Lunch, especially in the CBD area during weekdays, typically gets relegated to grab-and-go dining. Compared to dinner, it doesn’t quite get the clout it deserves — which is why we’re here to remind you that the mid-day meal can be an indulgent one, should you feel like ditching your computer for the day and taking a longer-than-usual break.
For some fresh ideas on where to go, here are new lunch menus that recently launched from these four restaurants.
Maggie Joan’s
Three years have passed since Maggie Joan’s first took over the back-alley space of Gemmill Lane as its home, and the industrial chic spot is as hip as ever. With a new chef at the helm (Seumas Smith, formerly from Moosehead), its menu has been completely overhauled from Mediterranean to modern European.
Okay, so this one’s a combination of lunch and dinner, since the offerings at both meals are similar. To start, the house-baked sourdough with smoked beef fat butter ($4) will have you unknowingly reaching for more carbs — the bread’s just too good. If you prefer something lighter, try the shiso tempura ($3 each), of thin shiso leaves coated in crisp batter, served with dollops of taramasalata, a blend of mentaiko, sourdough, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Or perhaps go for the tangy tomato gazpacho ($18) topped with goats curd and fried artichokes.
For a round of sharing plates, get your daily veggie intake from the pretty plate of roasted carrots with ricotta and apricot purée ($10), or the barbecued beetroots with smoked crème fraiche. Then turn your sights to the main meats (and fish) with options like pan-seared barramundi ($34) with mussels swimming in parsley nage (a broth of roasted fish stock and vegetable stock) and duroc pork chop ($42) served with apple jelly and little addictive nubs of pork crackling.
Desserts here take the light and refreshing route — choose from coconut panna cotta topped with prosecco jelly and grapefruit sorbet ($12) or yogurt sorbet with black berries purée ($12).
#01-01, 110 Amoy Street (entrance from Gemmill Lane). Lunch: Mon-Fri noon-2:30pm.
Papi’s Tacos
After winning over our hearts with its potent margaritas and cool street vibes a couple months earlier, the new-ish Papi’s Tacos is now ready for lunch service, with its three relatively affordable lunch sets (all of which include chips and pico de gallo).
The first option ($18) comes in a basket of three tacos — which you can share with a lunch buddy or hoard for yourself — filled with either chicken or fish. For something slightly cheaper, the $15 set offers up quesadillas stuffed with chicken or cheese and mushroom. But if you’re on a healthy binge, get the salad bowl ($14) packed with poached Mexican cactus, red onions, red radish, and Oaxaca cheese.
39 Seah St. Lunch: Mon-Fri 12:30pm-2:30pm. Lunch sets $14-$18.
Restaurant Ibid
After debuting Restaurant Ibid earlier this year, MasterChef Asia winner Woo Wai Leong has recently created a lunch menu featuring contemporary Chinese (or Nanyang-style) dishes that are crafted with the kind of care and intricacy that the chef has become known for. Diners can choose from two- or three-course sets, or order à la carte. Starters include cumin-spiced fried baby potatoes ($8) with garlic mayo, and General Soh’s fried chicken ($8), which comes with a refreshing coriander salad that even the coriander averse are unlikely to hate on.
In keeping with his reinterpretations of familiar local favorites, Woo whips up a comforting bowl of thunder tea rice porridge ($16), made with Japanese brown rice cooked in kombu dashi and topped with pan-fried black grouper. There’s also the fatty Iberico pork ribs ($14) served with buttered rice, fried okra, and soft boiled egg, but the standout has got to be the dinner menu’s already-popular shao bing transformed here into a burger ($14) sandwiching a juicy patty that drips with melted mozzarella and pickled green chili.
To end on a sweet note, nibble on the brown butter semolina cake ($8) with candied wintermelon and sesame oil ice cream, or skip your afternoon cuppa and instead gorge on the yuan yang pudding ($8) with kopi-soaked mini pearls and a scoop of milk ice cream.
18 North Canal Rd. Lunch: Wed-Fri noon-2pm. $18/two courses, $25/three courses.
Waku Ghin
Typically only open for dinner, Waku Ghin’s Friday lunches are a clear draw for hotshot executives looking to talk business over prime Japanese cuisine. Since it’s a two Michelin-starred place, the prices naturally coincide with its ranking — the new five course lunch will set you back $180 each. The menu includes four savory dishes and one sweet treat, with lunch-exclusive creations such as pasta with botan shrimp, oscietra caviar and sea urchin.
L2-01 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Lunch: Fri noon-2pm.
