Enjoying authentic oriental cuisine

The Bugis Street Platter

Last week I was very lucky to have been invited to Bugis Street Brasserie in Copthorne Tara Hotel. This is an authentic Singaporean restaurant which is frequented by both native Asians and westerners.
Although I was not particularly thrilled when I was told to have dinner at a hotel restaurant, I admit that it was the best food I ever ate in a hotel and it was much better than most stand alone restaurants. I was there together with the whole FOCUS team in order to celebrate Irene Kuan’s (our Director of Finance’s) wedding. At the same time, it was a farewell dinner to our leaving Marketing Director, Marianne Sloth, my predecessor.

The atmosphere was great. Tables and the restaurant are nicely decorated with antique  furniture and paintings. The best thing, however, was the food. We enjoyed a delicious 4-course menu which made all our taste buds dance with delight.

We started with Laksa. This is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan cuisine, which is a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine. It consists of rice noodles, prawns, chicken, tofu puffs and fish balls in Malaysian curry. This is just the most awesome combination one could think of.

As a second course, we enjoyed the Bugis Street Platter, the signature dish of the restaurant. It is an amazing selection of seaweed (the “prosperity grass” as the Chinese call it), spring rolls, spare ribs, chicken satay etc.. Even if you are picky with food, there is the right dish for everyone.

The third course included dishes such as spicy butter king prawns, sea bass in sambal sauce with spring onions, curry chicken, Chinese vegetables (Morning Glory) and Nasi Goreng - fried rice topped with sunny side up egg.

Everything was amazingly fresh and had a very intense, delicious taste.

Last but not least, we enjoyed a great light dessert of fresh fruits topped with melting chocolate ice cream! This was just the perfect finish to our dinner celebration.

Bugis Street, named after the legendary seafaring merchants from the Island of Sulawesi, was once one of the more notorious areas of Singapore. Recently, it has been transformed and now boasts a bustling street life with boutiques, market stalls, bars and restaurants.

The restaurant chef, Kok San Wong, was born in Penang, Malaysia. Having to cook for his seven siblings while his parents were at work, Wong turned his hobby into his profession. He has been a trained chef for over 20 years and has worked in hotel restaurants and resorts in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Having lived in China and Indonesia for a long time myself, it is great to be able to enjoy such an authentic Asian cuisine in London. And I guess this culinary and cultural diversity is what makes London one of the best places on earth.

Written by Veronika Kamplade, who is  FOCUS Director of Marketing.

For more information about FOCUS visit:  www.focus-info.org