Canopy Garden Dining is opening a third outlet at Changi City Point with a pet-friendly al fresco dining garden concept.

Canopy Garden Dining outlet at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park has been around for years and it is a popular hangout for families and friends.

It opened a second outlet at HortPark in December last year and the newest outlet at Changi City Point is its first outlet within a shopping mall.

The new location at Changi City Point is targetted at working professionals in Changi Business Park and there will be a new tapas menu featuring small bites that are great for after-work drinks.

There is a pet-friendly al fresco terrace where you can bring your furkids along and it is also a suitable event space.

Canopy Changi City Point Outlet
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
#01-70/71 Changi City Point
Singapore 486038

Whenever we talk about Vietnamese food, the first thing that comes to mind is a cuisine that boasts complex heady aromas of fresh herbs and robust flavours that pack a punch yet remain light on the palate.

An amalgamation of fresh and exotic flavours hailing from various regions of Vietnam, newly-established Paper Rice aims to give diners nothing short of the real taste of Vietnam. This new concept by Arteastiq Group—you may know them for their stellar range of brewed teas and art jam spaces—sees a collaboration of colossal proportions, tying in the skillsets of Arteastiq’s award-winning Executive Chef Yip and Vietnamese-born Chef Minh.

Officially opening its doors at Changi City Point on 30 November 2018, Paper Rice takes diners through Vietnam’s rich gastronomic history encompassing the cuisine’s signature clean, exotic and robust flavours. Think nostalgic classics such as the hearty pho, smoky street-style grill and Vietnamese drip coffee, as well as other traditional and uncommon Vietnamese delights.

As part of their launch, you get to enjoy Saigon Export beers at just S$2 and 50% off Kirin beers with any purchase of food from 30 November to 31 December 2018. The best part? That’s probably the least exciting promotion the restaurant has in store. Make sure to read till the end of this article for more details.

STARTERS

Offering a pretty decent selection of starter dishes, these are what we advise you to start with to give you a more restrained introduction to the courses to come.

Vietnamese spring rolls are a must and on their menu, they have more than just the conventional spring rolls available. Feeling undecided? Consider their Spring Rolls Platter. heFeaturing 4 different kinds of spring rolls, the platter comes with two dipping sauces accompanied by rice noodles and greens.

PHO

A quintessential Vietnamese dish, the pho provides hot and meaty comfort in a nutritious bone broth.

At Paper Rice, you can choose from 5 different variations of pho originating from different parts of Vietnam. Apart from meat toppings such as beef, chicken, and pork, Paper Rice also offers a vegetarian option. Regardless of which you choose, each bowl of pho boasts silky rice noodles soaked in a flavourful broth which has been simmered overnight. Served with a heaping plate of crunchy leafy greens and various aromatic herbs, these aromatic bowls of comfort are certain to lift your senses.

RICE VERMICELLI

Rice vermicelli are essentially served dry, keeping the ingredients from becoming sodden. In the mouth, what you get is an ingenious combination of flavours accentuated by a vibrant dressing and exciting textures of beef slices, crunchy peanuts, bean sprouts and fresh herbs.

To bind it all together, stir in a tablespoon or two of fish sauce. One particular offering that we’re stoked to try is their Fresh Rice Vermicelli With Grilled Chicken.

BANH MI

On our recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City, we tried multiple delicious variations of this Vietnamese staple – the Banh Minh, and was thrilled to see this Vietnamese street food featured in Paper Rice’s menu.

Banh mi—which literally translates to bread—is made up of a toasted baguette stuffed with grilled meat and pickled vegetables. At Paper Rice, two classic Banh Mi is featured—the Grilled Pork Banh Mi and the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi.

MEKONG SPECIAL

The restaurant’s ‘Mekong Special’ features a selection of specialty dishes hailing from the Mekong region of Vietnam which has been known for its more pronounced flavour profiles and unique ingredients.

The Deep Fried Seabass with Spicy Lemongrass Peanut Sauce and Signature Hand Pulled Chicken are among the many unique Mekong dishes that grace this section of the menu. A special curation, the dishes here aim to bring nothing but sheer authenticity from pasture to plate.

