New Bites: July 2014 | OpenRice Singapore

We hope you’re hungry because it’s time to meet 10 hot new eats for July. This month’s round up is loaded up with ammunition for your cafe hopping weekends, as well as even more reasons to keep visiting Duxton, where noteworthy burgers and lobsters have hit the hip neighbourhood. Also in the mix is a self-serve Udon concept featuring enticing Yuzu selections in the Japanese food street of Serangoon. Potato Head Folk Renowned Indonesian F&B brand ventures to Keong Saik

Currently the hottest eat on Keong Saik Road, four-storey Potato Head Folk gets you pumped up with handmade gourmet burgers on the first two levels whilst shaking your cocktail senses on the next. Creatives will feel right at home in the whimsical interior of Three Buns – adorned with original art from Bali and artist David Bromley’s signature paintings of fluttery birds and butterflies that spruce up the otherwise bare walls. Order this: Baby Huey ($20) – their standard burger packed with a juicy 150g beef patty, spiced mayo and their ‘notorious T.O.M. sauce’; Naughty Fries ($9) – Not-too-starchy potato wedges meets a sinful mix of beef chilli and spiced béarnaise ; And if chocolate was a drug, we'd be addicted to Pot Head in Rich Chocolate ($6) – Scoops of cocoa heaven, featuring a mix of dark and milk chocolate. 36 Keong Saik Rd, Singapore 089143. Tel.: 6327 1939 The Lokal Australian café vibes on Neil Road

‘Lokated’ on the sleeves of Duxton one street away from Potato Head Folk, The Lokal serves up Aussie-style brunch items in a space carefully decked out in fifty shades of blue. Sister café to Sarnies – where their beans come from – the new kid on the block brews their coffee proudly from a $40,000 custom V3 Slayer machine out front, while an open concept kitchen keeps you entertained at the back. For a little chat with the Chef, grab the counter seats where you’ll get front row seats to a “live culinary show” as they load up rustic wooden boards with burger orders from the grill. Order this: Toasted Banana Bread – Don’t wait too long to devour this fragrant bake, which comes covered in home-made vanilla yogurt, toasted macadamias and caramelized bananas; Breakfast Burger with Pork Belly – We like that the burger came layered with cooked spinach, pairing well with the soft breaded pork and broken omelette. 136 Neil Road, Singapore 088865. Tel.:6423 9918 Tian Kee & Co. Provision shop turns cafe in Dakota neighbourhood

Old is gold – as many new cafes such as Tian Kee & Co.. has proven to us with its nostalgic theme, complete with a blue rusty signboard from its past owner. With closed shutters, you wouldn't have guessed that the provision shop housed under Block 12 of Dakota Crescent has in fact transformed into a cafe, where children who once ran over for ring pops and bee-bee snacks now return all-grown-up to get their caffeine provisions instead. Here, the interior offers a mix and match of old and new coffee tables with simple pastry staples like Muffins ($3.50), Pies ($3) and Butter sugar bread biscuits ($3) fill the display on top of a variety of cakes from Cat and the Fiddle. We also hear that they’ve recently launched all-day-breakfast sets to tame your hungry tummies. Order this: Gelato – Flavours include Yuzu, Passionfruit and Double Chocolate with Rum though they vary from day to day. These homemade ice creams make for great slurps on humid days, but be quick because they melt fast; SNAG – Coffee meets Bandung in this localized latte, available both hot and iced. Blk 12 Dakota Crescent #01-48, Singapore 390012. Al'Frank Cookies There’s a new cookie in town

Watch out Famous Amos. Month-old Al'Frank Cookies could very well give you a run for your money. At $6-8 per 100g, the homemade cookies aren't exactly easy on the wallet but definitely pack a punch in the flavour department, with choices catering to both the health-conscious and the indulgent. The healthier choices are gluten-free creations made using oatmeal instead of flour with additional ingredients including usual suspects such as chocolate chips, walnuts, macadamias and raisins. Loved the thoughtful packaging with a ziplock included to keep the cookies fresh for round 2. Not that it will last that long though. Order this: Double Belgium Chocolate Cookie – It is a totally chocolate cookie with generous chocolate chips semi melted within. It is almost a sin for self-professed chocoholics to miss out on this. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip - All the sinful indulgences of a chocolate chip cookie, only healthier. 12 Haji Lane, Singapore 189205. Tel.: 9667 5147 Pince & Pints Duxton's freshest catch with cocktails to match

Probably the most exciting addition to the Duxton neighbourhood to date, Pince & Pints is Singapore’s first lobster centric restaurant and bar, bound by its owner’s dream of providing locals with the accessibility to quality lobsters in a laid back environment. The concise menu of four mains at $48++ each includes its signature – The Lobster Roll, starring Chef-owner Frederick Yap’s own mayonnaise concoction, a classic Live Whole Lobster in grilled and steamed variations, as well as a Chilli Lobster with Mantou for a local punch. And filling in the ‘Pints’ section are cocktails made with homemade syrups with highlights such as Bees Knees featuring gin, honey and cold-pressed lemon juice, as well as Painkiller – a rum-based cocktail similar to a Pina Colada. 32/33 Duxton Road, Singapore 089497. Tel.: 6225 7558 Image credits: Pince & Pints The Assembly Ground The latest place to gather in town

