Inspired by the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, La Fez Café & Bakery is a new Muslim-owned cafe with iconic horseshoe arches, rose pink and gold interiors, and Mediterranean dishes.

Located next to the Chinese-Indonesian restaurant Kota 88 in Siglap, La Fez Café & Bakery is currently still in the soft launch stage and reservations are highly recommended.

On the menu, you can find a selection of All-day Brunch dishes including Riad Breakfast (S$11.90), Majorelle Shakshuka with Feta Cheese (S$19.90) and Kesra Avocados on Soughdough (S$18.90).

Photo credit: La Fez

The Moroccan-inspired cafe also has mains that are prepared from the fire oven or cooked in traditional Moroccan earthenware such as Moroccan Harissa Chicken Legs (S$17.90), Fez Cous Cous with chicken (S$28.90) and Moroccan-style Rotisserie Chicken (S$32.90).

La Fez Café & Bakery is definitely an exciting addition to the growing list of cafes in the east of Singapore.

La Fez Café & Bakery
907 East Coast Road, #01-04 Springvale,
S459107

A restaurant, boutique wine bar and wine retail store all rolled out into one, Winestone—located in Mercure Singapore on Stevens—is a new kid in town that we love. It makes a perfect hangout venue for lovers of good food, better wine and swanky interiors.

As far as proper wining and dining is concerned, this bar and bottle shop has all your needs covered. Expect quality wines to set you back not more than S$10 a glass to S$42 a bottle. Not only that, the restaurant also dishes out Mediterranean platters that pair excellently with your vino of choice.

We particularly love the Winestone Express Platter that has it all from cured cold cuts, cheeses, olives, bread and even a glass of either white or red wine thrown in for good measure, but charcuterie and cheeses aside, the restaurant also boasts an extensive lunch and dinner menu that sees flavours and culinary techniques stemming from all corners of the Mediterranean from Italy all the way to Egypt.

Our readers can quote ‘ladyironchef’ to enjoy ladyironchef’s Set Dinner that includes a starter, 2 mains and 2 glasses of house pour wines at only S$90++.

Among the many swanky looking bars and restaurants nestled within the Steven’s Road enclave, this is quite possibly the most inviting and cosy one of the lot.

The warm hues, high ceilings, and low and slow music in the background all make for one heck of an intimate wining and dining experience.

3-COURSE LUNCH SETS

If you ever run out of lunch options in town, then allow Winestone’s lunch set to take you on a Mediterranean trip. At just S$35++, you get to enjoy a starter, a main and a dessert of which you can pick and choose from their lunch menu.

To start, we ordered the Falafel, Hummus, Minted Yoghurt, Olives, Semi-Dried Tomatoes (S$14++). Inanely crispy and brimming with a cumin-packed aroma, this spiced Middle-Eastern starter comes highly recommended.

To properly stand up against the spicy qualities of our starter, we got the 200g Grain-Fed Roasted Beef Fillet, Mashed Potato, Portobello, Charred Beans and Mushroom Sauce (S$30++). Properly seared on the outside and pink in the middle, the beef was tender with a prominent flavour coming through that was only made better with the umami-packed mushroom sauce.

Our dessert of choice for our lunch set was the Churros, Chocolate Sauce (S$12++). Served with bits of fresh fruit, whipped cream and chocolate, these golden nuggets of fried dough no doubt hit the spot.

For a truly seafood-oriented combination, go for the Pan-Seared Scallops, Chorizo, Crushed Peas (S$16++) to start with, followed by the Pan-Seared Seabass, Prawn Kataifi, Green Beans, Pesto and Tomato Shellfish Broth (S$26++).

The flavours were clean and delicate but still packed serious flavours. We particularly enjoyed the slices of chorizo that gave our starter some heat and a salty kick.

For dessert, we highly recommend the Catalane Tart, Berries, Lemon Sorbet (S$14) that promises a refreshing, zesty appeal that does well to balance out the palate.

Another main option that deserves a mention is the Rigatoni Pasta, Sun-Dried Tomato, Grilled Zucchini and Eggplants, Pomodoro, Parmigano (S$25++) that sees a gorgeous medley of colourful components perfect for a photo.

From the crunch of almonds, the soft, tender veggies to the slightly chewy al dente pasta, this dish is truly a treat to behold that marries both texture and taste wonderfully. We liked that the pesto flavour was kept relatively mild to allow the individual flavours to shine through.

LADYIRONCHEF EXCLUSIVE SET DINNER

As mentioned, our readers can quote ‘ladyironchef’ to enjoy a starter, 2 mains and 2 glasses of house pour wines at only S$90++.

The set dinner consists of an appetiser of homemade Hummus With Lebanese Bread (S$8++), two mains—the Cataplana (S$24++) and the 150 Days Grain-Fed MS2+ Beef Tenderloin (250g) (S$87++)—as well as 2 glasses of wine.

If you are craving for seafood, then we are pretty sure the Cataplana is perfect for you. It comes with squid, mussels, clams, tomatoes and capsicums that swim in a thick and hearty seafood broth.

Or if you are a die-hard carnivore like us, then the beef tenderloin—that features foie gras, asparagus, vine tomatoes and a punchy green peppercorn sauce—will have you smiling from ear to ear.

WINESTONE EXPRESS PLATTER FOR ONE

From the bright, salty notes of the pitted olives to the robust, meaty qualities of the cured meats, these items play a fundamental role in allowing one to truly savour the subtle yet complex notes of wine.

