Teepee Bar and Restaurant: Burgers & Cocktails match

Sure, it took me awhile before the shutters on this one were open to actually pay my maiden visit. But I'm certain my somewhat tardiness paid off.

Opened last Wednesday, Teepee Bar Bar is a casual joint hidden behind a non-descript frontage on 31 Hong Kong Street, just opposite the alley way from Pyxiemoss. Judging by the erratic working hours, Teepee is a true-blue all-day dining concept. Churning out hot cuppa joes from 8am in the morning and transiting into 'too-cool-for-school' intimate burger and cocktail bar by night.

Ordering is a walk in the park given the concise menu of a few burgers and rice bowls. I dived in straight for a customised cocktail - a White Negroni, padded with my favourite old suze bitters in place of campari. The result was a sensory overload , the herbaceous root flavor earthing the heady sweet mixture. If you're gunning for one of their signature cocktails, let it be the Dark and Stormy ($16) - Diplomatico rum meets homemade cola syrup and East Imperial's Ginger Beer for a concoction that is as tingling cold as it is fresh and punchy.

Where burgers are concerned, pick the Umami Swiss ($18) featuring a 150g beef patty, caramelised onions and mushroom trio blanketed by melted cheese. Sure, this does bring to mind the Burger King perennial favourite: mushroom swiss, only BETTER! Pick it up between your fingers and dig in, safe to say this needs about 3 napkins but I managed with 1. The challenges were aplenty as the double slice of thick juicy tomato and lettuce attempt to steal the limelight with every bite; I removed those successfully in order to enjoy my burger in its full glory.

The partner's Buttermilk Chicken ($17) burger did have a nice ring to it, with brined chicken thigh, apple raisin slaw, cheese and caramelised onion. The amalgamation worked miraculously, although he did feel that the protein was a little too turgid to the bite. 'It's chicken thigh, honey'.

For what it's worth, Teepee Bar and restaurant serves as an idyllic den for escapism from the world and indulgence of the burger sort. They do have a couple of rice bowls on the menu for those on the prowl for something a little more 'hipsterish', but for me, the familiar formula of burgers is unavoidable. And for that, I can safely say I will be back to suss out the rest of the burger menu.

p.s. I hear they are running a 31% off promotion till the end of the year. With the exception of Public Holidays and the day before public holidays, meaning that today is technically the LAST day you get to enjoy a big cut off your bill. Jump on it!

Teepee Bar and Restaurant

31 Hong Kong Street #01-02

S(059670)

t: 6225 0025

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teepee.sg/

Operating Hours:

Mon - Sat: 8am - 12pm

Sun: Closed

Lan Ting: for Crackin' Dim Sum this festive season

If the trayfuls of roast meat and leftover turkey are starting to give you the heebie jeebies then look no further than the wealth of dim sum choices at Lan Ting.

The only folks I know to churn our dim sum at 8 am in the morning, you'll be sure to visited by pangs of nostalgia similar to those you get when making your rounds of the Hong Kong dim sum restaurants.

Phat Cat Laundry: Not a Washout

Jiak Chuan road has a party vibe that has made it synonymous with neon lights. And that is what you get with a brief introduction to Phat Cat Laundry as you stumble past the fake facade of a laundromat up front (apparently licensing for a proper laundromat, to throw guests off is quite a hard deal to get around). Instead you find lengthy black marble bar counter and heaps of lounging space illuminated by artificial candle light. The walls meandering in the same backwash with cheeky aphorisms with visuals to match: dry hump with consent? do not dampen spirits? - a tad cheesy we think but superimposed on white laundry tag like cloth, it does relay a strong theme.

Monday Light Bites: Roxy Laksa EST 1952 @ Timbre+

Not to be confused with the original Roxy Square laksa, Roxy Laksa EST 1952 was borne out of humble push cart origins. Started by Mr Lim Kiok Seng who used to station his cart outside the Roxy Theatre, the recipe has since then been passed down to its current 3rd generation runner, and endearingly, his grandson, Mr. Mike Lim.

