A Minimalist Lunch in Singapore

We had a minimalist lunch in Singapore recently. The restaurant was bright and clean. The food was fresh and nicely cooked. But not much in terms of decoration, both in terms of the dining room and the food plating. Nonetheless, the restaurant was full and everyone seemed happy, including ourselves. Is this the way to go for dining out in Singapore?

Culina Market and Bistro at COMO Dempsey

Culina Bistro and Market are seamlessly located next to each other. Groceries including fresh fruits, meats and vegetables are sold at the Market. Preserved meats at the charcuterie counter and cheese selection can also be purchased, to be served at the Bistro with a preparation fee. A large wine section where the bottles are available for retail or to be enjoyed with your meal at the Culina Bistro. A corkage fee of $18 is charged for that.

When we go for lunch, the Culina Market meat and fish sections are the most interesting to us. Items here can be picked to be cooked and served at the Bistro. There is a preparation fee of $18 to $28 depending on the size of the meat or fish. For this visit, we picked a piece of Great Southern Pinnacle Beef ribeye steak ($14.75 per 100g). Together with the $18 prep fee, the 350g steak costs a total of around $70.

Bistro Menu

Here are pictures of some sections of the Culina Menu. A full menu is available online (link below).

Our Minimalist Lunch in Singapore

The process of browsing and selecting the steak is an interesting one. This Australian ribeye was big enough to be shared by two. The cooking fee includes one type of sauce and a single tomato for decoration. Served on a plain white plate with the sauce in a stainless steel jug. This was the main course for our minimalist lunch in Singapore.

We like our meat to be adequately cooked. It was prepared medium-well, just as we requested, no more no less. Boring but reliable.

Another dish for lunch was fish and chips ($33). Also presented in a minimalist fashion. No decoration other than the grease paper (to give a feel of old fashioned newspaper perhaps?). Tomato ketchup was provided in the stainless steel cup.

Finally, no balanced diet will be complete without some vegetables. We ordered a side dish of broccolini ($12). (Fun fact: broccolini was originally developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Japan, as a hybrid of broccoli and kai lan: Wikipedia). It was described as steamed with lemon, but we were unable to detect any lemon taste in the broccolini. But that was fine with us. This was an appropriate vegetable dish for our minimalist lunch.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 2
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs

Culina COMO Dempsey
Block 15 Dempsey Road,
Singapore 249675

Opening Hours: 11:00 am – 11 pm (last order 10pm)

Market Opening Hours: 9 am – 10 pm

Website