Feasting in Singapore

The sights, architecture, museums, culture, and nature.  That's a lot to take in for a short getaway to Singapore.  And the highlight of it all is the food.  You can eat cheaply or luxuriously; the choice is up to you and your wallet.  Either way you go, you're guaranteed to end the day with a happy stomach.

Hawker centers and food courts are the way to go for cheap meals.  In the better areas, the price is slightly higher because the quality and cleanliness is what you pay for.  (We actually ate satay in an outdoor hawker center which was really nice, but unfortunately food poisoning was a result.  So you should still be careful of what you eat and the handling of it even if you're in Singapore where the standards for street food are supposed to be better.)  There are so many classic dishes to choose, so it's best to go with hungry stomachs and share everything.

On the other end of the budget spectrum, there are also many choices for big splurges as well as mid-ranged meals from international celebrity chefs.  From Australia, Luke Mangan has his Salt tapas & bar which is a fun restaurant for refreshing sangrias and small plates to share.  From the states by way to France, there's also the iconic Daniel Boulud and his db Bistro Moderne.  There you can enjoy his signature burger decadently filled with short rib and foie gras.  You can have a meal from these reknown chefs from all over the world in just one small city.

In Singapore, there's so much great food for every budget and for any craving.

First stop, hawker centers
Chicken wings and carrot cake

 Nasi Lemak at 1983 Taste of Nanyang

Bar Boulud in NYC

Since eating in Daniel almost 10 years ago, I've been a huge fan of Daniel Boulud. It ranks up there with my fine dining experience at Jean Georges and Alain Ducasse. Finesse food matched with superb service.

In looking back at it, I've actually eaten at 5 of his restaurants - 4 in New York City (Daniel, DB Bistro, DBGB, and Bar Boulud) and 1 in Las Vegas (DB Brasserie). I've always had an enjoyable food experience. However lately, at DBGB and now at Bar Boulud, the host/hostess were surprisingly rude. On TV Boulud is such a friendly guy who puts attention to detail and service. During our dining experience at Daniel my brother met him, and he's such a friendly guy. Unfortunately, it seems as though it gets to the hosts/hostesses heads that they are working at a Boulud establishment.

At our most recent Boulud dining experience at Bar Boulud, we were seated outside and at the time our table was nicely covered by the umbrellas. However, halfway through our meal the NYC summer sun moved its way onto our table and chairs. We asked our server if we could move inside; so she, in turn, asked the hostess. The hostess came to our table and said there were no tables available only bar seats. So we said we'd like to move to the bar seats to enjoy our last course. She, then, said she'll check with the bartender. When she came back out, she said the bar was all filled. We sadly accepted her answer and quickly finished the rest of our meal. After we paid the bill, we went inside the restaurant to use the restrooms. (Just a side note - the bathrooms here are nice and clean. It felt like a restroom in a five star hotel.) To my surprise, the tables and bar were practically empty..and this was only 10 minutes after the hostess spoke to us. Let me speak colloquially and say, "What's up with that??"

At all of Boulud's 5 restaurants, we've enjoyed the food. It's quality and worth the expense.. But it's the food AND service that makes the dining experience, not just the food. At both DBGB and at Bar Boulud, it's been the host and hostess that have ruined our experience. The people hired at that position seem to feel a power that they should not expose to customers. They should be as warm and as friendly as Chef Boulud to represent him and his restaurants.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about the pictures.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album.

Daniel Boulud's DBGB

Part of my daily routine is to follow food-related news, via Twitter or other news or blog sources. From these articles, I occasionally list down restaurants that I have to visit at some point in time. Typically they are in cities where I know I'll visit in the next one or two years.

When I first read about Daniel Boulud's newest casual dining concept, I excitedly put that on my list. I've enjoyed all his restaurants in New York and his restaurant in Las Vegas. So I knew his latest, DBGB, would be a real treat.

We went there twice. The first time was for a late afternoon meal at the bar area. This first experience was really enjoyable. The setting and the food surpassed our expectations, as Boulud usually does at his restaurants.

For the second visit, we dined in the main dining area. The food was still excellent, but the service lacked and the host, especially, completely appalled us. For a casual setting, he was stiffly dressed in a suit - as though he wanted to work at Daniel but he got rejected. He was pretty rude to our table in pressuring and pushing us to hurry up, eat, and leave because he wanted to sit another party in our table. For example, he vigorously and blatantly showed the busboys his wrap-it-up gesture in front of our table as his signal to them (and us) to clean out table as fast as possible, even though we were still wrapping up our last conversation. There are ways to do this, and he knew none of proper polite ones.

Because of him, it makes me less eager to go back again. The food was excellent and enjoyable, but when I go out to eat I'm also looking for that overall experience with quality service, especially when the prices are higher than a cheap eats place.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about the food photos:

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.