With a short stint at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, the stall has now relocated to Timbre+, this brazen move in collaboration with lawyer-turned-chef Willin Low of famed Wild Rocket. It's long heritage a tad aloof to the new-ish facade of the shipping container composed grounds. Still, food standards here are kept on a tight ship and artisanal integrity is preserved, right down to the itty gritty details. Mind you, Mike still takes to squeezing his own coconut milk by hand, daily.

Ordering is kept fuss-free at the stall, and unlike the usual where you get a choice of noodles and the decorative sides of egg and cockles. Roxy Laksa only does theirs one way - the Roxy  Laksa ($4.50) comes served with slices of fishcake, prawns and beansprouts. All splayed out over thick rich gravy with hand chopped spices for a touch of Perenankan nostalgia. To be perfectly honest, I've not quite savoured a broth like this, chock full of prawn bits and thick with nyona influences, this will have you slurping till the bottom of the bowl.

So if you're around the area and looking for a quick laksa fix, visit Roxy Laksa EST 1952 and show your support! Last I've heard Chef Willin and Mike are working out plans to create a production kitchen that will make hawker food on a more scalable level without compromising on flavors!

Roxy Laksa EST 1952

Timbre+

73A Ayer Rajah Crescent

S(139957)

Operating Hours:

Mon - Sat: 9am - 6pm

Sun: Closed

13 Duxton Hill: BEST EVER Birthday meal by a long shot

One of the 9 or so courses (non-inclusive of the escapades on the drinks frontier) served to me the first time I ate at the new 13 Duxton Hill was a cathedral rock formation cluster of daikon rolled shavings and cured apple with a raw sunchoke creme filling ($10).. It looked pretty and almost pagan at the same time, I could have sworn it was sorcery when the first mouthful touched my lips and the vinegar lit a steady burn on my ulcered lips.

This plate was more than just a pretty picture. Wrapped inside its towering lengths was an earthly whirl of goodness, pulverised till it no longer resembled its usual crunchy state. In the following dish, there was baby corn, salted prawn head butter and dusted with meanders of burnt cocoa powder ($16) for that slight astringency amidst lashings of lavishness. The combination of prawn head butter and toasted croissant was a complete surprise, extraordinary in ways I'd never imagined before.

Tippling Club's NEW Sensorium Menu has got something that would stir those memories

An aromatic affair greets those looking to venture to Tippling Club. I've always treasured my sense of smell, sure, my taste buds may be faulty at time, but nothing trips the nose. So imagine my delight when I found a cocktail at Tippling club with a description of "rain"- one thing you gotta know about me is the inexplicable swell of joy in my heart whenever the smell of incoming rain hits. The thousands of memories evoked turns the corners of my lips, such is the effect of Tippling Club's recently conceived Sensorium Menu.

Tippling Club and International Flavors and Fragrances have collaborated to put the boundless possibilities of a flavors and scents marriage into actualisation through the Sensorium Menu. Designed to stir deeply-rooted memories by nervous-system information carried down the olfactory nerve, this 'new technology' is as deeply profound as it is delicious.

Big Lazy Chop 大懒排: Where size really does matter.

I love it when restaurants make the ordering process a breeze. 

At Big Lazy Chop, a speciality zi-char stall just a stone's throw away from Rocher MRT; it's exactly like that. First there's the pictorial spread of the menu followed by a clear and concise referral to the specialities of the kitchen via the full page visual on the left side of the fold-out menu. Decisions are usually made fast and furious with a little unease displayed during the choice of sizes for their signature Indo Curry Crayfish Beehoon. $13 gets you a small portion whilst $19 gets you a medium. Here's a quick tip, for two, if the intention is to order ribs and other dishes, make do with the former. However, if you're feeding the alcohol munchies with no other sides as distraction, make a beeline for the medium.

