Strictly Pancakes: Batter Heaven

I’ve had the most constant craving for pancakes for the last few weeks.

Pancakes are just thin, flat and round cakes prepared from a batter on a grill or frying pan. There’s really no art nor craft to flippin’ pancakes. It’s also one of the most boring foods around, like eating bread on its own (alright, there’s maple syrup but why not just dunk sugar on bread?).

But I craved for them, so I satisfied myself at Strictly Pancakes.

This tiny, two-storey cafe is sandwiched between a French and Italian restaurant in Prinsep Street. Its speciality is pancakes – plain, savoury, or desserty. The combinations are mind-blowing, the tastes so-so.

There are preset combos to choose from, but I tried my hand at creating a stack of pancakes. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.50 (2 pancakes to 4 pancakes), sides go for $2.50 each and additional servings of Maple Syrup and Butter go for $1 and $0.50 each.

The end result was a 3 pancake stack with scrambled eggs and mushrooms ($12), and topped with Maple Syrup and Garlic Herb Butter.

The pancakes and eggs are fluffy as only adding butter can create. The mushrooms, while fragrant with woody scents, were relatively tasteless. The sweet syrup just didn’t quite mesh together with the rest of the stack.

The dessert pancake, Strawberries and Co. ($10), was better. The three  pancakes was covered in cream and strawberries coulis with mixed berries served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was utterly hip-bursting and enjoyable; perhaps I had associated pancakes with sweetness.

Given the paucity of western pancake places, Strictly Pancakes is a breath of fresh air in the food scene, best eaten with girly company of course.

Strictly Pancakes is at 44A Prinsep Street Singapore 188674
Tel: +65 6333 4202
Website: http://www.strictlypancakes.com.sg

Eurasian food at Quentin’s

Quentin’s serves up amazing Eurasian food.

Formerly at East Coast Road, it has moved to the Eurasian Community House at Ceylon Road. While the previous restaurant had a certain elegance (yah lah, I took photos of the place for my book - “Eat, Drink, Be Merry: Singapore” [shameless plug]), its new premise is more spacious and laidback. The best spots are on the balcony at night where you can see police convoys escort SR Nathan from home to work and back again.

Oh yes, the food.

Eurasian food isn’t common in Singapore (despite the number of notable Singaporean Eurasians). Like the Peranakans, Eurasians are the offsprings of two races. In this case, western colonists and locals (Wikipedia entry), in particular Indians.

This explains why there’s a large number of curries on the menu such as Vindaloo, Devil’s Curry and Babi Assam. And why the dishes are tempered with western cooking sensibilities – the meaty croquette and Smore are examples of western food adapted to Asian palates.

GET TO THE FOOD, ALREADY!!!

At Quentin’s, the food’s amazing (am I allowed to repeat myself?), you won’t go broke, and it’s much better than the Portuguese settlement at Malacca.

The Chicken Curry Devil ($14) was spicy with a pleasantly undefinable aftertaste. The chicken’s chewy but smooth. Oddly enough, there’s cabbage and some sausages floating in the red mix. This is a must-go-for when you’re at Quentin’s. They also have an Oxtail version (haven’t tried that one yet though).

My other favourite is the Patchri ($6) – fried eggplants with sweet and sour sauce. Black on the outside; soft and creamy on the inside. My only gripe: As it’s on the mild side, the Patchri can get lost in other stronger flavours on your plate.

Also go for the Prawn Bostador ($13). Juicy, fresh prawns smothered in a creamy, tumeric sauce with lots of green chillies. It tastes like a clam chowder and can get quite jelat after a few rounds. But until it does, it’s brilliant. Here’s a tip: ladle these curries onto a mound of white fluffy rice and mix them up ala Nasi Padang style.

Personally, I’d give the Meaty Croquette (two big fried balls by the way), Singgan Serani and Babi Assam a miss. They’re not as interesting as the other Eurasian dishes on the menu. If I’d go back again, I’d try the Smore, Sugee Cake, Curry Seku and Curry Permanta.

Three dishes (about $40 with rice) are enough to feed four hungry people. Also, they’ve got a Sunday Brunch ($16) where everything’s done up buffet style for big-eaters and late-risers.

Quentin’s (139 Ceylon Road, Eurasian Community House Singapore 429744; Tel: 6348-0327 / 6254-4556 / 9147-0146; http://www.quentins.com.sg)