Waterloo street, which was first named Church street after Thomas Church in 1837, was one of the earliest streets to be constructed in Singapore. It was later renamed in 1858 by the then Municipal Council, in commemoration of the victory of the Duke of Wellington over the French on the Battlefield of Waterloo (in present-day Belgium) in 1815.
Today, Waterloo Street is lined with prominent religious landmarks including the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Sri Krishnan Temple, and the Maghaim Aboth Synagogue, just to name a few. (And lots of makan places too!)
It's not clear what's the original function of this colonial-styled building located at 51 Waterloo Street, which now houses several private art galleries as well as the Singapore Ballet Academy. I chanced upon Fine Palate after visiting some of the galleries and was immediately drawn to its sleek décor and enticing
menu.
Started in January this year, the café aims to provide effortless fine dining experience in a casual and cosy ambience. With over 20 years of experience in gourmet catering, most of the ingredients are prepared from scratch, making the dishes here absolutely outstanding.
There was an interesting flavour in the sauce that sorta 'tickled' the tastebud. It turned out that the secret behind was actually red pepper, as revealed by the helpful waitress.
You could probably guess the look on my carnivore companion's face when this
Vegetable Crudités ($6.00) showed up on the table.
Lesson learned: Never be too shy to ask, especially when the name of a dish looks vocabularily challenging.
Fries ($6.00), spiced up with homemade wasabi mayonnaise.
Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak Wrap ($18.00), with mixed greens and marinated beetroot.
You have to be extra careful when eating this though, because you don't want that juicy beetroot to add an extra color to your outfit.
Sesame Buckwheat Noodles ($18.00), served with springy pan-seared tiger prawns, topped with rocket and a touch of sesame dressing.
My companion commented that her soba would have been better enjoyed if it was served chilled instead of at just ambient temperature.
Nothing I could pick on this tender
200gsm Char-grilled New Zealand Sirloin Steak ($22.00), except that the sauce of my choice, Dijon Mustard didn't go so well with it.
Their
Tuna and Capellini ($18.00) here was a total winner.
Angel hair of fine texture was flavourfully livened by a
nice sublime sesame shoyu dressing. The chunky fresh raw tuna was only made savourier with the alluring aroma of the same dressing. Even my non-sashimi-eating companion couldn't help but stole some tuna from me.
It had been long since I had a decorous dish of such remarkable standard.
Our lunch was ended with the dessert of the day,
Double Chocolate Mousse ($8.00).
Get intimate with your food while watching it being prepared from just arm length away.
While there is no 7% on total bill, Standard Chartered cardmembers get 15% off ala carte menu.
Fine Palate
51 Waterloo Street #01-04/05
Tue–Sun, 11am – 6pm
Closed on Mondays
6336 5120**********************************************************************************************************************************
After our lunch, we proceeded to the museums in the arts belt, where the third edition of
Singapore Biennale is held.
Here are some of the snapshots.
Her lady the (unfortunately fully booked) Merlion Hotel, by Tatzu Nishi.
The one you have probably seen on poster and banners, which is also one of my favourites.
Titled
Factum by South African aritst Candice Breitz, the work comprises video installations showing interview footage with seven pairs of identical twins and a singlet set of identical triplets. Difficult to tell apart at first, as the interview goes on, sharp distnctions in their voices, body language and world-views slowly give them away.
This work has been well-received in many countries and it's now your chance to catch it locally.
Double up, by Michael Beutler from Germany.
Le Cannibale by London-based artist Mike Nelson.
A site specific work by Poland artist Gosia Wlodarczak, titled
Frost Drawing for Kallang. One of my favourites too.
Stored in a jar: monsoon, drowning fish, color of water and the floating world, by Vietman born artist Tiffany Chung.
The event runs until 15 May, don't miss it or you will have to wait for another two years.
