STREET 50 Restaurant and Bar: Celebrate National Day with MORE FOOD

When I was younger, National Day holidays for me would mean family congregations over a hodgepodge of familiar Singaporean classic dishes like chili crab, bee hoon, curry chicken and spicy pig stomach soup. After a massive feast, the cousins and I would crowd around our humbly sized television sets, placing our fists to our chest and saying the pledge with gusto and conviction; the world at our feet and our little minds soaring as high as the chinooks bearing the Singapore flag. 

With the National Day long weekend (for the fortunate few) looming around the corner, many will be contemplating finding a spot for lunch/dinner with family and friends. Should you be stumped, look no further than STREET 50 Restaurant and Bar located at Bay Hotel Singapore just opposite Vivocity. This coming National Day, 9th Aug 2014, STREET 50 will be launching a one day exclusive National Day Buffet Dinner (from 6 30pm  to 10pm) priced at $49++ per adult. And get this, with every 3 paying adults, the 4th adult gets to enjoy the buffet at just $4.90++. What a shocker! 

And what better way to commend the occasion then with a tantalising spread of national foods and classic local favourites such as Bak Ku Teh, Rojak,  Teochew Braised Duck, Steamed Hainanese Chicken with Breaded Rice Ball and Yam paste with coconut cream and Gingko Nuts?

Starting with the Tiger Prawns with warm ginger sauce, we were treated to some finger licking steamed crustaceans marinated with ginger juice. A good way to kick start the meal without the filling one's stomach with too much starch.

The next dish,  throws a curve with the traditional rice balls that accompany the local favourite Steamed Hainanese Chicken, coated with a layer of Japanese breadcrumb and fried to a smoking hot golden brown. Instead of the usual chili sauce, Chef Ricky has paired the dish with a special tomato chutney which borders on spicy just enough to highlight the smooth silkiness of the chicken. Though some may be unconvinced by the outcome of the breaded rice balls, I personally enjoyed it as it gives that crunchy texture around the soft grains of garlic infused rice. 

The Chilli Crab Penne (to be prepared a la minute to avoid the potential distressing circumstance of stodgy pasta in a buffet line) combines al-dente pasta with fragrant crab meat and a killer homemade chilli crab gravy. Aggressively spicy yet strangely sweet at the same time, this dish is likely to haunt your breathe for the better part of the week. Unless adjustments to seasonings be done, you might consider giving this dish a miss. unless, deep fried mantous are present of course.

The Paper wrapped Chicken Risotto is one of the few dishes in which STREET 50 pushes so hard against the original cuisine that it breaks through the other side. Here, the Chinese and the Italians are at loggerheads with one another as traditional paper wrapped chicken is stuffed with risotto, marinated with a blend of Chinese herbs and spices before being deep fried to perfection. Harmonious marriage? I beg to differ. The uneven cooking on the arborio rice mares the entire dish, some portions, delicious and slightly firm whilst other reduced to a mush more reminiscent of  rice pudding. The deboned chicken needs no distractions with its labor intensive showing of flavors, yet the kitchen's choice to bring new interpretations to a classic threatens to undermine it's potential.

Another of my favourites is was the Lamb Shank Rendang, knocking my socks off on my previous visit, this dish shows up sluggish and slightly careless today. Noted that the spice mix and rendang gravy was robust and to die for, the rest of the dish I couldn't care for as the lamb was tough and felt like it needed another 4hours or more on the simmer before the infusion was successful.

A fresh coat of cheer arrived in the form of desserts. The Yam Paste with Coconut Cream and Gingko Nut was gobsmackingly good. Cooked with a little bit of lard and drizzled with luscious coconut milk, it was kissed with just a pinch of salt that gave this version an edge. This would definitely have seen me eating way more than I should if I had a buffet line's worth in my sight.

The Durian Pengat appealed to me with a thin layer of crepe enveloping  a generous chunk of pure durian flesh then christianed with gula melaka sauce. I would have like to see the sauce a little bit thicker; but that was just a small issue. A fantastic sweet ending for the durian fanatics out there.

Chef Ricky has created a National Day menu to reflect everyone around here. For sure he casts a wide net with his selection of perennial local favourites. The variety sounds like a lot for one kitchen to master, and the truth is STREET 50 counts weak lines in its repertoire. Still, for a one night only event, STREET 50 does offer up quite a bargain for National day dinner, so wrap up your folks and family and head on down! Reservations are open now.

Disclaimer: Fundamentally-flawed dined as a guest of STREET 50. 

STREET 50 Restaurant and Bar

Bay Hotel Singapore,

50 Telok Blangah Road

Singapore 098828

Tel: 6818 6681