Picks of the week

After what seems like an age and a half of sticking to comfort zone restaurants, finally ventured out last week to catch up on much belated eating. Here's what I discovered:

I'm surprised Brasserie Wolf isn't a more popular Sunday lunch destination. The neighbourhood is quiet and breezy, the big Dedan sofas look made for lounging, broad tables are perfect for spreading out the weekend paper. Oh and the food is pretty good. I had a ridiculously crispy confit de canard that was mostly moist on the inside, and Philippe the Frenchman gave a satisfied thumbs up to the coq au vin. The crepes suzette had a nice touch - a liberal sprinkling of orange zest in the crepe mix itself created a citrus flavour that was fresh instead of cloying. Service was hit and miss, but on a lazy Sunday I'm not complaining.

Artz Pizza, now known as Baraounda, serves in my opinion the best pizza in the East Coast, easily knocking the socks off Al Forno. Like Brasserie Wolf, I thought this was a lovely weekend lunch location with the non-stop sea breeze and view of the beach. Biting into their incredibly gooey pizzas feels all the more sinful when you're watching people painfully jog or cycle by :) We tried the Mike Pizza (i-heart-anchovies-and-garlic-in-pizza) and a standard prosciutto e funghi, both of which were excellent. Service was faultless thanks to a particularly friendly and obliging young server.

Finally made the pilgrimage to Eng Seng. Their black pepper crabs were worth my year long wait (I had always feared the queues) - the tarlike sauce burst with (of course) black pepper but also hints of coffee and burnt caramel. But it was the meat that surprised me more, firm and thick and so sweet you can't help but be reminded the crab had been alive barely minutes ago. Am plotting my return already. Wonder if you can tapao the leftover sauce? Black pepper ribs, black pepper beef, black pepper fried rice...

So there you go, my eating highlights for the week! What were yours?

Brasserie Wolf
80 Mohammed Sultan
#01-13 The Pier at Robertson
(Robertson Walk, between Brussel Sprouts and River Cafe)
Tel: 6835-7818

Baraounda
920 East Coast Parkway
(Inside Parkland Golf Driving Range, and next to Singa Inn Restaurant)
Tel: 6344-0900

Eng Seng Restaurant
247 Joo Chiat Place