priced (this is a restaurant/cafe after all). Food wasn't perfect, but it was good enough at the price point that we'll certainly come back to try some of the other items on the menu - the Sliced Wagyu Horfun sounds particularly interesting!

Sinpopo Brand is at 458 Joo Chiat Rd, S 427671; reservations not accepted. Non-halal.

Modern Singaporean at Wild Rocket - Singapore's 10th Best Restaurant!

Is there such a thing as Singaporean Fine Dining? Chef Willin Low certainly seems to think it's possible: He's busy creating and serving up Modern Singaporean dishes at his Wild Rocket restaurant on Mount Emily. The restaurant space and service standards probably aren't quite up to the more established (and more pricey) Western-leaning fine dining joints in town (yet), but the food's legitimately good - as evidenced by the 38th spot in San Pellegrino & Acqua Panna's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2016 list (10th best in Singapore).


If you're in the mood to splurge, Wild Rocket's Omakase (leave it to the Chef) menu ranges from s$80-s$160 depending on time of day; Otherwise the three-course set lunch is priced at a remarkably reasonable s$35++. We dip our toes in the water with the latter choice, which starts off with some warm toasty garlic brioche, whose shape reminds us of the ubiquitous tau sar piah.


The appetizers are up next: Wild Rocket's “Roast-Chicken-Rice” wings with calamansi chilli sauce is glutinous rice-stuffed roasted chicken wings, with Singapore chicken-rice flavours and chilli sauce. It's delicious (if perhaps a tad bit under-seasoned), and evokes memories of three iconic Singaporean dishes: Lo Mai Kai, Roast Chicken Wings, and Singapore Chicken Rice.


The Beef Carpaccio with sesame ginger puree is a little more Western leaning. Carpaccio, tartare and other raw beef dishes live or die by the seasoning and accompaniments; Wild Rocket's choice of sesame and ginger puree adds a very nice Asian flavour profile.


The first of our main courses was the Sarawak Curry Chicken Shepherd’s Pie, i.e. A delicious baked base of curry chicken, covered with mashed potato and cheese. Curry and cheese aren't probably too high up on your mental list of "ingredients that go well together," but it really works. Of course it's not perfect - we do have some minor nitpicks like the curry could be spicier, the dish could have more mash - but these are really down to personal preferences.


The Roast Red Snapper with Tom Yum Bouillabaisse (s$8 supplement) was perhaps not quite as interesting. The fish was well-cooked - crispy skin and moist, juicy flesh, and the mussels were fresh and juicy. But we didn't really care much for the thin, watery Tom Yum broth, which was neither spicy nor sour nor flavourful enough.


For my dessert, I chose the Teh Tarik Panna Cotta with “Pearls” ("Pearls" referring to those little tapioca balls you get in bubble tea). It's a delightful, if a little small, dessert, though interestingly enough I thought it tasted more like Earl Grey (milk) tea rather than Teh Tarik.


The darling had the deconstructed Wild Rocket Strawberry Cheese Cake (s$2 supplement) - mounds of cream cheese on strawberries and biscuit crumble base together with walnuts and ice cream - which was definitely the better of the two desserts.


Final bill came to s$102 for the both of us after the price supplements, drinks, service charge and GST, which we think is quite reasonable for the caliber of food we had. Portions are a tad bit on the small side, perhaps - it was 'enough' for our appetites, but a growing teenager would probably be hunting for snacks by mid-afternoon.

Wild Rocket is at Hangout @ Mt Emily, 10A Upper Wilkie Road. I'm not sure if reservations are typically required, but you can make them online. Non-halal.

Trying Out Chatterbox' $27++ Mandarin Chicken Rice!

Hainanese Chicken Rice is undoubtedly one of Singapore's favorite dishes. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of stalls and restaurant chains all around the city that serve this smooth boiled chicken with fragrant rice (cooked in chicken stock) and chili/garlic dish. By far the most iconic of them all is Chatterbox's Mandarin Chicken Rice. It may not be Singapore's best or favorite chicken rice, but it certainly wins the award for most expensive at just under SGD 32.00 nett after taxes and service charge.


Chatterbox's version is also probably the largest-portioned chicken rice in the city. Unlike many other $3 places which are all rice no chicken, Chatterbox uses extra large 2kg birds, and serves up a full quarter chicken with each order. No worries about going hungry, then! As is fairly standard with Hainanese chicken rice nowadays, the chicken is boiled and then dunked in ice water to smoothen and firm up the skin.


We also added on some iceberg lettuce, which at $9++ is a rather steep price to pay.


A closer view of the Chicken - this photo below is from the drumstick & thigh cut. Naturally the drumstick & thigh is smoother and juicier but also a bit oilier than the breast meat.


So ... is the chicken rice really worth $32? Well, we thought that the chicken was cooked very well and not as oily as most other chicken rice shops around town. The skin was also nice and smooth but perhaps a little on the lean side. We also did think the breast meat was perhaps ever so slightly less 'smooth' than other top places. Chili, garlic and soy sauce (laced with some chinese wine!) were sublime, and the rice was fragrant and tasty without being oily.

Our opinion then is that the Mandarin Chicken Rice really does deserve a spot in any "Top X Chicken Rice in Singapore" lists among the other heavyweights like Tian Tian and Boon Tiong Kee. However $32 is something like four or five times more expensive than the others, which honestly doesn't really make it worth the money even considering the Hotel Mark Up. For us, it's definitely worth paying a visit at least once just to cross it off your list of 'famous foods I must eat before I die,' but it would be really tough to justify a return visit.

Chatterbox is located at Mandarin Orchard Hotel / Mandarin Gallery. Open seven days a week, reservations not necessary.