NuocMam

Since Meyjitte (Salut) left for Australia, I don't think any "Western" restuarant here has the potential to blow anyone away. Very, very good meals, yes. Definitive, no. It boils down to two things: conceptualisation and execution. Often a chef can have the former but he (or his kitchen) mess up the latter. Great execution without great conceptualisation is rarer, but it happens. I'll put it bluntly: Italian restaurants in Singapore are uniformly atrocious. If it's not overweening service, it's bad and inconsistent food. Garibaldi really only gets going in the pasta department (carne is not an option there), I've never liked Da Paolo's food (whether Holland V or elsewhere), and none of those attached to hotels have moved me. Buko Nero is interesting but it's a different sort of experience. French. Raffles Grill isn't bad, but it is horribly expensive, and I don't think David gets everything spot on, execution-wise. The kitchen is a virtual revolving door, which might explain some of the spottiness. Likewise with St. Pierre, which is even more inconsistent and in a worse direction (i.e. more bad meals than good there). Les Saisons is, for me, the prime example of a place where the execution is flawless but conceptualisation not all that great. I've had meals where I rang up well before to request something special, and the 'flow' just wasn't there. Each course was at least very good, and some well and truly amazing, but the whole dinner didn't cohere. I don't actually like the lunches all that much. I've heard very good things about Gunther and will be visiting sometime soon. Old warhorses like L'Aigle d'Or have been very, very disappointing. American/Pacific. I used to (and still) like Blu, but it's more of a nice place to bring a date than a great food experience per se. Fig Leaf (now Poppi) is excellent and good value for money, plus the present location on the 2nd floor is nicer. I don't recall seeing his pork speciality last time I was there, but it's a marvel of a dish. Whitebait & Kale have terrible service, and although the kitchen isn't bad (Bright and his sous are both ex-Salut), the prices are out of proportion for that level of food. I had a pretty good meal at 190 at the Four Seasons recently, which gives me some hope. Let's put it this way - anyone who can afford to dine regularly at any of the restaurants above might as well save some money for a trip to Europe, where one can eat and drink better, even allowing for the weak dollar (last great meal there - 50 euros for two, excluding wine, in Bergamo). I'm not being snobbish or anti-Singapore about this, and in fact I desperately want to see them succeed, but it's just not happening right now.

I disagree. Truly fresh fino and manzanilla are no less interesting than palo cortado, and besides some outstanding PX, many of them are cloying, deliberately over-the-top confections that do more to impress than interest. However, it is easier to find a good palo cortado than a fino or manzanilla at the same level, especially in the export market. Unfortunate, I suppose, but a reason to visit the region.

It depends on current needs, but shopping for wine in Britain (I don't reside there anymore, unfortunately) was more exciting than anywhere else (and I include buying from the vintners themselves, which is altogether a different experience). The specialist merchants, both the bigger ones like Berry Bros. and smaller independents (Yapp, La Vig - now Handford, HH&C etc.), offer fairly good and deep selections. The January sales don't hurt, either. If you're looking for something specific, someone will carry it (e.g. Grubb for Madeira) somewhere. So it was never a question of not being able to find what I wanted. They also carry, to varying degrees (especially independents outside London), interesting and lesser known wines, often well before the international press has caught on. It is an issue - the wine market has become increasingly globalised and a big order from one country (no prizes for guessing which one) can effectively cover a vintner's entire vintage production, especially in places where the estates are very small, e.g. Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. Then there are the auctions. My friends and I had enormous fun at and after them, and often there are bargains to be had outside the more competitive lots of Bordeaux, Burgundy and port. It's kind of a dirty secret, but estate sales in the country were also very good for picking up oddments, especially of off-vintage Bordeaux, for very low prices. Too often the children don't really care or know. The supermarkets and big chains have their uses as well, especially Waitrose, Oddbins (I hear it's gone to pieces now, though) and if one's buying for a few hundred, Majestic.