Bar Bites

A damn fine burger boasting a meaty grilled pureblood Wagyu patty, bacon, smoked tomato sauce, grilled onion, lettuce, cheddar and honey mustard mayo. Served with a side of salad and crisp fries.

The jalapenos and salsa make this dish, adding a zesty fieriness that lifts the flavours of the plainer elements on the plate.

The charred prawns are plump and sweet and pair extremely well with the house-made bright and spicy green sriracha. I know it sounds lazy, but it'd be even better if they came de-shelled.

Crispy calamari ranks right up there when it comes to bar food. These babies are coated in a paper thin, crunchy batter and pop in your mouth with bags of flavour. An absolute must order whenever I'm at @littleislandbrew.

Seriously some of the best ribs in town - sticky, moreish and fall-off-the-bone, the teriyaki stout glazed ribs are sweet and smoky without being cloying. The portions are very generous and one plate can easily be shared between 2 with other dishes.

This is not the first time I’ve had mushroom ice , so I had an inkling of what to expect. This’ll turn your preconcieved notion on its head of what constitutes acceptable ice cream flavours, with the unmistakable umami funk of fungi sharpened with salt assaulting your senses. This decidedly vegetal dessert’s companion pieces were a crumbly zucchini cake and tangy lemon meringue yoghurt which helped cut though the earthiness of the former components.

Highly reminiscent of local favourite goreng pisang, the stack of crisp, deep-fried bananas ingratiates itself with its at once familiar yet slightly different taste. The extra oomph lies in the lashes of courvoisier vsop dulce de leche that imparts a boozy sweetness to the melt-in-your mouth fruit.

All winners no fillers with the munchies over at @mamadiam.prinsep. Even normally pedestrian prawn cakes here are well-executed, with a shatteringly crisp exterior holding in generous amounts of crunchy minced prawn meat. The patties are enhanced with a tangy pineapple rojak sauce that cuts through the inherent heaviness of fried food.
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Taste: 3/5

A must-order here at @mamadiam.prinsep, Singapore's iconic chilli crab is successfully given a modern fusion spin, with piping hot yet still crispy oft-shell crab doused in a piquant chilli crab sauce and served sandwiched between the traditional accoutrement of soft and fluffy bun. It's supremely savoury, not in the least greasy and ultimately quite umami with a pleasing variety of textures. You'll want the whole plate to yourself.
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Taste: 3.5/5

These wings won’t win any awards, but they’ll do in a pinch if you have a craving for that sort of thing over drinks.
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It’s big on crunch, but I found the batter to be slightly too thick and hard. The funkiness of prawn paste could have come through stronger as well. Not anything you won’t find in your average neighbourhood zi char stall

With a hidden entrance masquerading as a “mama shop” shopfront, heartland-inspired speakeasy Mama Diam certainly made a striking initial impression. Whilst their cocktails leave a little to be desired, their fried bar snacks more than make up for that with a surfeit of tastiness.
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Amongst the standouts we tried were the Tempura Otah – bouncy cubes of spiced mackerel fish paste encased in a thin veneer of crisp panko that were explosive grenades of aromatics and a tinge of heat, cooled down with a side of truffle aioli.
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Taste: 3/5

Pure comfort in a bowl, the "risotto" is cooked in the style of Japanese rice soup, so it's more runny than your traditional risotto. Every grain of rice is infused with the sweetness of root vegetables and the texture of the rice is more akin to Zosui than risotto, veering toward more soft and silky than chewy.
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The centerpiece of course, is the grilled Boston lobster tail, which is well-cooked, sweet, tender and crowned with orange wood chip-smoked lumpfish caviar.
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A fluorish of cured quail yolk shavings finishes off the dish, lending a subtle umami to the rice.
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<< Invited Tasting >>

Taste: 3.5/5