Hot of the press (release)
In my last post, I mentioned a soon-to-be-opened new restaurant in Singapore called Graze that I’m pretty excited about. For readers eager to know more about it, have I got a treat for you! The PR company that’s handling Graze has just sent me its latest press release, reprinted below verbatim for your reading pleasure. You’ll note that the phone number is below and from what I’ve been told, they’re already taking reservations. So, why not give them a call and be one of the first in the country to try what has the potential to be the city’s new “it” restaurant?
Graze Fact Sheet
Concept
The word Graze relates to ‘eating at a leisurely pace in a relaxed surrounding’. The grassy lawns of its 5000 sq. foot gardens and the fresh, airy ambience of the colonial house was also an inspiration for its name. A specialty of the restaurant will be a ‘grazing menu’ designed for those who prefer to eat small portions of a variety of dishes. As its name suggests, Graze offers a venue where people can ‘hang out’ for an extended time, experiencing exceptional cuisine in an exceptionally relaxed environment. Continuing its theme of freshness, greenery and relaxation, the upstairs lounge bar is called Mint, featuring specialty chilled cocktails and cool dj music.
Location
No 4 Rochester Park, Singapore 139215
Reservations
(65) 6775 9000
Opening
Late March, 2006
Opening Hours
Breakfast/Brunch: Saturday and Sunday – 9 am to 4 pm
Lunch: Friday-Sunday – 12 pm to 3 pm
Dinner: Tuesday to Sunday -6pm to Midnight
Bar: Tuesday –Sunday 6 pm to Midnight (later on weekend nights)
Last food orders 11pm- ish
Culinary Team
Head Chef – Matthew Lawdorn
Restaurant Highlights
Located in a pre-war, colonial-style black and white house in Rochester Park, near Holland Village. Graze features:
– a casual, chic downstairs dining room with an adjacent gourmet country style produce store.
– an elegant upstairs bar Mint with a dj booth, cigar area and outdoor terrace overlooking the gardens.
– a 5,000 sq ft garden oasis with 100 year old trees and with three architecturally sleek outdoor pavilions for dining or lounging. There’s a sensational water feature that runs through the space and a large outdoor screen for al fresco movies. The outdoor space is perfect for barbeques, events and other special occasions
The use of blonde woods in the downstairs dining area and a long communal table in the produce store give Graze a minimal contemporary style, while the outdoor private pavilions, a unique water feature and subtle backlighting create a sophisticated chill-out ambience which is equally appealing for lazy afternoons or Singapore’s balmy evenings
Mint is Graze’s upstairs lounge bar, fitted with a purpose built dj booth playing cool music, and adorned with comfortable leather sofas, flo stools and ottomans, and a unique bisazza mosaic bar with a floral motif. A special feature of Mint is the cigar bar with an excellent selection of premium and vintage cigars. A large adjoining terrace with comfortable banquette seating overlooks the garden.
Cuisine
The cuisine includes exceptionally fresh home-made fare, featuring simple, yet creative, tasty dishes. In addition to an a la carte menu with a selection of western and Asian seafood, poultry, pastas, great cheeses, garden-fresh vegetables and salads, Graze also offers a BBQ menu of choice cuts and the freshest seafood, a “Grazing” menu for those who want to share, and at weekends, a healthy and hearty Breakfast/Brunch menu.
Set to become a destination for all-day weekend brunch, treats include Graze’s big breakfast choices – The cast iron pan, for meat lovers or vegetarians, banana pancakes, crab omelette, eggs benedict, healthy options, refreshing brunch cocktails and delights for those with a sweet-tooth.
Graze will also host a gourmet produce store, selling home-made conserves, sausages, herb and spice mixes, imported cheeses, chocolates, infused oils and vinegars, pastas, sun-dried goods, specialty coffee blends and boutique wines and beers, some exclusive to Graze.
Signature Dishes
For Entrées, specialities include: King Prawns 3 ways, tempura, chilled and pan tossed and coconut coriander sorbet (S$ 15.15) and Salt and pepper grilled sea scallop, sliced mango, lime, vanilla syrup and fresh herbs (S$ 13).
Mains with tasty Asian flair include: Soy layered Wagyu Ox cheek, coconut rice and warm salad (S$ 28) as well as Roasted Barramundi, pumpkin and goats cheese ravioli, chili plum salsa and chive oil (S$ 28)and Wrapped roasted chicken with a warm salad of potato, garlic, fried shallot, lemongrass and cucumber nam jim dressing, coriander and thai basil (S$ 26).
Delicious desserts include: Lava Cake- soft-centred hot chocolate pudding with white chocolate ice cream (S$ 10)
Wine List
Both boutique wines and a selection of acclaimed wines, with several available by the glass ranging from S$12 to S$30. There is also a selection of wines by half bottles. Graze’s dining experience also includes the option of recommended wines matched by the glass for items on its a la carte menu.
