By: Cherylene Chan
When was the last time you tucked into the bold flavours found down South in The States? As it turns out, Cajun food is causing quite a stir on the island, so we checked out the latest Southern restaurants that have opened their doors.
Life is Beautiful
99 Duxton Road | 6423 0939
Serving up Creole flavours with a lighter hand than others, this restobar dials up the hip factor with its industrial, loft-like interiors and a regular roster of DJs spinning funky soundtracks. Star dishes here include the Dusted Frog Legs ($23), covered in a Cajun spice, and the Gator and Fennel Boudin With Cauliflower. Don’t be alarmed by the unusual ingredients in the latter – served in meatball form, they’re much tastier than they sound, although a tad game-y. To wash down the food, the bar whips together a tidy menu of cocktails that changes every few months, whenever they rope in a new guest mixologist.
Full Of Crab
195 East Coast Road | 6348 8195
Done up like a proper seafood joint by the wharf, with a few quirky touches thrown in, Full Of Crab is one of our favourite places to get our hands messy over a Southern-style seafood boil. For a real feast, try the Captains Choice ($94) - a bag full of Sri Lankan crab and plump shrimps stewing in a generous amount of gravy. Luckily, guests here are given aprons to protect their clothes from inevitable drippings. Aside from seafood in a bag, they also do a mean fish and chips.
The Beast
17 Jalan Klapa | 6295 0017
If Bourbon is your poison of choice, this restaurant and bar is sure to spoil you. The owners stock over 30 types of bourbon, including rare bottles like the St. George Breaking and Entering ($14 a glass). To pad out your stomach, the kitchen dishes out Southern grub like addictive pulled pork sliders ($16, we almost wish these were full sized) and juicy Southern Fried Chicken ($20) . For something less stiff to sip on, try Mama June’s Sweet Tea ($18), a syruppy cocktail made with Redemption High Rye Bourbon. Guys will be pleased to know that every Wednesday here is Gentlemen’s Night, with whiskeys and cocktails going at special prices.
The Cajun Kings
15-1 Jalan Riang | 6284 4426
Here’s another seafood-in-a-bag restaurant that’s caught our eye (and belly). The Louisiana-style menu here is fairly simple, but what it lacks in a variety, it makes up for in rich flavour. Dip your fingers into the Cajun Kings Combo ($65), a colourful mix of corn, Manila clams, Red Sea prawns and sausages, served with a side of Cajun fries. The delicious buttery and spicy sauce is the wow factor in this dish, and it’s hard to resist licking your fingers clean.
The Boiler
#01-06 Novelty Bizcentre, 18 Howard Road | 6635 1285
Taking roost in a snazzy new industrial park building, this Cajun joint serves up the usual suspects of a seafood boil – inspired by its owners first trip to The Boiling Crab in LA. For a full-on feast, try the Bombdiggity Bag ($139), which comes with enough dungeness or brown crabs, prawns, clams, sausages, mussels and corn to feed four. If that isn’t enough, their Creole flavoured sides, such as the Lobsicle (a lobster on a stick) and spam fries should leave you stuffed. To round off the Southern experience, they also serve a range of craft beers from Abita brewery in New Orleans.
