The Red Dot Design Museum, within walking distance of the Marina Bay Sands resort, is a showcase for contemporary design in Singapore. Its cafe, with a variety of Singaporean dishes served in cube-shaped tasting portions designed by Food Anatomy’s Gee Jiaxin and Sean Wong Xin Hong (both At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy graduands) provide foreign visitors with the opportunity to sample iconic Singaporean dishes.
What we tried:
- Hainanese chicken rice - Singapore has the best rendition of this dish: tastier than the robust version one encounters on Hainan Island itself, and tastier than the versions one finds in Malaysia, Thailand (where it;s known as “khao man kai”) and Hong Kong. For truly tasty renditions, go to Boon Tong Kee (Balestier Rd), Wee Nam Kee (Novena Square) Yet Con (Purvis St).
What Hainanese chicken rice without a chili-vinegar-ginger sauce to pep it up? Red Dot Museum Cafe’s chili condiment comes in a tiny plastic squeeze dispenser.
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Nasi lemak - the version here layers otak-otak (spicy fish mousse) atop egg omelette and two layers of rice (one layer tinted green), garnished with sweet-spicy nasi lemak sambal, crisp-fried “ikan bilis” (anchovies) and cucumber slivers.
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Beef rendang - slow-cooked beef curry on rice.
Truth be told, one can get tastier renditons of these dishes elsewhere. But for sheer convenience, and that the small portions are served attractively, there’s no beating this place.
View from the cafe:
Address
Red Dot Design Museum Cafe
11 Marina Boulevard
Singapore 018940
Tel: +65 6514 0111
Opening hours: 11am to 2am daily