EGG COFFEE & VIETNAMESE-STYLE HIGH TEA

To round out the entire experience, be sure to order up a cup of hot Vietnamese Egg Coffee. Every sip rewards the tongue with a frothy, creamy foam that provides a subtle sweetness as well as a gentle nuance of egg, all working well to complement the intensely flavoured dark coffee.

An all-day dining destination, Paper Rice also offers Singapore’s first Vietnamese-style high tea set ($32++ for 2) featuring colourful traditional snacks, desserts and pastries served alongside your choice of Vietnamese coffee or Arteastiq’s signature teas.

As part of their opening promotion, diners get to enjoy authentic Vietnamese coffee at just S$1 (with purchase of any food items) from 2pm to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays until 31 December 2018.

GIVEAWAY OF A LIFETIME

In need of a getaway? Visit Paper Rice any time between 30 November 2018 to 31 Jan 2019, share about your dining experience on either Instagram or Facebook as well as post a review on Google or Tripadvisor and you just might stand a chance to win a free 3D2N trip to Danang, Vietnam.

If lounging on pristine beaches and visiting the Instagrammable Da Nang Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills sounds like the perfect vacation for you, be sure to make a trip down on their opening day (30 November 2018) to stand a 10x chance of winning this prize!

Paper Rice
Changi City Point #B1-26/27
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
Singapore 138617
Tel: +65 6443 1261
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest MRT Station: Expo

This post was brought to you by Paper Rice. 

A humble burger joint opened by the folks behind Carvers & Co, Wolf Burgers has, over the last few years, risen through the ranks to become a popular choice among burger aficionados all over Singapore.

The brand is famous for a few things, but more notably for their affordable prices and undeniably delicious burgers.

This no-frills burger joint puts out some scrumptious, meat-packed options, with most items on the menu priced below S$10. And before you begin comparing them to any ordinary fast-food restaurant, let us assure you that the quality and satisfaction that Wolf Burgers guarantees go far beyond your average happy meal.

If you’re a first-timer, perhaps it would not be a bad idea to start yourself off with their signature Wolf Burger (S$9.90). This anything-but-basic burger comprises a freshly ground beef patty with cheddar, sweet onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles in their house-made sesame seed bun.

Our patty was beautifully cooked, achieving the perfect medium-rare. During the cooking, the cooks press the patties down hard against the griddle to achieve a deep and even crust, all while expertly flipping and timing each one to ensure that every patty is done just right.

What we particularly enjoyed about the Wolf Burger, despite it being so simple and ordinary, was the fact that neither one of the ingredients were overly assertive, allowing us to truly appreciate the quality of the beef.

Every burger here is fully customisable, so feel free to exclude or include whatever you want from the type of cheese to their wide selection of toppings. We requested for some pickled gherkins to be added as well as we wanted something acidic to cut through the richness of the beef and melted cheese.

For an additional S$3, you can choose to upgrade to a meal that comprises any side item and a drink of your choice. There were quite a few interesting choices but the Sweet Potato Fries (S$4) seemed like the most enticing.

Crispy from edge to edge, every shoestring of sweet potato brimmed with a deep caramelised flavour—a quality that complemented our burger extremely well.

If you’re a truffle fanatic, then our advice is to go for the Truffle Fries (S$6).

The notes of truffle were apparent and the fries were nicely textured, but all in all, it was rather underwhelming as compared to its sweet potato counterpart.

Wolf Burgers
#01-43, Changi City Point,
5 Changi Business Park Central 1,
Singapore 486038
Tel: +65 6902 0486
Mon to Fri: 8.30am – 9.30pm
Sat & Sun: 11.30am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Expo

Read: 11 legit burger places in Singapore

The Original Boat Noodle at Changi City Point is a new restaurant everyone needs to know about.

As with most Thai dishes, their food features a punchy marriage of herbs, spices and aromatics, as well as the iconic 4 tastes—sweet, salty, spicy and sour—resulting in a plethora of dishes encompassing complex flavours reminiscent of the hearty street foods of Bangkok.

Starting out humbly along the back alleys of Bangkok, the restaurant, as well as its menu, has grown exponentially since its first outlet opened in Malaysia in 2014 and with it, fuelled many people’s interest toward the dish as well as Thai street fare in general.

