Grace Phua

With a name like Error 404 cafe, it's bound to turn heads. I first glimpsed it along my work route – and immediately spotted the unmistakable Error 404 dinosaur. Photo credit: Error 404 Cafe Naturally, it was one of the first questions I asked Chef Pang Kok Keong, the mind behind both the design concept and the food. He laughed and said it’s the most popular question he gets. No one is surprised. "I wanted a space that is intentionally wrong ," he cheekily explains. "So, instead of serving...

Quiz any Singaporean on naming one dish from the Hainanese cuisine and they'd tell you "Hainanese Chicken Rice" , and probably not a lot more. What makes Mr Hainan interesting is that it positions itself as Singapore’s first full-fledged Hainanese restaurant direct from the island, not just another chicken rice spot. What many don’t realise, us included, is that Hainan Island is China’s largest island province, shaped by its coastline and fishing culture too. Entrance to Mr Hainan @ Vivocity...

Bar-Roque Grill has been around since 2013. And yet, a close friend of mine, who has lived directly opposite for the past eleven years, has never once stepped inside this French restaurant. “Why haven’t you gone in?” I asked, even though she had passed by the place thousands of times. Turns out she shared the same assumptions as me. The outer brick façade and signage made it feel like they served Tomahawk steaks and heavy American-style grills... the kind that centres big cuts of meat...