Sassy Mama’s Ultimate Guide to Christmas Eating in Singapore 2013

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on, and while we all know those people who prefer to decamp to a sunny beach, we think that to abscond from the crazy Singapore social whirl would be to miss the spirit of the whole thing! So whether you’re planning something small with just the family, or a larger celebration with friends, we’ve got festive eating covered with our one-stop guide to Christmas Eating in Singapore!

Eating at Home

Bring a bit of French flair to your Christmas table with turkey, ham, fruitcakes, and lots of other classic French goodies available for takeaway from Bar-Roque Grill. Gammon ham glazed with honey, foie gras with figs, and apple pie have really caught our eye and that’s just the tip of the festive treats — remember to put your order in before Christmas Eve (or earlier!) so your dinner table will look amazing… with hardly any effort at all! Bon appétit!

Skip over to Bread Society artisanal bakery this silly season and stock up on traditional Nordic offerings like fruit cake, stollen and panettone. But if you’re looking for a real surprise this year, be sure to check out their Merry Koulof (yummy), Holly Berawecka (yummier), and Once Upon A Christmas (yummiest!).

Breadtalk‘s one-stop bakery is the perfect pit stop to pick up your holiday log cake and other festive cookies. Whether it’s for a snack (hello gingerbread cookies!) or for a large family Christmas dinner, the baked goods here don’t disappoint.

Tucked away in Chip Bee Gardens, The Butcher is a great shop for mama to order her Christmas turkey, ham, or leg of lamb for that intimate at-home Christmas meal. Since condiments and stuffings are also available here, the only thing left to do is to get cooking!

If you’re putting on a holiday dinner for a large group at home, Cold Storage has a huge range of affordable festive offerings – with everything from dinner deal packages, roasted turkey, ready-to-cook roast meats, gourmet hams, and seafood platters to snacks, wines, and lots of sweet treats. You’ll find something to suit everyone’s tastes – just remember to place your order at least four working days in advance.

If roasts aren’t your cooking speciality, don’t worry mama – Da Paolo Gastronomia is here to the rescue! Place your order and get ready to take home some of chef Scarpa’s specialities, including sous-vide turkey stuffed with cotecchino, porchetta, and duck leg confit. Delicious!

Super pressed for time? Then trust Foodpanda to gather all your Christmas goodies! This online food delivery portal takes the stress out of Christmas ordering, by delivering all your festive treats straight to your door. We’d start with places like Picotin with their Christmas set menu or Spizza with its Pizza Natalizia. Who knew you can have an entire Christmas dinner ready over a few clicks of the Internet?

For a Melbourne-inspired gastronomic surprise, Intrepid Gastro Bar has lots of delicious foods that hungry eaters can have at home. From the Gourmet Roasts Menu, to the Suckling Pig Feast or the Intrepid Platter Menu (where you’ll get Intrepid’s signature dishes), it’s time to pass around those plates and put in your order now!

Meat the Butcher makes meal time super easy, with their range of fully cooked roast meats… we’re loving their legs of lamb, turkeys and ham on the bone! Conveniently located in Bukit Timah, this place covers all your Christmas feasting needs — no cooking required!

Treat your loved ones with “Gems of the Season” this year from Royal Plaza on Scotts (think logcakes, homemade Stollen, baked snacks, cold cuts, and even hampers!). If you prefer to do the least amount of work possible, then bring the fam to the plaza instead for any of their Christmas lunches, high teas or dinner menus.

We can hardly avoid the festive cheer at Swensen’s this holiday season. This family friendly ice cream joint is rolling out the Christmas sundaes (their namesakes… Santa, Gingerbread Man, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and The Grinch!) as well as five new ice cream log cakes to take home to share (or not!).

It never feels like Christmas without a few more sweets and that’s why we love Tiong Bahru Bakery and their special log cakes (the Juliette Log and the Caulaincourt Log) this holiday season. Don’t panic if you miss out now… their log cakes will be up for grabs again during the second half of December.

Had a little too much Christmas pudding before Christmas even came around? Well, here’s a great fusion catering alternative for your Christmas dinner… Violet Oon’s Kitchen! Their fab eat-at-home Christmas menu is filled with Singaporean inspired dishes, like Dry Laksa, Chicken Curry, Fish Tempura, as well as Christmas classics like Shephard’s Pie and even Violet’s signature sliced turkey breast with special apricot sausage and homemade cranberry sauce – yummm!

Eating Out

Restaurants

Capella Singapore is getting their Christmas on throughout December with a range of set lunch and dinner options, as well their special Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus at The Knolls restaurant, where carollers, Santa Claus, and Santarina will drop by for games and activities with the little ones. Did we mention that Christmas brunch also includes free flow wine and champagne? See you there mamas!

The more the merrier at Christmas time! That’s why District 10 UE Square is the perfect option if you’re feeding a crowd… their communal Christmas Platter is packed with festive goodies (cold cuts, pastries, turkey, scallops – you name it!) perfect for sharing with fussy little ones who might not want to eat a whole cooked dinner by themselves.

The Christmas Brunch Buffet at The Halia at Singapore Botanic Gardens is pulling out all the stops this Chrissy with an amazing selection of over 40 festive gourmet specialties. The Halia is a great option for a decadent lunch with the fam, wherein the kids can stroll (or a run!) though the Gardens afterwards.

Not in the mood for turkey and roast meats this Christmas? Jumbo Seafood has a Boston Lobster Christmas set menu alternative instead. Besides the well-loved lobster, you’ll also get other Jumbo Seafood classics, such as braised abalone, steamed garoupa and chilli and black pepper crab. Yum!

