May 3, 2009
Even cheaper meal deals
Restaurants are offering even bigger discounts to keep diners coming back during the recession
By Rebecca Lynne Tan
If there is one good thing about the current recession, it is this: restaurant discounts.
Operators are offering even deeper discounts and giving diners more bang for their buck, all in a bid to keep the crowds coming back.
Restaurants say they have seen business decline by some 30 to 40 per cent in recent months.
To cope, some have reduced their prices by up to 40 per cent, while others are dangling value-added meal deals.
York Hotel in Mount Elizabeth, known for its Penang hawker fare, is having a $10-nett promotion for 10 of its signature hawker dishes. You pay only $10 for dishes such as Nonya chicken curry, laksa and oven-baked pork chop, which used to cost $15++ each.
But if it is haute cuisine you are after, Chinese restaurant Jade at The Fullerton Hotel is serving up its signature Peking duck with foie gras ($16 per person on the a la carte menu) as part of a $48 five-course set menu.
Says York Hotel's spokesman: 'In this challenging business environment, customers are naturally looking for value meals when they dine out.'
Adds marketing communications manager of Goodwood Park Hotel, Ms Justina Loh, who has seen weekday business slump at the hotel's food and beverage outlets in recent months: 'It is our way of adding value and helping our fellow Singaporeans during this difficult economic climate.'
The hotel recently launched a Taiwan porridge express lunch promotion ($16.50 per person) at the Coffee Lounge.
So far, response has been 'very positive', she says.
Other eateries are using their anniversaries as platforms for discounted offerings.
Italian restaurant Bonta in Mohamed Sultan Road is offering 30 per cent off wine by the bottle and a la carte food items to celebrate its second year.
Over at Red House Seafood Restaurant, which has outlets in East Coast Park and Robertson Quay, diners can order the signature monthly special for $33, which changes each month till the end of the year. Usual prices range from $35 to $50 each.
Frequent restaurant goers like sales consultant Ricky Tay, 32, are lapping up the discounts.
He says: 'I can eat out every day knowing I am getting a good deal. What recession?'
Lunch Deals
Heat ultralounge
What: Tuck into a two-course gourmet lunch for $20.09 with mains such as pan-fried seabass fillet, and a lychee creme brulee for dessert. Pick two courses, a main and an appetiser or dessert.
Where: Royal Plaza On Scotts, 25 Scotts Road, tel: 6589-7722
Open: Noon to 2pm, weekdays, excluding public holidays
Swensen's
What: One-for-one lunch treat. Eat with a mate and one will dine free. Feast on a ribeye steak ($23.90) or opt for other mains such as the Swensen's combo (left), a mix of breaded chicken, butterfly shrimps, calamari and fish ($15.90). From now till June 30.
Where: 21 outlets, including Holland Village, tel: 6467-1825, North Point, tel: 6754-1944, Bugis Junction, tel: 6336-9784, and Parkway Parade, tel: 6346-1886
Open: 11am to 2pm, weekdays
Coffee Lounge
What: The Porridge Express lunch set ($16.50) comes with Taiwanese porridge and five sides which include braised pork belly in soya sauce and chilled beancurd in Japanese soya sauce and pork floss (right). From now till June 30.
Where: Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road, tel: 6730-1746
Open: Noon to 2.30pm, weekdays
Bedrock
What: Get a taste of New Zealand with a $35 three-course lunch menu at this swanky modern eatery. Choose dishes from the New Zealand promotional menu which has dishes such as NZ Southern little neck clams with chilli and Maori karengo. From now till May 17.
Where: Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, 96 Somerset Road, 01-05, tel: 6238-0054
Open: Noon to 3pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays. Noon to 3pm, Sundays, closed on Mondays
LUNCH AND DINNER
Sukhothai
What: A whole steamed or fried seabass for $10 (one per table of up to four persons). It usually costs $38. There are sauces to whet all appetites, such as garlic chilli, and hot sweet and sour for the fried option; and black bean, and spicy soya sauce for steamed. From now till May 31.
Where: 47 Boat Quay, tel: 6538-2422
Open: 11.30am to 3pm, and 6 to 11pm, weekdays. 6 to 11pm Saturdays, closed on Sundays
Teochew City Seafood Restaurant
What: One dines free when two people order the six-course premium set, which costs $68 per person. It includes delicacies such as double-boiled baby superior shark's fin and conpoy in fresh coconut, and braised dried and fresh abalone with broccoli in a rich stock. From now till May 31.