The Winestone Express Platter (S$22++) is served promptly in under 15 minutes—perfect for all you hungry and impatient diners—and comes with a mixture of cold cuts, cheeses, olives, bread and a glass of wine.

But these aren’t your typical store-bought nibbles, we’re talking about the Rolls Royce of charcuterie and cheeses here—from Jamon Iberico De Cebo, Brie De Meaux and more!

GRASS-FED ROASTED LAMB RACK (200G)

Another red meat option that you can consider is the Grass-Fed Roasted Lamb Rack (200g) (S$52++). Served with eggplant prepared in two ways, pomegranate, mint and salsa verde, this supposedly gamey meat is given a lift of freshness that works surprisingly well.

But of course, what better way to complement the dish than a glass of vino to truly round out those intense meaty qualities?

PELLEGRINO PIZZA

Great for sharing, the restaurant also brings to the table a taste of Italy in the form of the nation’s iconic pies. We sampled the Pellegrino Pizza (S$28++) and we can swear by the food gods that this was possibly one of the best renditions ever.

Although it lacked the traditional thin crust, we liked that the dough was fluffy yet crispy around the edges and the amount of toppings that went on this pie is by no means stingy. With every bite comes a medley of tastes from salty prosciutto, creamy mozzarella, briny olives and fresh basil.

Winestone’s concept revolves around the keywords: simple, attractive, authentic and affordable, so one thing you can probably expect is quality wines at affordable prices, from S$10 for a glass and S$42 for a bottle.

Wine lovers will be spoiled for choice with so many different bottles to choose from, from well-known vineyards to some lesser known regions and appellations across Europe.

Whether it’s a robust red or a crisp, bright white, there is bound to be a vino you will love.

Time to round up your best pals or even that special someone and make a trip down to Winestone! We promise you that the tummy fillers here are anything but boring and the wines are even better.

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Winestone

Mercure Singapore on Stevens
30 Stevens Road, #01-09
Singapore 257840
Tel: +65 6491 6100
Website: www.winestone.com.sg
(Closed on Sundays)
Monday to Saturday: 12pm – 2.30pm, 6pm – 12am (bar snacks are served after 10pm)
Nearest Station: Stevens MRT and Orchard MRT
Bus Number: 105, 132, 190, 972

Book a table: https://bit.ly/2GKKNBa

This post was brought to you by Winestone.

Bringing the best of both Eastern and Western Mediterranean cuisine in a summer beach setting right smack in the city might sound a little far-fetched, but Summerlong at Robertson Quay has done just that.

The open kitchen, helmed by Chef Justin Hammond of Neon Pigeon, serves up a mix of snacks and mains that include their Lemon & Garlic hummus with Lebanese Minced Lamb and their stellar Chargrilled Octopus, Parsnip, Garlic, Honey dish which diners constantly rave about.

With its decorative influences stemming from the beaches of the Mediterranean, Summerlong perfectly encapsulates a summer seaside vibe, giving diners the experience of those long summer days and cool vibrant nights.

This cosy restaurant features an eclectic mix of cooking styles and dishes from the Mediterranean, so what you get is a whole myriad of fresh, bold and differing flavour profiles, all intermingling and interchanging to create dishes that will really interest and excite.

A good starter to consider is their Braised Lamb Shank In Pastry, Grilled Apricots, Spiced Lentils.

This unassuming snack might strike the common eye as nothing more than an overpriced spring roll, but upon taking that first bite, what you will experience is something a lot more impressive.

Tender melt-in-your-mouth lamb shank that has clearly had hours of braising is stuffed into a crispy pastry. But aromatic and tasty as it was, what really made this dish tick was the grilled apricots which provided a sweet caramel contrast to the robust lamb.

Without a second thought, we would most certainly say that their Chargrilled Octopus, Parsnip, Garlic, Honey simply was our ultimate favourite because the balance between flavours and textures were struck beautifully.

The honey-glazed octopus was grilled to perfection, exuding a deep smokiness and a perfectly caramelised exterior. The parsnips were tender and sweet, which played off the brininess of the chargrilled octopus really well, but the addition of pickled onions was what rounded this dish off for us—it provided the perfect amount of tartness to cut through the rich vibrant flavours.

Where #foodporn is concerned, none other can beat the sheer rustic beauty of the Smoked Pork Ribs, Pomegranate Glaze, Dukkah Crust. Summerlong took it to a whole new level by injecting influences from Egypt with their Dukkah Crust, which consists of a mixture of herbs, nuts, and spices—giving it a nice colourful crust and subtle herbaceous notes.

The Smoked Pork Ribs, Pomegranate Glaze, Dukkah Crust is truly a work of art—both aesthetically and flavour-wise. The pork ribs hold perfectly intact but once you bite into them you would realise just how soft and pull-apart-tender they are.

Their soft serve yoghurt comes in two flavours—original and chocolate—and includes a myriad of toppings ranging from chocolate to candy and even healthier alternatives like granola and fruit. A perfect way to end any meal, this dessert is both luscious and luxurious but the beauty is in creating your own decadent masterpiece yourself.

Summerlong
60 Robertson Quay #01-04,
Singapore 238252
Tel: +65 6235 1225
Mon to Fri: 5pm – 12am
Sat & Sun: 10.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Fort Canning