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Sunday, July 31, 2011

SAF Yacht Club




The SAF Yacht Club has some beach side facilities in Sembawang, just a 5 minute drive from our place. The thing about Sembawang beaches is that they're mostly deserted. The restaurant at the SAF Yacht Club overlooks the beach and few know that it's a really nice place to chill out (and that is open to non-members like us). It isn't as chic as some beach eateries in the east of Singapore but I think its serenity more than makes up for its lack of style. It's hard to find anywhere in Singapore where you can sit by the beach to smell salt air instead of salt bodies.

We've all been working so hard that I thought the beach might bring some zen balance back into our lives. Previously, the food was nothing to shout about but this time our tastebuds really applauded the choice of dining... and the portions were so large that we had to bring food home.

Little Boy's carbonara was creamy and full of umami flavour. I had oxtail stew and The Daughter, a beef goulash. A full-bodied and robust beef goulash to shame the one I once had in a forgettable restaurant at Rochester Park, that was big on style but small on taste and portions. The Daughter's plate of beef goulash was half the price and double the portion.

The menu has Asian favourites and Western delights. The Western food reminds me of Hainanese Western cuisine i.e., Western food made by Hainanese chefs who trained in the kitchens of English Ma'ams. The salad came with Thousand Island dressing which is really not done in any aspire-to-be-chic restaurant these days (where salads are tossed in vinaigrette). A modern Western trained chef will probably hang himself if required to serve Thousand Island dressing with salad. The tea came in a pot that I remember from the 1970s staying at the Seaview Hotel in the East. No one serves tea in pots like that these days so it felt like the 1970s all over again.

Would I go back? Yes! Everyone likes a bit of nostalgia now and again... and with the yummy food, quiet surroundings and some moments back in time, I would go back.

1 comment:

Blur Ting said...

I used to go to the one at Changi. It's deep inside, almost like traveling to another country but the ambience is nice.