Pacific Marketplace in the Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore at Raffles Boulevard is a gourmet grocery which is also a great place for a simple meal at any time of the day. The beautifully decorated upscale grocery has shelves of enticing culinary delights – exquisitely packaged pickles and sauces as well as hams, sausages, cakes and other desserts. Pacific Marketplace is also a cafe serving breakfast, lunch and 3-tiered afternoon tea. It has added a new hearty dinner menu comprising a variety of tapas and mains.
There is no separate cafe area. There are seats everywhere – at the counter, in the middle of the grocery browsing area or right next to the food display shelves. The interior decor is elegant and luxurious, with polished marble floor, elegant cosy furniture and stylish lighting. Yet the spacious place has a casual relaxed atmosphere. It is almost like poolside dining in an air-conditioned chic locale.
Pacific Marketplace serves breakfast from 7 am and lunch between 11 am and 3 pm. Dinner is served between 5 pm and 10 pm at prices as low as $12.
The Express Lunch Menu is fairly straightforward. There are 8 choices of salad, 6 interestingly named sandwiches and soup of the day; and you can have just any one item or combine them any which way you want. We ordered 2 Sandwich-Salad Combo and a Sandwich-Soup Combo at $17 per set. We made payment at the counter and made our way to a corner table next to a magazine shelf. Browsing the glossy magazines filled with beautiful photos of food and restaurants whetted our appetite.
Our food came nicely presented on black slate trays. The Chicken Not Little Sandwich was grilled chicken with tapenade on fig and apricot bread. The bread was very nice and the tapenade added a delectable mixture of flavours to the sandwich. The Ham Solo Sandwich – freshly baked French baguette with slices of Virginia ham and Cheddar cheese – was crunchy on the outside and wonderfully soft inside. The Sea-riously, No Squidding Sandwich looked the most impressive with the charcoal squid ink bread. However, taste-wise, the bread was like any regular bread and no hint of charcoal or squid could be discerned. The crabmeat salad filling was quite good though.
The soup of the day we had was mushroom cream soup. It was a hearty thick soup; creamy and delicious. We had the Pacific Cobb Salad which included grilled chicken, blue cheese, bacon, avocado dressed with red wine vinaigrette. It looked rather uninteresting but was quite nice. We preferred the Nicoise Salad which had green beans, olives, quail eggs and seared tuna cubes with Dijon vinaigrette dressing.
The cakes on display were so tempting that we could not resist, though we managed to restrain ourselves somewhat by ordering just 2 pieces to share. The Raspberry Mango cake ($8) looked colourful and interesting. It was not bad but not exceptional. The Crunchy Hazelnut Chocolate cake ($8) was rich, creamy, moist and crunchy. It was delightful and most enjoyable. The cappuccino ($6) had a luxurious texture and was more than agreeable.
They also have an interesting selection of artisanal teas – such as Marrakesh Mint, White Gingerlily and Osmanthus Sencha. Their new dinner menu features tapas and a selection of sausage dishes. Pacific Marketplace is also well-known for their SuperMuffins – savoury muffins which come in different flavours including Chicken Run – succulent chicken cubes wok-fried with garlic chives and Shaoxing wine; The Hulk – a blend of Mushroom, Cheese and Cream encased in a green Spinach crust; and Ms Piggy – Chinese Barbecued Pork with Salted Egg Yolk.
Pacific Marketplace is a beautiful calm oasis in the busy downtown area. We think we have stumbled on a hidden gem. We had a pleasurable lunch in a lovely venue. The quality of the food was very good and the service was professional and friendly. The prices were reasonable. We plan to visit Pacific Marketplace again soon – to try their SuperMuffins or savour their signature afternoon tea.
Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 
Pacific Marketplace
7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
Singapore 039595
Tel: +65 6826 8240
Opening Hours
7.00 am to 10.00 pm
Nearby Stations: Esplanade, City Hall, Promenade
The Ordinary Patrons
Singapore Food Blog by Ordinary People looking for Places to Eat
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