Bicycles seem to be the décor of choice at local cafés lately. First it was November8, then Wheeler’s Yard and now The Assembly Ground. A couple of bikes hung from pastel coloured walls and the café’s woodsy interior adds to the swagger lent from the chic lifestyle fashion retail store sharing the same premises. As with many of the newer cafes, The Assembly Ground offers an all-day brunch menu complemented by heartier dinner dishes including a variety of pastas and pizzas; not forgetting the coffee which come from 2 popular local roasters – Nylon Coffee Roasters and Common Man. Additional points for the prime location at the ground floor of The Cathay. Order this: Pulled Pork Pizza - The slow-cooked strips of pork complemented by onion confit and herbs dripped juice and flavour, a refreshing twist from the duck pizzas that have been going around; Pick any iced milk drink over hot drinks and their latte art here – the former comes free with a scoop of ice cream (we picked the Iced Mocha). The Cathay, 2 Handy Road #01-23, Singapore 229233. Tel.: 6733 3375 Fish Tales Something fishy is afoot at *SCAPE

There has always been that rustic charm seeing a delectable piece of fried fish and golden-brown chips served on paper. Fish Tales at *SCAPE offers different takes of Fish and Chips and a variety of pastas and sides all featuring fresh seafood. While the catch tasted fresh, less-than-satisfactory execution on certain dishes falls short of bringing on that ‘Seafood Ahoy’ moment. Order this: Fiery Fish & Chips for the most localized take on the popular British staple yet. A tangy chilli paste generously smeared across your fried fish. Skip this: Popcorn Fish – a play on KFCs nuggets of fried chicken, the pieces of fried fish were more batter than fish and came off tasting rather oily. *Scape, 2 Orchard Link #02-27, Singapore 237978. 6 Prawns and a Beer Beer Market's new food specialty concept on old grounds

The folks from Beer Market, known for their beer bidding concept, recently launched their latest undertaking – 6 Prawns and a Beer – which works around a menu of craft beers, exotic brews and prawn offerings that rise above bar grub levels. Return to their former Bukit Timah outlet at Crown Centre, where you can expect booze-friendly dishes like Crispy Prawn Burger ($13.90) and Ultimate Prawn Pizza ($19.90) on top of their signature 6 Prawns, which sports 6 different styles including White Wine and Spicy Sze Chuan sauces. Crown Centre, 557 Bukit Timah Road #01-03, Singapore 269694. Tel.: 9679 0004 Image credits: 6 Prawns and a Beer Facebook Page Sufood Italian-inspired vegetarian restaurant hits Raffles City

If word amongst vegetarians hasn’t already spread, a new meat-free concept, Sufood, recently arrived upon our shores and set camp in a conveniently located Raffles City Shopping Centre. The joint venture between Taiwanese F&B giant Wowprime and local food group Putien gives us a fresh take on vegetarian cuisine with its Italian nuances and the use of fruits and vegetables from 5 colour groups (yellow, red, green, purple and white) to produce naturally vibrant plated dishes. While a la carte dining is available, their eight-course meal stands affordable at just $25++, which includes appetizers, salads, soups, desserts, drinks and hefty mains like Wild Mushroom Charcoal Tagliatelle, Baked Potato Al Funghi and Star Pizza. Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road #02-19, Singapore 179103. Tel.: 6333 5338 Image credits: Sufood Facebook Page Ten-ichi Udon Pocket-friendly and customizable Udon concept in Serangoon

Udon want to miss the latest addition to the bustling Japanese food street in the basement of NEX. Sitting in place of Shimbashi Soba, Ten-ichi Udon adopts a self-serve concept, allowing you to customize your own bowl of Kake Soup, Zaru Cold or Beef Soup Udon along the way. Expect to spend no more than $15 for a full set including tempura and drinks like green tea or a heavenly pairing of Asahi beer. It starts with the choice of noodle – Original or Matcha, before moving on to pick from over 15 types of tempura (approximately $2 per piece) and finally free reign of condiments like tempura flakes and chilli padi for any extra flavour required. More interestingly though, is their new Yuzu series with signatures like Kamatama Yuzu Udon ($6.50), served with a half-boiled egg. Order this: Yuzu Wasabi Udon ($6.50) – Boasting flavours more robust than the Matcha Zaru Cold Udon ($5.50), this one comes served with a refreshingly chilled and citrusy wasabi sauce. Nex, 23 Serangoon Central #B1-02, Singapore 556083. Tel.: 6634 4786 Image credits: Ten-ichi Udon Main image credits: Pince & Pints By Peh Yi Wen & Bernard Tan Missed our past New Bites finds? June 2014 | May 2014 | April 2014 | March 2014 | February 2014 | January 2014 See Also: Check out these new spots for your foodie adventures Discover the best Japanese food in town