redpan @ Marina Square – Local Fun Dining by DP Architects and GRUB (PLUS GIVEAWAY)

Home-grown architecture practice DP Architects and local restaurateurs The Food Explorer Group, owners of popular bistro GRUB, have just revealed a joint F&B venture – redpan. This new restaurant is a love affair between design and food. The partnership has allowed both parties from very different industries to focus on their strengths of design as well as food development respectively, each bringing their best to the table.

Distilling architecture down to its most pared-down forms, the design of the restaurant focuses on playing with simple and basic materials through architectural contouring, such as the use of purpose-built plywood for walls, screed for floors, concrete and basic geometrical elements like clean lines, curves and orthogonal furniture.

Menu wise, redpan is conceptualised around “local fun dining”, with a strong spotlight on local ingredients and familiar flavours, served up in creative interpretations of modern dishes at very affordable prices.

Lunch (start from 11am)

Start your lunch with appetizers such as Fried Calamari ($7) and Chicken Cheese Arabiki Sausages ($8), both dipped in the homemade sambal mayo. The squid is marinated in buttermilk to tenderize the squid before deep-frying till golden brown. The juicy Pork Pops with Tangy Mango Sauce ($7), Char Siew Chilli Fries ($7) and Tuckshop Fried Chicken Wings ($7) are great for after-work drinks.

Enjoy unique dishes include Lup Cheong Mac & Cheese ($12), a comforting dish of macaroni tossed in a cheesy bechamel, studded with bursts of flavours from lupcheong, a local cured Chinese sausage known for its sweet yet savoury flavour, and fragrant curry leaves.

Prawn & Hae Bee Hiam Pasta ($15) is an addictively spicy dish featuring tagliatelle tossed in a house-made spicy shrimp paste from Chef Mervyn Phan’s grandmother’s recipe. The pasta is cooked till al dente and is wickedly spicy, with crunchy prawns. Don’t forget to squeeze in some lime. This is one of the best things I’d eaten in redpan.

Hainanese Pork Cutlet ($13) is a dish that sends me right back to my childhood since I am an Hainanese. The quality of ingredients can make or break a dish, so having ideal meat is important. The thinly sliced pork loin is coated with crumbs and deep-fried. The slightly tangy and sweet sauce to go with the pork is heavenly. Other pocket-friendly familiar local favourites for lunch includes Temasek Chicken Chop ($11) and Fish & Chips ($13).

Go straight for the Steak & Chinchalok ($19), a glorious 200g of sirloin steak that’s charred to perfection, wonderfully tender and packs a punch of flavour along with the accompanying housemade spicy chinchalok, pickled onions and smashed potatoes. Chinchalok? Yes, it’s chinchalok! It is one dip that strikes familiar with the locals. Tiny shrimps persevered extensively in brine and chilli, this dip’s sea saltiness flavour and umami taste goes well with the succulent and flavoursome beef, creating a different dimension in taste. Guys, you got to try this!

Dinner from Grill (6pm)

The grill items feature premium cuts of meat like 100% Natural Pork Belly ($19) and Beef Short-Rib with Bovil ($32) served on beautiful marble slabs, a material not commonly used in the plating of dishes in restaurants.

I love the way the buttery flavour and texture of the Corn-fed Magret Duck Breast ($24) is balanced with the slightly sweet yet tart acidity of the cherry compote, pomegranate and kechap manis glaze.

Desserts

For desserts, the restaurant’s Sticky Date Pudding ($8) uses local red dates in its cake base as it offers less cloying sweetness and more pronounced date flavour. Another dessert to try is the Banana Milo Dinosaur Donuts ($7), featuring handmade fluffy banana donuts with layers of differing textures of condensed milk, milo powder and crushed hazelnuts.

End your meal with delightfully refreshing Sour Plum Shandy ($12), a playful alcoholic concoction of sour plum, wheat beer and fresh lemonade. The restaurant also serve local Archipelago beers on tap, as well as a range of Pin Tea, from a bespoke local tea merchant with special blends like “Marina Magic”, “Tekka Minute” and “Sentosa Sunrise”.

If you are in town for a breakfast meeting, redpan is a good option as it opens from 9am on weekdays. There are three kinds of sandwich available – Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich ($9), Sausage & Cheese Sandwich ($9) and Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($9), all served with a choice of coffee/tea. We chose the Roti John ($9), featuring grilled local baguette with omelette, curry minced lamb ragout, pickled onions & mayo, served with potato chips. The bread is soft and the sliced onions give the dish a crunch and more flavour. All buns are sources from a local bakery and have a lovely nostalgic flavour.

Thank you redpan, I will be rewarding 3 readers from MissTamChiak.com with $50 dining credit each.

All you need to do is:
Step 1 – LIKE redpanSG & Miss Tam Chiak on Facebook
Step 2 – LIKE and SHARE this entry
Step 3 – Comment below: Which dish would you like to try most?

Closing date: 16 March 2016. Good luck!

The post redpan @ Marina Square – Local Fun Dining by DP Architects and GRUB (PLUS GIVEAWAY) appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.