Signature Cocktails
Berry Blast Mocktail
MINT Cocktail
Graze Cocktail
Capacity
50 diners – level one “Graze”
60 people – dining or simply ‘grazing ‘and drinking outside
80 people – “grazing” upstairs on level 2 “Mint” Bar
A private dining room seating up to 12 people
Area
Restaurant: Ground Floor – 755 sq. foot
Lounge Bar: Upper Floor – 755 sq. foot
Outdoor Terrace – 350 sq. foot
Gardens: 5000 sq. foot
Average bill per guest
Lunch : S$ 45 (2 courses with glass of wine)
Dinner: S$ 80 (3 courses with 2 glasses of wine)
Brunch: S$ 30 (with a beverage or breakfast cocktail)
Private Events
Cocktail for up to 300. Private dining : 60 people
Dress Code
Relaxed, casual chic.
Credit Cards
All major credit cards accepted.
Parking
Street or valet parking available
About Aun Koh
Aun has always loved food and travel, passions passed down to him from his parents. This foundation, plus a background in media, pushed him to start Chubby Hubby in 2005. He loves that this site allows him to write about the things he adores--food, style, travel, his wife and his three kids!
Actually, have been trying that number for the last week. No one’s picking up yet 🙁 Hopefully better luck tomorrow (or later today, I should say)!
if only i lived in singapore i could graze two.
on the list of must-go-to’s…..
Hi there, that’s actually my friend’s restuarant! Won’t be officially opened till April though. Definitely looking forward to grazing there 🙂
hl: I just checked with the owner of the restaurant and she says that they’ll start taking bookings next week.
pinstripeprincess: Hope to see you there one of these days.
bourgeois: Well, I guess it would be prudent of Y’s PR company to update their press releases. 😉
Thank you for checking! Much appreciated … now I won’t have to try till next week. (Though it can’t be as bad as when I had to hit “re-dial” for one hour — at 2 am — to secure a French Laundry reservation).
sounds like an impressive joint, it even has a gourmet store. nice stuff
Went to the vet on friday and saw a doggy that looked just like yours.
Guess I have to wait till December to try this place, but at least I get to come to Singapore once a year. Thanks for the tip.
I was just driving around that area last weekend. Rochester Park is definitely a place I’d visit again.
hi, we were very excited to try out graze last weekend after reading your blog. the place is beautiful and definitely a place to impress a date. but sad to say, we were not impressed with the food. the bbq items we had (mix meat platter, grilled prawns, grilled lobster) were so-so. the accompanying simple green salad w a light vinigarette dressing was refreshing. we also ordered 2 sides of mash-potato (sour cream and 3grain mustard) which were yummy, but strangely enough, they arrived as appetisers before our mains (??) and finally for desserts, we ordered the graze sundae which had bananas deep fried in a light batter with choc ice cream. yums! 🙂 in terms of service, unfortunately, there was only one head-hostess / waitress who cld take orders hence we waited a while before our orders were taken, and before food finally arrived. all in all, a pretty-average dining experience that could have been better. p.s.great valet service.
i was there for brunch on sunday. girlfriend and i tried the cast iron pan thingee & pancake stuff. the pancake was bad, it tasted like detegent was mixed into the batter, eeewww! we made our complaint and that dish was replaced and not charged. the replaced pancake was too dense but didn’t have that detergent mixed into batter after taste. lady who served us said it could be due to lack of sugar. i don’t think so….
i liked the spicy sausages and other than seeing who’s who are seated at the restaurant, i would have preferred Turquoise Room for brunch. I think Turquoise Room is prettier in the day.
went to Graze for dinner this week and the food is unfortunately at best, mediocre.
we ordered 2 appetizers, 3 main courses, 3 desserts – and every single one of them was disappointing. the risotto was overcooked and mushy, the scallops and crab cakes were so-so, the beef cheeks were nowhere near as tender as they could have been etc etc..
and the apple/rhubarb crumble – well, the crumble on top was way too fine, the texture was like eating sand as opposed to the way good crumble should be ie crumbly but in nice buttery/sugary bits. the crumble was also not evenly heated…its hard to mess up crumble but Graze managed to do it. a very disappointing meal overall.
the atmosphere is not bad and the cocktails were good, so i would go back for a drink maybe (One Rochester still has a nicer vibe) but NOT for dinner. they really need to figure out how to improve the food.
Especially when MinJiang, even North Border seem more attractive dining options – and am looking forward to the new Da Paolo!
Wow, did we eat at the same restaurant? Not sure what they have done in the past few weeks but the meal we had was great. BBQ station was ace, made me miss Australia…. even had the chef come to our table to check on the meal, nice touch. Lobster was tasty and fresh, had the asian option? My better half had eggs benni which came simply presented but hollandise was worth it by itself. 🙂 try the breaky sausages, yummy. Staff a bit raw. We will be back, look forward to the dinner menu, to busy this time through, looks interesting.