5th Quarter, Syed Alwi Road

Housed within bourgeoisie boutique hotel Hotel Vagabond, 5th Quarter is Singapore's poster entrepenuer-boy Loh Lik Peng's offering.  I can't say I love the music choice (a mix of electro African beat) and decor (King Midas meets Electric), which proved to me rather distracting at times, but the food gets a thumbs up.

Service was personable; and there seemed to be good rapport between chefs, kitchen staff and wait staff, which (to me) is really encouraging that the staff are well-treated. We ordered a mix of items from the Lunch, Dinner and Chef's Picks menus. Lunch comes at an unbelievably good price of $10 per small plate, which is awesome if you came just to dip your feet into the water. 

DUCK HEARTS, CITRUS, FENNEL 

Duck hearts, served tartare-style, with cured citrus powder, cured egg, capers, and pickled fennel If you are effy about eating offal, just scoop them onto some multigrain crisps, think about your beloved while chewing and swallow. While not as gamy as most offals, duck hearts were rich and toothsome, bearing a texture that only offal-lovers would appreciate.

 SALT ‘N’ PEPPER TRIPE

The salt pepper tripe was an artistic showcase of gravity-defying tripe fries. Circus trib-, tripe! #hurhurhur I enjoyed these very much. Forget about being dainty, just pick them up with your fingers and inhale them. Use the tapenade for some extra oomph. 

CRAB, BUCKWHEAT & SEA URCHIN

The crab buckwheat was my favorite dish. Buckwheat woven into the risotto, slightly briny thanks to the crab and uni butter. Savoury and comforting, I could polish off bowls of these.You have it try this!

BURGER & BOOTIE

Is this a good time to crack the "I like big buns and I can't lie" jingle? No? My silence is yours for a price. Artisanal burgers had their time last year and this one is probably a contender. The burger was of the no-nonsense variety. Yup, straight-up beef patty with a slice of cheese, sans foie gras, blue cheese, aioli and any hipster ingredient you can think of. Those crisp jenga-like fries were amazing too. Hey even if the structure falls, it is because we are all winners! If I am going to be totally honest with you, I would have liked some ketchup to go with those fries. 

 SMOKED PINEAPPLE, COCONUT & PISTACHIO

Our dessert was light and refreshing, boosted by the lovely addition of candied pistachios and coconut sorbet.

After we settled the bill, Chef came over with a couple of cookies. My first thought was, Cookies? I like.. Second thought, OMG, they are still warm! Oatmeal cookies with shredded coconut, smoked caramel and maple-cured bacon. They were on the chewy side, kind of like a soft granola bar. I don't normally get too excited over bacon, but the addition of bacon to cookie is bloody genius. If only we could order them for Chinese New Year...