Their boat noodle selection is limited to two classic flavours but, make no mistake that by the end of your meal, you’ll probably be shocked by the number of bowls you have towering over your table.

THAI BOAT NOODLE

Like most Thai soups, the stock is a complex harmony of herbs, spices and aromatics, resulting in a sweet and sometimes tangy broth full of varying flavour profiles. Over at The Original Boat Noodle, they specialise in two variations of the iconic Thai snack—Pathumthani and Ayutthaya.

Pathumthani (S$1.20 per bowl) uses dark soy sauce as the foundation of its flavour with the addition of herbs and aromatics to give it a warm, assertive kick. Sourish with a good amount of heat, spice lovers should opt for this rendition.

Ayutthaya (S$1.20), on the other hand, boasts a creamier, richer broth that is mildly spicy with aromatic notes from warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and star anise. We liked that it possesses a much fuller body as compared to the former but if we had to decide on a winner, it would no doubt be its tangier counterpart.

Chicken or beef can be had with either choice but you probably wouldn’t need to choose given how small each portion is—because you’ll probably be ordering them all.

KRA POW CHICKEN RICE

Kra Pow Chicken Rice (S$8.80), or as many would recognise as the iconic basil chicken rice, is a great rice option to have should you wish for a more substantial meal. Served with white rice is a fried egg as well as a generous portion of minced chicken fried in a mixture of chilli, Thai basil leaves, and fish sauce.

A hearty, authentically-made dish—made even better with the runny egg yolk that just coats itself beautifully on everything—this is easily something we can imagine ourselves returning for.

BANGKOK OMELETTE RICE

Cooked to perfection with a fluffy center and crispy edges served atop rice and a coconut-based curry-like sauce, the Bangkok Omelette Rice (S$8.80) is a lot more than what it seems. Fried in hot shallow oil, the beaten egg is able to get crisp around the edges while the insides puff up, allowing its center to achieve a nice fluffy texture.

Greasy, yet comforting the same way fried chicken would be on an empty stomach, the dish stands up well on its own, especially so with the sauce that gives the egg a creamy flavour and a hint of spice.

TASTY CHICKEN WINGS

Served piping hot, crispy and tasty (as its name suggests), the Tasty Chicken Wings (S$4.80 for 3, S$6.80 for 5) is without a doubt a crowdpleaser and probably something that kids would love.

There really isn’t anything special to shout about with regards to this dish but as far as fried chicken wings go, we were pretty much sold the second we felt the skin crackle under the weight of our teeth.

Available on their menu is a myriad of signature side dishes from the classic Som Tam Thai (S$4.80) or papaya salad, the highly popular Crunchy Thai Popeye’s Tempura (S$3.80) and more. But perhaps the one dish that stood out the most was their Flame Grilled Ayam Legend (S$8.80).

Brimming with deep char-grilled flavours, tender meat and further accented with a sweet, salty, tangy and spicy dip, what else can we say? If there was one dish that truly epitomizes the 4 iconic tastes of Thai food, this would be it.

HOT STEAMY SANGKAYAA

For the love of all things comforting, we must admit that their Hot Steamy Sangkayaa (S$4.80) really hit the spot. Essentially a dim sum tray filled with steamed bread that comes with a luscious kaya dip in the middle, this dessert item was delightful from the first bite to the very last.

The house-made kaya is a sweet and creamy one that is heavy on pandan—which makes it all the better. The steamed bread felt a notch denser than your average bread too. It was chewier, aromatic and just the perfect vessel to hold onto all that decadent kaya.

MADE-FROM-SCRATCH BEVERAGES

Boasting a wide array of beverages such as Cha Yen (S$3.80) and Cha Keow Yen (S$3.80), the restaurant takes pride in preparing all of their beverages the old-fashioned way with properly brewed tea leaves and none of the powdered stuff typically found elsewhere.

That is real dedication and a great testament of their quality. Another Cha Yen, please!

The Original Boat Noodle
5 Changi Business Park Central 1,
Changi City Point #B1-34A
Singapore 486038
Daily: 11.30am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Expo

This post was brought to you by The Original Boat Noodle.