10 Things To Eat At Raffles City

With its central location and wide range of offerings, Raffles City is a go-to mall for an eclectic mix of people, like tourists kick-starting their tour of Singapore’s city-centre, nine-to-fivers working in the nearby offices and millennials making a pit stop before museum-hopping around the area. It’s also a convenient place if you’re hungry. Chock-full of restaurants, bistros, cafés and food stalls from Singapore and around the world, there’s something for every craving and budget. Here, we’ve highlighted 10 worthy eats, including half-priced pastas and burgers, vegan pho and durian coffee.

Homegrown German restaurant, Brotzeit has been dishing out hearty bratwursts since 2006, but it has outdone itself with its hulking new one-metre-long Sausage Tower (see main pic), served with two Bavarian pretzels and your choice of mustard (we say go for the new horseradish mustard and hot grainy mustard). Choose between Smoked Chicken Cheese ($32) and Farmer’s Sausage ($36) made with pork, or get the best of both worlds with the half-and-half ($34). The sausages come as 18 and 28 cute chubby links draped over a wooden stand. Not a huge carnivore? Try the seasonal Steckerlfisch ($28) — whole mackerel grilled on a stick — that’s traditionally eaten by German fisherman and campers. No matter what you pick, wash it all down with a German beer or two recommended by Brotzeit’s in-house beer sommelier.

Brotzeit, #01-17

What started out as an artisanal bakery in 1997 has become a popular local franchise for wholesome, cafe food, in the form of Cedele. Their Design-Your-Own Salad Grain Bowls ($10.80), are popular with calorie-counters, but even cheat days are more wholesome at Cedele. Carbo-load with less guilt at its all-day dining restaurant in Raffles City, on comfort food like the Beef Meatball Bolognese ($19) and the Portobello Beef Burger ($17), made with all-natural ingredients, without preservatives or additives. And here’s a treat just for 8 DAYS readers: show this page to the café’s staff and enjoy 50% off every second pasta or burger ordered, from 6pm to 9pm in July. Offer valid only at the Raffles City outlet.

Cedele, #B1-44M

With its Michelin-star, Chinese restaurant PUTIEN has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a stall in a Kitchener Road coffee shop. Pay its cosy outlet at Raffles City a visit to indulge in their popular DUOTOU clam dishes, back in season from now till end July. DUOTOU clams — a variety of clams harvested from the mineral-rich black mud waters of Duo Tou Village in the coastal city of Putian, China — is known for its plump, succulent meat. You can enjoy the clams eight different ways, from deep-fried to steamed. Our picks are the two new Southeast Asian-inspired flavours: Stir-fried Sambal Chives with DUOTOU Clam ($22.80) and Thai-flavoured DUOTOU Clam ($21.80), the latter a zesty mix of the shellfish tossed in a Thai fruit-and-vegetable sauce. There’s no need to choose between the two — you can enjoy any two clam dishes for just $39.80 throughout the DUOTOU Clam Season.

PUTIEN, #02-18

Get your Pho-fix at NamNam, which is dishing out new flavours this month. Slurp up some Braised Australian Beef with Yellow Noodles ($10.90), a variation of the classic Vietnamese beef stew, Bò Kho. Each piping-hot bowl starts with a base of yellow noodles tossed in black vinegar, fish sauce, sambal kachang (peanut chilli sauce) and shallot oil, before braised beef and tendons as well as a few obligatory greens in the form of kai lan are ladled on top. For those who don’t eat meat, try the Vegan Pho with Brown Rice Noodles ($7.90 for a small bowl; $10.90 regular), with mushrooms and vegan ‘fishballs, prawns, chicken’ and tofu skin rolls instead of beef. Explore more exciting flavours with their new drinks, too, like the Viet Eggnog Durian Coffee ($6.90), an interesting blend of coffee, durian and... egg (don’t hate it till you’ve tried it). Or the Solero Lime Avalanche ($6.90), a drinkable version of the local childhood favourite ice cream.