[POP-UP] WOLF X Bird Bird: The Burger Breakdown

Lest we forget, a good burger is a thing of beauty. Oneness in the patty fat-to-meat ratio and sauces knitting all into a 'perfect burger'. It's satisfying, messy manifestation of all things umami: beef, melted cheese and tomatoes, all ready to be augmented by additions such as bacon, relish, slaw... there are a few things culinary that can be relied on to do their job as effectively. Much less in a tidy package. But hey, it's personal, a burger does the job of lifting the spirits for me, it might not for you, but hold on to your horses as I reveal one of the newest burger kids on the 'Ann Siang Road' block. Get your paper towels ready.

The Alchemist Beer Lab: Food before Drinks. always.

Who's a Top Chef fan like I am? The first time I saw infusion used to similar capabilities as what The Alchemist Beer Lab does was when Season 10 winner Kristen Kish picked up a cream whipper in a quick-fire challenge; stuffed in her slab of fish coupled with a few sticks of bruised lemongrass and other aromatics and charged it twice before giving it a good hard shake. Why? Simply because pressure causes the flavors to be pushed into the protein faster, almost like marination on steroids. Now, why didn't I think of this...

Apologies for the geek talk, let's move on the subject of The Alchemist Beer Lab and their striking new presence in the South Beach precinct. What I love about this place, aside from the looming towers of ice cold beer, are the towering ceilings. There's nothing quite like a spacious act to induce the thirsties. At Alchemist Beer Lab, they perform major reconstructive work on the beers by injecting flavor via infusion. And not just any beer at that, since they are the brainchild by the same team behind microbrewery pub Little Island Brewing Co., mostly their concoctions are put in play. Soliciting the help of beer towers imported from Poland and The United States, ingredients ranging from marshmallows to pineapple slices, apple slices and thyme are placed in (HUGE AMOUNTS) the fusion chamber and this is followed by a quick release of compressed gas before beer is dispensed into the tower. This tedious process which involves lots of sanitisation in the midst helps to maximised flavor extraction to produce some delightful twists to the base beer.

Monday light Bites: Cafe de Hong Kong and their legendary French Toast

What I was trying to do was solve a problem. It's December, you can guess the problem. The... OMG! I have so much food entry backlog to clear. Let's ogle at my #foodporn photos instead Problem. You can only imagine the amount of build up in the 'bank' given my tortoise rate of expressing myself. Lol, I would like to think of it as 'managing expectations' since plowing into the field of the 'newest and bestest' just crimps my style.

Speaking of bestest, these images, albeit from a long while back, made me stop and stare.

Yes, it's non other than Cafe de Hong Kong and their legendary French Toast. Disclaimer: This may induce severe lust and will cause an almost immediate response of kicking off your PJs in a bid to get there. They don't open on Mondays though. Just saying.

Talay Thai: a Drinking hole with Thai twists

A new urban watering hole backed by Thai influenced nosh has just opened up in Clarke Quay. An area more known for the seductive night life and late-night libations, Creative Eateries have yielded to conventions with their newest concept, Talay Thai. Upon traversing through the ostentatious interiors, you will notice the rustic red floors, large screaming neon sign " Love you long long time" and eclectic fish scale feature walls. These are details mandatory for any exotic drinking hole to stand out in the precinct.

The Clifford Pier: presents a localised Singapore Heritage AfternoonTea

The Clifford Pier is in a league of its own. That's in terms of heritage value as well as ambiance. First and foremost, being a landmark built to serve as a landing point for immigrants and other sea passenger, the place is steeped in history and it's emulated through the grandeur and majesty of the venue which Fullerton has painstakingly taken to restore.

For a taste of localised flavors, interlocking tastes of sambal chili, dark soy sauce and garlic; look to The Clifford Pier's new Singapore Heritage Afternoon Tea. The selection of 8 savoury and 8 sweet items, a thoughtful representation of Singapore's culinary past and present. Make sure to complement your afternoon tea experience with a choice of beverage ranging from local Teh Tarik to a selection of excellently curated tea, each touting a fancy name such as Silver Moon and Magic Moment.