Looking Back at 2014 - It's More Than Just Being About Food

It is always more than just being about food. And 2014 has gone a long way to prove this point. What started as a year of exciting food opportunities, turned into something more. And more meaningful as well.

At the beginning of this year, the discovery of social enterprises like Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh led me to learn more about the people behind the scenes.

Smør - Nordic Open-Faced Sandwiches With Heart and Soul

Traveen used to work as a sales executive at Bloomberg, just a shout away from his newly opened sandwich cafe at One Raffles Place.

These days, he can be seen running Smor, the name of his eatery at the basement of the mall. It is a rather small and compact outlet, but boy does he put a lot of heart and soul into it.

Oceans of Seafood at PasarBella - Oceans of Freshness

Oceans of Seafood has the some of the freshest seafood in Singapore. Period. With that said, there is little reason to read this and simply dash down to the old Turf Club area along Bukit Timah Road this very minute.

Nestled at the entrance to PasarBella, it occupies the largest eatery area there and the place is filled with sights of some of the freshest seafood you can see here.

Fishball Story - A Young Hawker Journeyman

He fondly remembers his grandma's fishballs, which were all made by hand. It is this food memory of his that galvanised him to want to set up his own hawker stall to preserve his grandma's food.

It is also his passion that drove him to become a hawker at the tender age of 23. Where many of his peers are more comfortable working in an office, he is slogging away at his kitchen on a daily basis.

PAUL Boulangerie Patisserie - Tempting French Bistro Savoury Fare

I have always frequented PAUL outlets for their tasty pastries, and compared to some of their closest competitors, PAUL has far better breads and desserts.

It is a surprise to discover that with their recent menu revamp, that they do provide a nice alternative for a full meal outing as well.

Laksa Risotto - Chef Chua Yew Hock's Tasty Laksa Paste From Holiday Inn Atrium Restaurant

Everyone loves a good bowl of laksa in Singapore. And my personal favourite for some time now has been Sungei Road Laksa, which is not only delicious, but very affordable.

Most hotels's cafe will also have this delectable dish, but sadly, they tend to use the prima mix to make the soup base. It is good and eatable, but not necessarily spectacular and they tend to taste the same from hotel cafe to hotel cafe.

Shelter In The Woods - A Master Class in French Classics

It is not easy to get French classics done right in Singapore. For one, the produce which is essential to French cooking is hardly the best you can find here.

Secondly, there are many eateries who profess to cook up rustic French home styled cooking, but very few can nail it perfectly. There is nothing worse than a poorly executed French classic dish.

Tenderfresh Classic - Better Than KFC, By Lots

I really cannot stomach KFC's chicken these days. Mainly because of the choice of chicken used. Darkened bones, flavourless meat and inconsistent batter and frying standards.

Therefore, it was such a respite to find Tenderfresh's own version of fried chicken to be such a better, healthier alternative. These guys have been around for awhile, but it has only gotten through my attention during our collaboration during the Ultimate Hawke Fest 2014.