Where: The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road, 05-16, tel: 6733-3338
Open: 10.30am to 3pm, weekdays, 10.30am to 3.30pm, weekends and public holidays. Dinner, 6 to 10.30pm daily
Lao Beijing
What: Enjoy a six-course set meal for just $19.80 (minimum of two persons). Dishes include braised pork ribs with wild mushrooms served in a claypot and Beijing-style handmade noodles.
Where: Tiong Bahru Plaza outlet only, 302 Tiong Bahru Road, 02-12, tel: 6376-4466
Open: 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to 10.30pm daily
Jade
What: A five-course set lunch or dinner costs from $48 per person. There are five sets to choose from; highlights include crispy Peking duck skin with pan-seared foie gras and wasabi mayonnaise prawns with mango salsa.
Where: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, 1 Fullerton Square, tel: 6887-8188
Open: 11.30am to 2pm and 6.30 to 10.30pm daily
Prima Revolving Tower
What: Pay $32 to enjoy this restaurant's famed Beijing delicacies such as Peking duck and its signature dessert known as three non-stick. Both items are usually priced at $60 each. From now till May 31.
Where: Prima Tower, 201 Keppel Road, tel: 6272-8822
Open: 11am to 2.30pm, Mondays to Saturdays, 10.30am to 2.30pm, Sundays and public holidays. Dinner, 6.30 to 10.30pm daily
Crystal Jade Kitchen and Crystal Jade Dining Place
What: The chain is having a four-person Peking duck and seafood treasures set for just $88.80 on weekdays, and $168 on weekends. It is a five-course meal which includes a whole Peking duck, and braised shark's fin with sea cucumber, fish maw, bamboo pith and pig's tendon. From now till May 31.
Where: Crystal Jade Kitchen, 12 outlets including Holland Village, tel: 6469-0300, Jurong Point, tel: 6397-0060, Causeway Point, tel: 6893-5505, and Parkway Parade, tel: 6345-1551. Crystal Jade Dining Place, IMM Building, tel: 6567-8010
Open: 11am to 10pm daily, except Holland Village outlet, 7 to 3am daily
Min Jiang
What: Head here for a five-course Chinese meal which costs from $35 a person for a minimum of two persons. Items featured in the set menus include sauteed fresh scallops with asparagus in XO sauce and the restaurant's signature hot and sour soup.
Where: Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road, tel: 6730-1704
Open: 11am to 2.30pm and 6 to 10.30pm daily
Bonta Italian Restaurant
What: Tuck into modern Italian fare at this two-year-old restaurant. Enjoy 30 per cent off wine by the bottle and a la carte food. From now till May 31.
Where: UE Square River Wing, 207 River Valley Road, 01-61, tel: 6333-8875
Open: Noon to 2.30pm, weekdays and Sundays, and 6.30 to 11pm daily
ALL-DAY DINING
White Rose Cafe
What: Pay just $10 nett for local fare from a hotel best known for its Penang hawker food. There are 10 dishes to choose from such as chye tow kway, mee pok (left), laksa and oven-baked pork chop.
Where: York Hotel, 21 Mount Elizabeth, tel: 6737-0511 ext 1156
Open: 11am to 11pm daily. From now till July 31.
Bistro Senso
What: Prices have been reduced by up to 35 per cent. Pizza and pasta which used to cost $24 each, now cost from $16 and $15 respectively.
Where: Singapore Flyer, 30 Raffles Avenue, 01-03, tel: 6338-8550
Open: 10.30am to 10.30pm daily
Red House Seafood Restaurant
What: Red House will be serving a signature dish at $33 every month from now till December. This month, order the spicy seafood combination, which usually costs $48. It features prawns, scallops, cuttlefish and sliced fish in a special curry sauce.
Where: The Quayside, 60 Robertson Quay, 01-13/14, tel: 6735-7666, and Block 1204, 01-05, East Coast Seafood Centre, East Coast Parkway, tel: 6442-3112
Open: Dinner only, 5 to 11.30pm, weekdays. All-day dining, 11.30am to 11.30pm, weekends and public holidays. Monthly house specials from now till December.
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