April Food Spots You May Not Know Of
This April I discovered some absolute gems that weren't already clogging up my Instagram feed. I’m so glad we made reservations at these places because they gave us good opportunities to get out of our comfort zone, a.k.a, our home haha.
If your restaurant rotation is feeling a bit stale lately, consider this your personal invitation to make a date with friends, family or your S/O at these spots!
JUNGLE
A Thai Grill + Bar that I’ve had saved on my dining wish list since the start of the year. The space embraces a dark, sultry ambience that works perfectly for their concise but well-executed menu. This is definitely a spot best saved for date nights or evenings out with friends when you're looking for good food and chill vibes.
What We Ordered
Banana Blossom & Green Mango Salad: Bright and zingy! I really love the flavour and aroma of banana blossom and the green mango adds really good texture to this starter. It’s sour, spicy, sweet and nutty - exactly what I’d expect for Thai food and I love it! It gave a bit(just a bittt) of rojak vibes~
Northern Duck Laab: Seasoned with Lanna spices, although I don’t know what exactly that is, but it’s a northern Thai flavour. If I were to describe this in my own words, this dish tasted mildly herbal and savoury. Duck was such a good meat of choice instead of the common chicken, beef or pork options as protein.
Southern Style Charcoal Grilled Chicken: This was really juicy with a slight smoky exterior, but it paled in comparison with the Smoked Pork Jowl. This was good, but that’s all.
Sugarcane Smoked Pork Jowl: THIS WAS SO GOOD. I don’t like pork, but only eat it when it tastes good. I surprised myself by naming this the best dish of the night, aside from dessert. I was lowkey “fighting” with my husband for the pieces because portions are quite small. But because of that, it makes it easy for us to try more dishes in one seating. I would have preferred to have more of this instead of sharing stomach space with the Charcoal Grilled Chicken.
Grilled Banana Cake: Topped with Gula Melaka caramel and coconut ice cream, this is the one of the BEST desserts I’ve had. Usually, desserts are difficult to enjoy fully because I’m so stuffed by the end of the night. We literally finished all our dishes in about 30 minutes, and they were all served at different times mind you😂 From the presentation to the flavours of each component which meshed so well together, this tops one of my favourite desserts of all-time, the sticky date pudding. I think this gives a similar vibe, but better!
Roselle & Chrysanthemum: A non-alcoholic beverage we shared because I don’t like wasting stomach space on liquids when I eat my food haha. This was refreshing and a great palate cleanser for us! It’s such a smart combination of 2 teas I already love.
Ranking the Dishes
Sugarcane Smoked Pork Jowl – The undisputed star of the meal with its tender texture and perfect smoky-savoury-sweet balance. This dish is the reason I’ll go back to the restaurant again.
Grilled Banana Cake – I won’t stop yapping about this to everyone, if you go to this restaurant, you have to get this!!
Banana Blossom & Green Mango Salad
Northern Duck Laab
Southern Style Charcoal Grilled Chicken
Tip before you make a reservation,
We went on a Saturday and it was pretty dead around Ann Siang Hill, leaving us with not much entertainment post-dinner. We figured it’ll be more bustling on Friday dates, but don’t take our word for it. Perhaps arrange another activity if the night is still young for you after dinner:)
Also, it can be quite loud in the restaurant itself, so we don’t recommend it for the first date. Perhaps you can try sitting outside? But there’s only one table! As a married couple, we really enjoyed the vibes and food of the restaurant!
Address
Jungle
10 Ann Siang Hill
Singapore 069789
[For reservations and opening hours, check their website]
PANAMERICANA
We finally journey-ed to Sentosa on a random, no occasion date night! This has been on my list for a couple of years, but it’s one of those spots where I was unsure if it was worthwhile to go. On paper, it seemed quite gimmick-y like it’s just a place with good views but subpar food. But surprisingly, most of the dishes were on-point and I don’t have anything to complain about in general!
What We Ordered
Panamericana Sourdough: No real complaints on this one since its truly warm sourdough served with good butter, but I wasn’t super impressed with this. I don’t know if the sourdough is house-made, but it didn’t feel like it to me. It gave a bit of a frozen to toasted well kind of vibe. Also, now thinking in retrospect, some restaurants give this amount of bread and butter for free but we paid a good amount for it haha.
Octopus Tentacles: The tentacles came with a beautiful char, chimichurri and mellow black-eyed pea puree that highlighted the natural sweetness of the octopus. I love octopus because they have such great texture, but they have to be cooked carefully! The chef did such a great job with combining all the components! I ate a similar dish at LeVel33 last year and it was pretty bad. This dish restored my faith in enjoying tentacles outside haha.
Colombian Chicken: One of the juiciest grilled chicken I’ve met in my life. My husband was seriously impressed with this one! I could taste that the chicken has been brined, because the meat is extra flavourful, and the texture is just different than non-brined grilled chicken. We ordered the half portion and it was filling for us together with the other dishes! The portions at this restaurants are slightly above average, especially for 2 pax.
Cubano Baby Corn: Charred sweet corn with a creamy, spiced sauce and fresh lime! This was a very lovely dish with complex flavours. The closest I can describe with words is like having aburi mentaiko. If you like that sort of umami and creaminess, this is the dish you must order!
Churros: Before this dish came, Wes was telling me to be prepared to be disappointed (again) because churros is not a dessert/snack that is done well in Singapore. Whenever I think of churros, I want it crispy on the outside, but fluffy and slightly “chewy” on the inside. This is a texture combination that nowhere I’ve tried in Singapore have managed to deliver. Besides, the churros is typically deep fried in some nasty-smelling oil, so that is the first thing that usually hits me and lingers for a long time on my palate. HOWEVER, I think I finally found the churros I’ve been waiting for - it exists!!
Apple Mojito: Again, a non-alcoholic drink we chose to share to save on stomach space:)) It was a great drink that kept our palates refreshed & hydrated!
Ranking the Dishes
Octopus Tentacles – The highlight of the meal, with a perfect tender-yet-meaty texture and flavours that were bold but balanced, and without overwhelming the delicate taste of octopus. The way this was grilled to perfection made this restaurant earn a spot in my good books!
Churros – By the way I yapped about it above, yeah. Quite discouraged that I have to go all the way to Sentosa Golf Club if I want to enjoy some good churros. By the way, I tried churros at TINTO but they were a disappointment:(
Cubano Baby Corn – A surprising standout with its smoky char and creamy, slightly spicy coating. I think this dish is worth ordering if you love these flavour profiles too. But it can definitely feel a bit heavy if you don’t have enough mouths to enjoy this dish with.
Colombian Chicken – Well-executed but slightly less memorable than the other dishes (for me). This is actually Wes’s top dish, so take my ranking with a pinch of salt!
Panamericana Sourdough
Tip before you make a reservation,
Book a table for early evening so you can dine through sunset. This way, you’ll get to enjoy the restaurant in 2 settings! It’s a pity the restaurant does not have a view of the sunset at all.
There is both indoor & outdoor seating, with the outdoor tables having more bar stools. This can definitely be a fantastic spot for a family meal, but make sure you don’t reserve the high tables with bar stools!
Address
Panamericana
Sentosa Golf Club
27 Bukit Manis Road
Singapore 099892
[Reservations recommended, especially for sunset hours]
SUMMER PAVILION
I made a dedicated post about my dining experience at this 1-Michelin star restaurant a few weeks ago. Read it here.
Before I go,
I can’t wait to share more dining highlights for the month of May, or whenever there is something worth highlighting. We’re headed to Beach Road Kitchen at JW Marriot this Sunday with Wes’s family and I hope our dining experience would be as good as our first time - will update!
