With so many dining options for our picking in Singapore, it can get really hard to find a place that does it all. But we may have found a strong contender with The Spot at Marina One.
As an all-day dining spot (pun totally intended; it’s actually the reason behind the name), it caters to the bustling CBD crowd from morning till past sundown.
You’ll find a medley of European and South East Asian influences across the menus in the all-day dining cafe, restaurant and bar. There’s even a cigar lounge that is open to all — no exclusive membership required here!
One of The Spot’s special features is South East Asia’s first The Macallan Boutique @ 1855 where diners can opt to try a guided flight tasting hosted by a Boutique Associate at the in-house bar.
There’s also an extensive range of limited edition Macallan bottles and merchandise at this flagship boutique.
Speaking of 1855 The Bottle Shop, they have also now set up shop as an extension of The Spot, so diners can pick out their favourite bottles from over 1,000 labels that they can enjoy while dining in or to take home.
The dining space is rather expansive, with the bar right in the middle. It’s a great place to hold mid-day lunch meetings, as well as gather your friends after a long day of crunching numbers.
To get your appetite going, start off with the Roasted Carrot Soup ($18). Don’t let its simplicity fool you — it comes with lemongrass chorizo prawn salsa that’s made with two kinds of chorizo, fresh and air-dried Spanish. It’s topped off with rye crumb.
The soup was only slightly thick, while retaining a creamy mouthfeel. The carrots were nicely balanced with the tanginess of the salsa, and the crumbs gave a nice contrasting texture to the dish.
The Scallop Carpaccio ($30) was a really interesting take on this traditionally muted dish. It’s paired with jicama (Mexican turnip) remoulade and buah long long vinaigrette and green apple.
The green apple lent great acidity to the neutral scallops, while the vinaigrette aided in giving it a rounded sweet-sour profile. I would say that as a starter, this dish was refreshing and left a polished aftertaste that prepped my palate for the next course.
I love me some grilled octopus, so I was exceptionally excited to try the Charred Grilled Octopus ($25). It’s cold-marinated in oil that’s been infused with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, garlic and shallots, so it’s a very aromatic dish.
It’s accompanied by a green papaya slaw that helped cut through the fattiness, but didn’t overpower the delicate sweetness of the octopus itself. I always love it when octopus has both bounce and bite and this rendition satisfied both criteria for me.
One of the evening’s best dishes for me was the Local Skate ($25). The skate fillet is pan-fried and sits on a bed of Kokuho rice risotto that’s wrapped in a large lettuce leaf.
Upon serving, a reservoir of dried sole coriander broth is poured into the bowl, making this dish amazingly savoury. I couldn’t stop raving about this dish all night, because it felt exactly like how a warm hug should be.
It was comforting and rich, and the skate was super flaky. Trust me when I say that you’ll want to drink up every last drop of the broth. The ikura pearls added a nice touch of saltiness to the dish as well.
Duck is one protein that you either love or hate, but I encourage you to give The Spot’s Glazed Local Duck Breast ($28) a shot.
Not only does it lack any of that gamey-ness that many aren’t a fan of, but it’s dressed in a chrysanthemum flower honey glaze which compelled me to eat the skin as well.
The plum ginger vinegar jus opposed the sweetness of the glaze, but I suppose it was included to cut through the saccharine.
I’m quite biased towards green curries — there’s just something about them that’s really hearty and undoubtedly satisfying.
The Pan-fried Red Snapper ($28) uses Thai belachan to give it an intense heat, but is easily calmed by the inclusion of the medley of ingredients like fish sauce, fresh lime juice and Thai palm sugar.
The fish fell apart effortlessly and soaked up all the creaminess of the green curry. I only wished the serving was larger, because if my evening ended with this dish, I would’ve been more than content.
Prefer something more… substantial? I know some people can’t do without real beef in their meal, so this Beef Short Ribs ($40) dish is for you.
This delectable meat is doused in Java long pepper sauce and is lined with aerated porridge on the bottom that’s made with Japanese rice and house-made chicken stock.
Fork-tender and absolutely juicy, this beef dish was undeniably addictive. The marbling gave the meat a nice fatty lining and was complemented with a spring onion chimichurri.
The last (but not least) main, was the Pork Cheek “BBQ” ($26) that’s grilled “bak kwa style” after being marinated in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, five spice, fine salt, white pepper and pure honey for at least a day.
The classic potato mousseline was creamy and paired excellently with the sweet pork cheek. It’s a solid dish, but given all the prior dishes that were relatively moist, this one felt drier in comparison. As a result, I wasn’t as impressed.
My favourite part of any meal arrived, and I was fortunate to have two desserts to try. First I had the Sea Coconut Brulee ($14). Atop the brulee is house-made sour cream ice cream, which at first threw me off and made me really doubtful of its appeal.
But it surprised me with how great a pairing it was with the kaffir lime puree. The brulee itself was very milky and smooth, and was akin to a luscious custard.
To cap off the evening, I had this interesting Licorice Root Ice Cream ($15), made with licorice root powder and malt extract. I’m not a fan of licorice, so I was really impressed that this didn’t taste overwhelmingly of the ingredient.
Instead, it reminded me a little of peanut butter with a hint of bitterness. Needless to say, the coffee crumble was exquisite, resembling more of a powder than a crumble, which I actually didn’t mind.
The Spot’s menu is, I would say, an eclectic amalgamation of South East Asian and European flavours and techniques, and warrants a curious palate to come down and give it a go. I’m quite biased towards all-day dining establishments, because you never know when you’re in need of a quick bite.
Whether it’s a casual or more formal occasion, The Spot is the place to be.
Expected damage: $30 – $50 per pax
The Spot: 5 Straits View, Marina One, #01-26/27, Singapore 018935 | Tel: +65 6284 2637 | Opening hours: (Mon & Tues) 7.30am – 11pm, (Wed to Fri) 7.30am – 12am, (Sat) 5pm- 12am, Closed on Sundays | Website | Facebook | Instagram
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