I managed a meal at both Folklore and Charlie’s, and Charlie’s was definitely the standout. I went by myself for a hasty lunch before a flight, so had chap chye and the bakwan kepitan. The chap chye was the best I’ve ever had, with a remarkable complexity of flavours and the freshness of the lettuce. Delicious. I hadn’t had the bakwan kepitan before and thought it light and delicious. The bamboo shoots klyeoh mentioned were a fantastic touch. Also, there was a lovely sambal on the side.
Dinner at Folklore was also very good, but I think we ordered badly, being led astray by the waiter and my dining companion’s not feeling very well at the time. The buah keluak fried rice and the desserts were excellent (I loved the egg with an added dollop of buah keluak in the former), to which we added some angle bean salad (nice and fresh) and pineapple prawns. The latter was the weakest dish of the evening, but all of it felt a bit flat especially compared to the vividness of Charlie’s Peranakan the next morning. In retrospect I should have insisted on the otak-otak and one of the Eurasian dishes.
Other meals were at Amo’s - ok Italian, where I hoped to recreate a superb meal I’d had at the now-defunct Angeleno’s. It simply didn’t have the same focus on good quality ingredients. At Ottomanli, a slightly over-the-top Turkish restaurant we had lovely pit roasted lamb, and at Maxwell Hawker Centre some tasty frog porridge. The restaurant highlight was Man-Man Unagi, with some of the best eel I’ve ever had, and well worth having to queue half an hour at weekday lunchtime. All in all, Man-Man and Charlie’s were the highlights of my flying Singapore visit.