Lawry’s is trying to make us feel at home this Christmas, while stuffing our tummies at the same time! Their chef will be serving the finest gastronomic Christmas feast ever and all you need to do is sit back and relax with your charges. Christmas feasting made easy? We like it very much.

For some Feliz Navidad cheer, My Little Spanish Place has a very special four course dinner this Christmas Eve. The entire family will definitely go home happy (and merry!) with Spanish suckling pig, paella, and churros in their bellies!

 

Hotels

With gourmet Christmas goodies, lavish buffet spreads and festive music to dine to, head to The Concorde Hotel to enjoy your Christmas meal with the fam. On 25 December, make sure you dine at Spice’s Cafe so the kids can play festive games and sculpt balloons with Santarina!

The Christmas buffet at the Edge at the Pan Pacific Hotel definitely won’t disappoint. Mama and Papa can chow down on festive roasted turkey and honey-glazed gammon ham, while the kids are kept entertained in the children’s corner, complete with bouncy castle, magic shows, face painting, a popcorn and cotton candy stand, and even arts and crafts activities… in addition to Christmas carollers and even Santa himself (only available on the 24th and 25th). Eat in peace? We love it!

The kiddies will be the VIPs this Christmas at the Four Seasons. One-Ninety’s Christmas buffet comes with a children’s playland set up, a buffet just of the kids, as well as fun entertainment and appearances by Santa Claus and his carollers!

The Town Restaurant at The Fullerton Hotel is getting very festive this Christmas too with brunch menus that include fun activities for kids and special dinner buffets on 24, 25 and 31 December. Their Chinese restaurant, Jade has a 6-course festive dinner on the same days, but if you prefer to eat at home you can always order your goodies (hampers, log cakes, turkeys, and Stollen) from The Fullerton Shop.

Christmas starts on the dot at the Goodwood Park Hotel with the Gordon Grill and Coffee Lounge festive set menus starting on 1 December. If you’re looking for a relaxing afternoon, L’ Espresso and Min Jiang both have exquisite afternoon tea menus perfect for the festive season.

Try your luck with a meal at any of the restaurants at the Grand Hyatt this Christmas because with their ‘A Grand Advent’ promotion (from 1 to 25 Decmember) one lucky diner has the chance to win free meals, holiday hampers, and lots of other amazing goodies! Don’t know where to dine mama? We’d recommend the StraitsKitchen for the family, with their special Asian-inspired lunch and dinner on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Christmas might be a Western holiday, but who says we can’t celebrate it with a Chinese flair? Hai Tien Lo at the Pan Pacific Hotel’s Christmas set menu comprises a six-course feast, with braised whole abalone, and Chinese style rack of lamb – just to name a few! If dim sum is more what you’re looking for, they also have an à la carte yum cha buffet.

If your family has acquired a taste for spice since living in S’pore, Hotel Fort Canning’s laksa turkey and Thai tom yum turkey are a must-have this Christmas. At the hotel’s Christmas Eve buffet dinner and Christmas Day brunch, the kids will have a blast watching movies, jumping off the bouncy castle, and visiting fun-filled activity stations just for them. We also love how kiddos from age 4 to 12 only have to pay half price for their meals!

The Mandarin Oriental has everything you need this Christmas. If you’re entertaining at home, their festive counter (open until 25 December) has an impressive range of treats… from log cakes, cookies, and macarons to turkey, goose, ham and even suckling pig. Treat the entire fam to dinner at the Cherry Garden, MELT – The World Café or Dolce Vita and if you’ve got a night alone with the hubby this New Year’s Eve, be sure to drop by Axis Bar and Lounge for its fireworks party!

The Parkroyal on Pickering has the entire holiday week covered with Yuletide brunches and festive buffet lunches and dinners. Christmas Eve will be extra special with live carolling and photo ops with the big guy in red – nothing’s gonna stop the little ones from having a photo with Santa!

Quayside Isle, Sentosa Cove has lots of seafood festive menus, whether it be a fish bar and bistro, Chinese or Spanish cuisine that you’re after. If you’re also visiting a friend after lunch, drop by Little Provence for a ready-to-go Christmas hamper of French gourmet goodies!

Does mama want a nice Christmas brunch but the kids just can’t sit still? Regent Singapore’s Basilico Christmas Day brunch comes with a kid’s corner where the energetic little ones will be happy jumping around the bouncy castle, playing games, and watching cartoons, while mama and papa indulge in a delicious meal in peace – what more can we ask for? (Not much we say!).

Hearty buffets are a huge part of the festive celebrations at Shangri-La, with The Line offering a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day buffet lunch with free-flow champagne and a Santa Claus mascot distributing mystery gifts to the kiddies (psst… we love The Barnacles Restaurant when we’re with the kids!). Caramel, Earl Grey with Blackberry, Vanilla, Strawberry with Lime and Carrot Cake, and Hazelnut Nougatine with Chestnut Cream – these are just a few of the French Yule log cakes you can also take home this Christmas – yum!

Can’t make up your mind on what to eat Christmas day? Swissôtel The Stamford has 15 restaurants and bars to choose from! JAAN’s festive French menus cover all your fine dining needs (maybe better for the teens!), while their Christmas-themed lunch and dinner buffets have you covered at Café Swiss.

All our little princesses will be delighted to know that The Ritz Carlton, Millenia will be having a fairy tale themed Christmas meal this year, highlighted by a Cinderella log cake topped with a chocolate slipper! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be busy days at the castle, with an 8-course afternoon tea at Chihuly Lounge, dinner buffets at many of their restaurants, and even Champagne brunches at Greenhouse and the Grand Ballroom. The festive cheer will also be strong with carollers, a live band, as well as cameos by Santa and Santarina!

This list is by no means exhaustive mama — there’s just too many delicious places to enjoy a meal at this Christmas!

 

Top image credit marieandrae