The dining landscape in Singapore has changed remarkably in the last few years and it is exciting to be here at this time.

On the contrary, despite what some people might think, the arrival of big-name-chefs have benefited the food & beverage industry as they provide invaluable experience, and at the same time, they create healthy competition that “forces” other restaurants to up their game.

Over at Osia Restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa, we have Chef Scott Webster from Australia who is a consultant to the restaurant. He plays a big role in influencing the menu along with Chef de Cuisine Douglas Tay.

The restaurant has recently started a ‘Cooking with Friends’ series, where Chef Scott Webster would invite his chef friends to cook in Singapore. For the first instalment back in July, Chef Chris Taylor from Perth created a delectable menu with inspirations from Western Australia, including yellow tail kingfish, sea urchin roe, and truffle.

The theme of our meal: fresh Western Australia flavour.

We started with a ceviche of yellow tail kingfish with a lemon olive dressing.

Next up was the Manjimup winter truffle and porcini mushroom soup with truffle cream. It was a soul warming dish. I wish they would put this on the ala carte menu.

For main course, we had a golden spiced fillet of red sea bream on black dahl, pan fried gnnochi with goat cheese, and lamb shoulder slow cooked with walnut and chick peas. Then we ended the meal with a lovely Valrhona chocolate tart, served with espresso ice cream.

These dishes were prepared specifically for the week while chef was in town, so you won’t find them on the regular menu. But with Chef de Cuisine Douglas Tay at the helm, the food is always good at Osia (especially the flat bread, duo of Tasmanian lamb, and Valrhona hot chocolate soup).

If you are looking for a romantic restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, Osia Restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa should be at the top of your list.

Osia Restaurant
8 Sentosa Gateway
Level 2 Crockfords Tower
Resorts World Sentosa
Tel: +65 6577 6560
Sun to Wed: 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Thu to Sat: 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm

Note: This was an invited media tasting.

I have always wanted to eat more Middle Eastern food, but most of my friends are not adventurous enough to try it. I don’t know about you, but to me, there’s just something appealing about a luxurious dinner fit for Arabian kings.

While there are quite a few Middle Eastern restaurants in Holland Village and Arab Street, we lack one that truly stands out, until Anar Restaurant came along.

Located by the waterfront of Resorts World Sentosa, Anar Middle Eastern Restaurant comes from an established chain of restaurants from the Middle East, namely Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is a fitting addition to the rank of restaurants in Resorts World Sentosa.

The interior is visually stunning, with high ceilings and a magnificent private room in the middle of the standalone building. The restaurant is adorned with pieces from the Middle East. From the low-hanging old lamps which give a magical feel; to the furnitures brought in from different states in United Arab Emirates; to the rugs from the East of Arabia, Iran and Turkmenistan – no details have been overlooked as Anar strives to give you the perfect Middle Eastern dining experience.

The restaurant is mysterious and seductive. It makes you wonder about the history and culture, and most importantly, it makes you feel curious about the food. Time seemed to freeze when we were there, and our journey started with a signature Anar cocktail.

It took us a long time to look through the menu. In the end, we reckoned that it would be better to consult the staff, and it proved to be a wise move as they were very knowledgeable about the menu. Since most people in Singapore are not exactly familiar with Middle Eastern food, it is good to know that the staff at Anar restaurant are well-trained to recommend and explain the dishes from the menu.

The staff serving our table, in particular, was attentive and knowledgeable. Thumbs up for the good service; we need more people like her in the Singapore Food & Beverage Industry.

My dining companion wanted the Baba Ghanouj ($12) – traditional salad of roasted egg plant, garden herbs, fresh green pepper – simply because she lurvees to say ‘baba ghannooussshh‘ out loud. I wanted Falafel ($12) – fried dumplings of ground chick peas served in crispy Arabic bread drizzled with sesame paste syrup – because I wanted to try the popular dish (see next picture) from Middle East.

The staff gave us some suggestions and we eventually settled for Tabouleh ($9) – a version of Arabian salad drizzled with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil; and the popular Hummus with minced beef ($14) – its exact origins remain a mystery.

Anar Middle Eastern restaurant has five variations of Arabian salad and they are available from $9-14. The Arabian cold appetisers, like the Hummus and Rayy Yoghurt & Shirazi Cucumber range from $12-14; while the Arabian hot appetisers like the Falafel, Beiruty Style Kebda (chicken liver) and Caspian Sea Prawns are $12-18.

After stuffing our face with falafel, hummus and baba ghannooussshh, we proceeded with kebabs for the main course. We had chicken and minced lamb on a charcoal grill, and the lamb was just as tasty as it looked. The chicken, on the other hand, was too dry and tough.

I am sure you know by now, Anar at Resorts World Sentosa is a fine dining restaurant, and food at such places doesn’t come cheap. Prices of the main course from the Charcoal grill menu range from $32 for the Shish Taouk (grilled chicken breast), to $45 for the Kebab Shishlik (grilled lamb chops) and Kebab Bagri (grilled beef fillet). They also have a separate ‘Speciality dishes’ page where you can get items like Riz Be Lahem Ala Djaij ($35) – traditional Ottoman feast of rice with minced meat, topped with chicken breast; and Shrimp Kozberieh ($32) – which originated from the seaside of North Lebanon.

For a taste of everything, go for the Anar special platter ($140) which has the signature items like shish taouk, Lebanese lamb kebab, hammour fillet kebab and saffron lamb chops.

To end off the meal, we had the Baklava ($12) – the classic Middle Eastern dessert: layers of paper-thin phyllo pastry filled with roasted nuts and honey syrup; and the Um Ali ($14), which tastes like bread and butter pudding.

Shrimp Kozberieh

I know very little about Middle Eastern Food, so obviously there is no way I can measure the authenticity of the food. That said, we had an enjoyable dining experience at Anar Restaurant, Resorts World Sentosa. If you’ve always wanted to try Middle Eastern cuisine, come up with an excuse plan for a special occasion and make an reservation for dinner.

Singapore Food Blog
Anar Middle Eastern Restaurant
26 Sentosa Gateway
#01-291 Resorts World Sentosa
Tel: +65 6884 6989
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Note: This was an invited media session.