Last Updated on March 30, 2018 by Chef Mireille
Bugis Street Bar – Singapore eatery in NYC – Restaurant Review – Authentic flavors and spice in this Singapore eatery located inside the Millenium Hotel.
Bugis Street Bar – Singapore eatery in NYC – Restaurant Review – Authentic flavors and spice in this Singapore eatery located inside the Millenium Hotel.Last month, I was looking for a new place to celebrate my friend’s birthday. After some looking around, I decided to try Bugis Street Bar. We both adore Asian food and had traveled together in Singapore and Southeast Asia. However, we decided to go there with a little trepidation. Often restaurants located in Manhattan have muted flavors, wanting to have mass appeal for visiting tourists. I usually find more authentic flavors in the restaurants of the outer borroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, etc. But we were both willing to give it a shot!
Location
Bugis St. Bar & Brasserie is located in the lobby of the Millenium Hotel, but is easy to find with the Bugis St. Bar sign viewable from the street.
It is named after the famed Bugis Street in Singapore, which is a popular shopping and eating area on the island.
Menu
The menu consists of both a la carte options and a 3 course pre-fixe for $28. Additionally, they also may have specialty holiday menu’s. When I visited, they were also offering a Chinese New Year Menu, but the pre-fixe was the most affordable option. The pre fixe offers several options, including Vegetarian options for both the first and second course. The dessert course is the Chef’s dessert of the day.
Their prices are moderate. Not someplace I would frequent on a weekly basis, but totally affordable for once in a while or for a special occasion.
Food
Singapore is the meeting place of all Southeast Asian cuisine. It is where Malay, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Chinese flavors meet to form both traditional and uniquely Singapore foods.
If you would like to learn more about Singapore cuisine, check out my post here about the 5 Must Try Foods in Singapore.
There were 4 options for the appetizer course:
- Chicken Satay
- Vegetarian Spring Rolls
- Corn Soup with Chicken
- Baked Spare Ribs
The corn soup hit the spot on a cold winter day and with the spare ribs, we were served 3 large meaty spare ribs. They are not stingy with the portion size and felt they were ample, especially for appetizers.
The main course options were:
- Nasi Goreng
- Laksa
- Fried Noodles with Vegetables
- Sweet & Sour Prawns
- Singapore Curry Chicken
My friend and I opted for the Laksa (Malay Shrimp & Noodle Curry Soup) and the Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
My friend loved the flavors in the fried rice, especially when enhanced with the accompanying chili paste and served with the traditional fried egg.
Now on to the laksa. I LOVE LAKSA and order it whenever I have the chance. I even have made my own versions of laksa here on the blog. If you’d like to try your own hand at laksa, check out my recipes!
Laksa Recipes
Remember what I said earlier about muted flavors…boy was I wrong!!! This is the spiciest laksa I have ever eaten! In fact, the first piping hot spoon opened my sinuses. However, after it cooled for 5 minutes, it was perfect and I absolutely LOVED this laksa. If you are a SPICY FOOD LOVER, definitely visit Bugis Street and try the laksa!
The dessert of the day was a fabulous cheesecake, served with fresh berries and coulis.
We also opted for some extras!
The chilled coconut drink with pandan brought us back to our trip to Singapore.
The dim sum was perfectly made jam packed with stuffings. I hate it when you bite into dumplings and there is a lot of air inside and you are eating mostly dough. This was not a problem at Bugis Street Bar.
Customer Service
Overall, the staff was nice and friendly. However, this is one of those restaurants that closes between lunch and dinner and as it was approaching closing time for the break, they made sure we knew this by pumping up the air conditioner on a VERY COLD winter day. It wasn’t even quite 3pm yet, when they close.
Overall, I would give this place 4 stars, taking away a star for freezing us out at the end of our meal.
Bugis Street Bar & Brasserie
145 West 44th Street
NYC, NY
(212) 789-7508
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