Little Fat Sheep Hotpot

For those who travel the world in search of great hotpot experiences, the name Little Sheep (小肥羊, or literally Little Fat Sheep) needs no further introduction with their outlets in Canada, China, Japan and the US. For the rest of us who prefer local food adventures, we’ll be glad to know that they’ve finally come to Singapore, with their first outlet located at One Fullerton. 

Given the glut of hotpot places opening in Singapore lately, our first impression was that Little Sheep needed to really bring their A game if they wanted to stand out from the crowd. After our first visit to their latest outlet, we were certain that Little Sheep is more than ready to take on the competition. 

Established in 1999 and originating from Inner Mongolia, Little Sheep’s offering focuses squarely on the quality of their broths and the freshness of their ingredients. Their signature broths include House Original White Soup ($9 for small / $20 for large) as well as a fierier House Spicy Mala Soup ($9 for small / $20 for large). I was particularly impressed by Little Sheep’s Mala Soup, since it came with plenty of flavour without being too intense. 

Little Sheep has a range of sauces similar to most other hotpot joints, along with some unique touches for those of us with more adventurous tastebuds (think lime juice, or fermented beancurd) to explore. However, the fact that all labels are in Chinese also means that patrons who don’t read the language will face more challenges here – a key area of improvement for sure. Having said that, our servers were also more than happy to mix their house blends for us, even going as far as serving a special one meant for pairing with their fresh seafood. 

Most hotpot places serve reasonably fresh seafood, but the White Pomfret ($22) served on ice gets top marks for presentation as well as quality. When we were done, our servers added the bones to the soup – although it's fairly common for fish head steamboat, it's less common to do that for hotpot (and for good reason – it takes up real estate in the pot and doesn’t add much to the dining experience). Our recommendation? Skip adding the bones entirely – the soup doesn’t need the boost!

 

Little Sheep’s main claim to fame (as the name suggests) is lamb, best represented by their 3-Tier Signature Lamb Platter ($36). The lamb is fresh and sliced thinly enough to cook within seconds in the pot, and was an absolute delight, even for those who don’t usually enjoy lamb. We also didn’t detect any of the gaminess or strong flavor typically associated with lamb, which made the meat even more enjoyable. 

However, the real showstopper was clearly the Signature Lamb Kebab ($8). Heartily seasoned and served fresh from the grill, sliding the chunks of juicy lamb off large metal skewers made for a really fun dining experience, not to mention tasty. For a more adventurous experience closer to Little Sheep’s Mongolian origins, put manners aside and consider eating your lamb right off the skewers! 

No hotpot experience is complete without the usual meatballs and assorted dumplings, but Little Sheep once again takes it to the next level with their Handmade Prawn Paste ($9/$18) with bits of fresh prawn providing texture, as well as Juicy Beef Balls ($8) that squirt boiling soup if you’re not careful while biting into them (yes, we’re speaking from experience). Skip the dumplings unless you're a fan of starchy soup (it disintegrates) and save your stomach space for something a bit more exotic like the Handmade Snakehead Fish Paste ($9/$18), or even the Pork Aorta ($13) and Beef Tripe ($16). 

Finish off your meal with some of Little Sheep’s complimentary soft serve (which we liked for not being too sweet), and walk off some of the calories along the Fullerton promenade – a really satisfying way to end off a satisfying hotpot experience. 

-Ben

Little Sheep Hot Pot

One Fullerton #01-05
1 Fullerton Road, Singapore 049213 

Tel: +65 6222 9959 

Daily: 11am - 11pm

Singapore Airlines A350 Business Class SIN-BCN

I've tried several Singapore Airlines Business Class products and have been waiting to check out the A350-900 Business Class design since it was rolled out 2 years ago. I originally thought i'd be able to check out the then new design on my SIN-NRT flight but they did not retrofit that particular SQ B777-300ER. I finally managed to do so on our honeymoon by taking the twice weekly non-stop SIN-BCN flight on SQ and then another flight from Barcelona to Casablanca. The honeymoon travel posts will eventually come (2 years later). 

We all know that the A350 is a new generation aircraft and i thought that the flight experience is a lot more comfortable than the other aircraft- it's quieter and the air feels less drying, so yes, tech works.

There are 42 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 seat layout. As you can tell, the seats are generous in size, though not as huge as the older designs. But hey, even if you're a big dude, the 60" seat pitch and 28" seat width beats many other airlines offering out there. 

The Scottish leather seat can be adjusted to your comfort with the numerous buttons to play with. There are two new seating positions—the Lazy Z, a cradling position that ensures your weight is centered and balanced when you’re sitting down, and the Sundeck, a lounging position that extends the base and foot of your seat so you can stretch and rest your legs on the ottoman. 

The seat also transforms into a 78" flat bed when you're ready to snooze and it comes with a cushioned headboard, complete with linen, duvet and pillows. This is why i love taking SQ business class on long-hauls. The side lights were very useful for reading under different conditions, be it sitting upright, in-bed, or lounging. I don't think Jr was too bothered by my light as it didn't spill that much into his cabin. Also, there are also 2 earphone jacks, for sitting and lying down. I thought that is a very thoughtful design!

Amò

There was a time when we thought about fine Italian dining, the ilLido name would come up. I mean, that was before the booming food scene (i'm obviously not a young millenial). I remember dining at ilLido was a special affair- I parted with my hard-earned tuition money for a date at ilLido. How times have changed! Anyhow, now you don't have to break the bank and could enjoy the same great Italian fares at Amò, the smart-casual Italian eatery and bar by established restaurateur-chef Beppe De Vito of the ilLido Group. 

I very much preferred the casual-chic setting of Amò and also the central location at Hong Kong Street. We started our meal with a crispy calamari with sumac and sun-dried tomato aioli ($19). The sauce is what makes the dish, along with the crunchy batter.

Burrata is always a good idea, and the one here is accompanied by an eggplant salad, walnuts and bottarga ($28).

Subrosa- Not quite Private Dining

The private dining game in Singapore is going strong. I'm in a chat group with some fellow foodies (many famous ones), for such private dining dates. Mind you, private dining in Singapore is anything but cheap, with prices starting from $70 per head (check out fellow foodie The Ranting Panda's list of some private home dining). Perhaps it's the exclusivity that drives dinner to home restaurants, or the special recipes passed down from the generations before. Well some restaurants are also trying to get on the private dining bandwagon, Subrosa is one of them. The rather new restaurant along Jalan Besar is branded as a private dining restaurant which delivers an exclusive farm-to-table fine dining experience, using local ingredients such as their own locally-grown lobsters and in-house herb garden and all items are made from scratch. 

I wondered what is the story behind Subrosa. What's special about it that warrants the private dining tag? Well.. i found none. Subrosa is helmed by Executive Chef Steven Snowdon, who cooked for the British Royal Family several times, and worked at several Michelin starred restaurants. Consulting Chef Francis Lee has more of a private dining cooking experience, being a private chef for some celebrities and Singapore high society members. However, the menu doesn't have a strong focus on heritage, story, or even personality. That's not to say that the food is bad. It's just not remotely private dining.

Branding aside, i thought most of the dishes had a Japanese influence, with the exception of some. Our meal started with their homemade breads, which were a mix of fluffiness and chewiness. Their truffle butter  also had this amazing earthy quality- it was almost like biting into a mushroom. 

Then, a buttermilk cured scallop dish served with fermented melon, pickled cucumber, dill oil and caviar. A Siracha and wasabi dressing, together with some lemon gel, provided an Asian twist to this carpaccio. It must have been pretty good for me to forget about the photo.