NamNam, #B1-47

Sushi Tei is doing the most Singaporean thing ever to celebrate National Day — coming up with a celebratory menu of fusion dishes that are a mish-mash of local and Japanese flavours. Warm the belly with a pot of Kagoshima Pork Mala Shabu Shabu ($16.80) inspired by the tongue-numbing Sichuan mala bowls (not quite Singaporean but locals just love mala) we love to hurt ourselves with, or the Hokkien mee-esque Singapore-Inspired Kaisen Yaki Udon ($10.80), served with Japanese chilli paste and lime. Then, snack on the Chilli Crab-less Croquette ($10.80), a crab-less, plant-based croquette with classic chilli crab-style sauce. And if you can’t get enough brown sugar-anything, wash your meal down with a cup of Brown Sugar Matcha Latte ($4.50).

Sushi Tei, #03-13/14

Craving for roast chicken? Head to Poulet for its accessible French version. The casual French chain brines its birds overnight in a citrus-and-herb marinade and flame-roasts them on a spit. It’s served with a choice of Mushroom Chardonnay Sauce ($16.90 for half chicken; $30.90 whole), Diane Sauce (a traditional brown sauce cooked with bacon and mushroom, $16.90 for half chicken; $30.90 whole), and Cranberry Sauce ($16.90 for half chicken; $30.90 whole). Leave stomach space for the newest addition to their menu, created by fine-dining chef Justin Quek (who has two restaurants in MBS) in his second collab with Poulet after a successful first run earlier this year. The Poulet à l'Estragon ($13.90) is a traditional French dish made of braised chicken with tarragon cream, served with pilaf rice and sautéed vegetables. Available for a limited period only.

Poulet, #B1-65/66

Need a caffeine top-up? Make a stop at The Coffee Academïcs — the Hong Kong-based specialty coffee brand is known for the great attention to detail it puts into each cup. Sustainably-sourced coffee beans are roasted and brewed with water that has been filtered through a specialised American water filtration system for a velvety-smooth brew. Pair your cuppa with the new locally-inspired Fried Orh Nee nuggets with Gula Melaka ($17), bite-sized fried yam nuggets served with pandan gula melaka gelato, palm sugar syrup and mixed berries, the café’s twist on traditional Teochew yam paste.

The Coffee Academïcs, #B1-12

Tiong Bahru Bakery, fondly christened “TBB” by its fans, is known for its yummy French pastries (our fave is the Roasted Mushroom & Brie Croissant, $9.50) and robust Aussie-style flat white coffee. Besides baked treats, Tiong Bahru Bakery’s Raffles City café also boasts a selection of mains that range from the healthy, like the Rainbow Rice Bowl 1.0 ($18) filled with greens, grains and spicy pineapple kimchi and salsa verde, to the indulgent, like the PB&B Pancake Burger ($23) comprising fluffy pancakes sandwiching five-spiced pork belly slices and caramelised bananas. Dine in the café’s bright, relaxing space at the basement of Raffles City or get your food and drinks to go from the express check-out kiosk.

Tiong Bahru Bakery, #B1-11

Do you live for spicy food? Put your tastebuds to the test at Riverside Grilled Fish, which hails from Beijing, China. Their Signature Grilled Fish (from $36) features whole sea bass, patin, golden pomfret or qing jiang that’s grilled before it’s served to you on a heated tray, simmering away in your choice of sauce. Choose between the fiery Signature Fragrant Spicy sauce and the intensely spicy Mala sauce or go on a gastronomic adventure with the mysteriously-named ‘Unique’ sauce, a blend of sweet, sour and numbing mala. If you can’t handle the heat, there’s always the non-spicy Fragrant Paste Sauce. Calm the fire with a bowl of refreshing Chilled La Mian with Spicy Chicken, Black Fungus and Cucumber ($11.80).

Riverside Grilled Fish, #B1-06/07

Tucked in a corner of Raffles City’s basement, this hip quick-service Thai restaurant whips up authentic Thai cuisine with a ‘fast-serving and slow-cooking’ philosophy — preserving the deep flavours of slow-cooking with service so speedy you’ll get your food in no time. Spice things up with a simple yet hearty plate of Pad Thai ($9.80 for chicken; $11.50 for shrimp), stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, tofu, vegetables and chicken or shrimp in a piquant sauce mix of palm sugar, Thai chillies and tamarind. They also have value-for-money all-day Dining Sets (from $9.80) where you can mix-and-match a selection of Thai curries and soups with roti, rice or noodles, as well as a drink. Your stomach and wallet will thank you.

Real Thai, #B1-44F​​​​​​​

For more information, visit www.capitaland.com/sg/malls/rafflescity

Photos: Raffles City