Esquina

Esquina is, as its name suggests (which means corner in Spanish), tucked away at the corner of Jiak Chun Road and Teck Lim Road. Located off Keong Saik Road, the Spanish tapas restaurant occupies two storeys of a shophouse. Sit at the bar counter on the 1st floor if you want to watch its chefs prepare dishes and do not mind fumes from the open kitchen. Requested for a table on the 2nd floor, which was quiet enough for us to catch up with one another. From the Snacks menu, we had three items – mediocre marinated olives with cardamom, cider vinegar, lemon and Mediterranean herbs, mixed reviews for Iberico bellota "5J" with pan con tomate (Spanish-styled grilled bread with tomato) and raw oyster topped with Jalapeno ponzu, salmon roe and pickled ginger flower that a dining companion raved about. The latter was fresh but not as plump as others I have eaten. Nonetheless, a delicate dish prettily presented with flavours that came very well together.

I liked how the tanginess of the tomato cut the saltiness of the grilled bread, and how perfect it was with the ham. Could not say the same of the sea urchin and lobster paella with saffron aioli and snow peas though. Found the short-grained rice too undercooked for my liking and would prefer it to be a tad dryer. Loved the potato and black truffle gratin with onion sauce, organic egg yolk and iberico ham. The crispy potato was good, both on its own and when paired with other ingredients in this dish. Another of our favourites was the Spanish Suckling Pig served with rhubarb and apple chutney and mulled wine jus – succulent meat with thin crisp skin and just the right amount of fats. While it was lovely on its own, the taste was accentuated with the sauce so delicious a dining companion wanted to buy it. Too full for desserts, we were served with chocolate mousse on thin slices of crispy bread topped with olive oil and sea salt to round up our pleasant meal.

Hashi

Singapore Restaurant Week, from 15 to 23 March, is back. Had a lovely experience with Taratata Bistrot last year and decided to find another participating restaurant I have never tried before. Not too far from the French bistro along Keong Saik Road is Hashi, which I saw after dinner at MooJaa the other day. It is part of the TRE Group that includes Gaia Ristorante & Bar, Oso Ristorante and Restaurant Absinthe among others. And located on the 1st floor of a three-storey shophouse, owned by the group, at Bukit Pasoh Road where Barreto used to be. Literally translated in Japanese as "chopsticks", the restaurant is helmed by Chef Tadashi Takahashi who started at Kaiseki Komuro under the tutelage of renowned Kaiseki masterchef Mitsihiro Komuro before moving on to Umu in London and Nobu in Melbourne. Visited on a weekday for lunch and realised that the towering structure of wood at the entrance actually continued into the sake bar.

MooJaa

Friends have been sharing drooling pictures of mookata and one has even embarked on a quest to find the best in Singapore. So what is mookata? It is Thai barbeque-cum-steamboat using pork lard to keep the aluminium dome-shaped centre "non-stick", with the oil from it and other barbequed items trickling into the surrounding shallow ring of water to form a sinfully flavourful broth for the steamboat. Exact opposite to what we might be more familiar with, barbequing on the hotplate (with a hole in the centre for a bowl of soup) around a hotpot in the centre. Have yet to try until it was featured in a recent The Sunday Times article, from which I shortlisted a few. Read rave reviews about MooJaa, along Keong Saik Road where Taratata Bistrot is also located, and called to reserve for two last Friday. When I tried to postpone my reservation because my dining companion could not reach in time, was told it was full. But it was not, based on our observations throughout dinner.

Taratata Bistrot

Singapore Restaurant Week, from 18 to 24 March, is the 6th edition since March 2010. With set lunches and dinners at $25++ and $35++ ($40++ and S$55++ for restaurants awarded with DiningCity Star) respectively, I decided to eat at a participating restaurant that I have never tried before. A few were fully-booked by the time I checked while some had surprise menus. On the other end of the extreme were restaurants providing extensive options in their set menus so I felt spoilt for choice. In the end, I settled on a French bistro along Keong Saik Road. A world of Parisian style chic nestled among old shophouses in Chinatown, Taratata Bistrot used to open its glass doors for an open-concept dining experience but has since closed them due to both the heat and the noise. Still the same authentic French cuisine including home-style French classics and traditional country style dishes by Chefs-owners Bertrand Raguin and Philippe Nouzillat.