"Formal" is the first word that comes to mind when I hear this restaurant's name.
My boyfriend and I went to their branch in the Fort a few weeks ago for a pre-dinner light grub and the moment I entered the place, I thought its ambiance was very - uh - business class. The restaurant had a very contemporary minimalist interior with neutral colors black and beige dominating the space, though I though the high ceiling gave it a slight industrial feel. Overall, the interior design was quite zen.
Formal interiors plus their well-mannered staff, I think, are the things that make the place so business-like. I'm not a big fan of formal, but I really like the courtesy of their staff. They made me feel pampered (and the waiters are kinda cute, too).
Anyway... to the food...
I liked the way the food was served on plain white dinner ware. Nothing fancy except for the irregular shapes of the plates et. al., but the black of the table and the clean white of the dishes made the food pop out and look more appetizing.
Unfortunately, since we weren't really planning to pig out and only wanted a light pre-dinner, we just sampled an appetizer, a noodle dish, and a side dish (which I now cannot remember).
Our appetizer was a fancy one called Kueh Pai Ti - a crispy basket shell, filled with vegetables and topped with a quartered prawn. The textures of the prawn, vegetables, and the shell, as well as the different flavors were quite sensational. It's a shame, 'though, that the sauce it was served with looked and tasted much like Jufran Sweet Chili Sauce. My boyfriend thought it was just that.
We also sampled the stir fried prawn mee which was unexpectedly saucy. It was served with chili garlic sauce on the side, and I was afraid to touch it since I wasn't a fan of chili food, but the dish was actually more palatable with it.
I wasn't able to take a picture of our side dish nor can I now remember what it was called. All I could remember is that it had vermicelli.
We were only able to sample those, but the experience was far from disappointing. I've lived in Singapore for a time (way back) and never really thought about what Singaporean cuisine was, but having tried what Singapore Food Republic had to offer, I can say it definitely tasted authentic.
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