Cuisine: International
Address: 5 Fraser Street Level 25 Andaz Singapore Singapore (189354)
Nearest MRT: Bugis Station (East-West line / Downtown line)

Conceived as the culinary hub of the hotel, Alley on 25 is Andaz Singapore’s all-day dining venue that aims to recreate the fluid, spontaneous experience of Singapore street dining – in the sky.

Icehaus
Guests hankering after a light meal can head to Icehaus, an outlet inspired by kitchens of a bygone, pre-electricity era, when food was kept cool in wooden cabinets filled with ice slabs. Icehaus focuses on cold dishes such as Scottish Smoked Salmon with chive crème fraiche, charcuterie, seafood, salads, sandwiches and desserts, with specialist dessert machines dishing up Italian soft-serve ice cream and shaved ice.

Smoke & Pepper
Smoke & Pepper, the largest dining destination at Alley on 25, showcases Asian-inspired barbecued specialties prepared over an open-fire barbecue grill. Dig into succulent BBQ grub such as Grilled Diver Scallops, Grilled Squid with Green Chili and Shiso Pesto, and more.

The Green Oven
The Green Oven is where classic international favourites fare prepared from the heart of the kitchen – our giant green-colour Beech oven. Dig into to family-sharing styled comfort dishes like braised lamb shank, claypot baked chicken, black mussels and even dark chocolate brownies.

Since we had a $100 voucher as part of our staycation package, we had to use it at one of the restaurants. It could not be used for the steakhouse 665°F and Chinese restaurant Auntie’s Wok & Steam as these two restaurants are closed for renovation. So we ended up at Alley on 25 for dinner on the eve of a Public Holiday. It was quite crowded, but being hotel guests and we requested a table, they managed to snag a table for the two of us. The front desk had left a note on the reservation system when we were doing the check-in.

The lady ordered Auntie’s Laksa ($18), which comes with Tiger prawn, fish cake, quail egg and rice noodle. While this is 3 times as expensive as a standard bowl of famous Katong laksa, but the ambience and ordering it in a hotel restaurant, it is inevitable. We liked the fresh prawns and the gravy of the laksa, with a rich decadent taste of coconut milk and spices. The ingredients were not too much, perhaps they could have modified the dish by adding in other types of seafood.

As for me, I ordered the Seafood Risotto ($32) which was from the Green Oven. It had scallop, prawns, mussels, tossed in white wine and tomato sauce. I like the generous servings of seafood and while the white wine could not be tasted in this dish because it has evaporated, the sauce was still pretty good. I devoured this dish within a few mouthfuls and craved for more.

We also had a Cold Cuts Platter ($25) to share. Please do not order it. It consists of Parma ham, mortadella, salami, pickles, olives and toasted sourdough. Only the Parma ham was nice, and the other two types of cold cuts tasted odd to us. We did not like how the salami was soft and had bits of chilli inside. I think salami should be hard and dried. The sourdough bread was good but there was no butter provided.

After the meal, we seeked advice from the waiter on what kind of desserts to order. My wife originally wanted the tiramisu but since Andaz mixed the mascarpone layer with mixed berries, she was not keen on it. Instead, we ordered the Pistachio Eclair ($12), which came in a long eclair filled with Iranian pistachio cream and topped with strawberry crisps. The pistachio cream had strong hints of the pistachio it was made from and paired well with the eclair.

The other dessert we ordered to try is the Lemon Creme Brulee ($10). Instead of the normal creme brulee made from eggs and sugar, this one had lemon cream inside the brulee. It was also topped with coconut tuile to provide an additional crunchy bit. It was a bit too much for my wife to handle after a few bites, but I gladly finished up this dish. I wish the custard layer had more taste of lemon to provide a more acidic flavour, if not the filling is slightly sweet.

So with all these dishes ordered, we had a wonderful meal at Alley on 25, except for the Cold Cuts Platter. We exceeded by $14 so this was charged to the bill to our room. The next day, we would be checking out the breakfast selection at Alley on 25.