Salute

A dining companion suggested going Immanuel French Kitchen for dinner on a weekday and we arrived just as it was opening. Located at a coffeeshop in the Alexandra Village Food Centre vicinity opposite Alexandra Hospital and Queensway Shopping Centre, it is one of the stalls at Salute. Others include Stew Küche (it means kitchen in German) serving Swiss-German food, Seasalt – The Seafood Place and Two Wings. Upon reaching, we saw blue and white tablecloths on tables atypical of the usual coffeeshop layout. We were asked how many people we had and for a moment, I was reminded of the touting at Newton Food Centre where seats would be arranged for customers who then felt obliged to order from the particular stall which helped to find tables. With the assurance we could order from any stall regardless of where we were seated, we allowed a table to be arranged for us. After checking out the menus, we proceeded to order from each and pay.

Ambush

I was intrigued by the catchy name of this casual European restaurant located on the 4th floor of newly-opened Jem, one of Singapore's largest suburban malls. After checking out its menu, my dining companions and I decided to eat there. Weekday lunch sets include a complimentary soup of the day and drink each. À la carte menu reminiscent of old-style newspaper offers a variety of fares such as Belgium moules and palourde (French for mussels and clams respectively), French entrées like Confit Duck Leg, Italian pastas, Spanish paella and Swiss-German wurst. The latter also includes German chicken schnitzels and pork knuckles as well as Swiss rosti among its choice of accompanying starch – other options are mashed potato, fries or pasta. Among us, we had three lunch sets and an à la carte dish. Except Ambush's Paella, the rest were pastas where we could choose fusilli, linguini, penne or spaghetti so our food was served quick enough.

Brotzeit German Bier Bar and Restaurant

My dining companions and I were deciding between French, German and Japanese cuisine when one of them commented that he had not tried German food before. With that, we decided on Brotzeit – literally translated in German as "bread time", a typical Bavarian expression referring to a cosy meal complemented by fresh beer. According to its website, the German Bier Bar and Restaurant opened in 2006 and offers authentic Bavarian dishes with a wide selection of world-famous German beers all day long. In fact, all its beers are made using pure spring water according to time-honoured German beer-making traditions which respect the Purity Law of 1516. As I have been to both branches at Raffles City Shopping Centre and VivoCity (that leaves The Star Vista as the only I have not been to after this), I suggested visiting the one along Discovery Walk at 313@somerset beside JiBiru Japanese Craft Beer Bar and opposite Oriole Café and Bar at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites.