Two Favorites!

Last week I found two restaurants that stood above the rest for a couple of different reasons:  One value, one cool, both great.

Saveur – You would probably walk by this French restaurant if you didn’t know it was there.  Located a 10 minute walk from my apartment on Purvis Street this place is a real value.  Formica tables and multiple servers this restaurant doesn’t have the charm of a Denny’s, but the food value is something else.  I had the 3 course “set menu”.

The appetizer was seared foie gras on creamy lentils with truffle oil. 

Just the right size and yummy!

My entrée was seared pork belly in a simple French bean stew.  Julie and I have a rule to always try pork belly when it’s on the menu and I think this is the 3^rd or 4^th time since I have been in Singapore.  And this is the second best (see below for the best).

Dessert was a pistachio panna cota served shilled and not too sweet.  The pistachios were front and center and I thoroughly enjoyed it—I don’t say that about a lot of desserts.

All of this with a glass of a French cabernet was about USD$30. 

Vatos -- Earlier in the week I went to a Korean taco restaurant recommended by 2 different people at work, just a short walk down Beach Road.  It is located in a colonial preservation building, very cool vibe inside.

This Korean restaurant has its roots in the KorMex food trucks in Los Angeles (that we first heard about from our friends Brad and Carole).  The South beach Singapore location marks their first international expansion and this pace is great.  

I started out with a wonderful margarita on the rocks.  At about USD$14 it wasn’t cheap, but boy was it tasty. 

Sitting at the bar they brought chips.  A great presentation in that rather than chips there were 3 tostada shells that you broke up and dipped in a rojas or verdes salsa—quite nice.

Then it was time for the pork belly tacos.  A simple Korean sesame marinade made this some of the tastiest pork belly I have ever had.  Topped with lime pickeld red onions it was great.

For less than USD$30, this was a great meal.