A for Arbite

Nope I was not kidnapped by aliens or being murdered. I declare the owner of this blog is still alive. Although the past few weeks felt like I went to hell and back. After being slammed at work for weeks, I finally redeemed my soul. And what's a better thing to do than having a feast at a nice place? And to pen my thoughts at this blog is therapeutic. This is the place where I can just be who I really am - a happy girl who just loves to laugh and eat.

Therapy started at A for Arbite. Housed in Aliwal Arts Centre near Arab Street in Bugis, the restaurant was the size of a basketball court and the tables were spaced well apart. A for Arbite caters to big groups with its communal tables and smaller groups with its bar tables and smaller tables. 

Loved this quote on the wall. Actually life need not be as tough as you think.

A refreshing and fruity lychee & mint magherita ($8 for non-alcholic/ $14 for alcoholic) and ice lemon tea ($4) to start off. Lychee and mint combination always work for me.

Small plates are priced from $8 to $17, while big plates ranged from $18 to $34. For two pax, we ordered two small plates and one big plate which were sufficient, leaving enough room for one dessert too.

White bait - deep fried and tossed with lemongrass and chili salt )($8++, below). It was an addictive deep fried fish dish which we could not stop going for. I would recommend to have this with beer which will wash down the deep fried mouthful. However, I didn't really like the accompany greens which had a sourish dressing.

Our other small plate was lobster thermidor ($17++, below). It was a thick creamy soup which comprise of lobster, crab, mushrooms, mustard, brandy and Parmesan cheese. It's a challenge to classify this under one of the four basic flavors (aka sweet, sour, bitter, saltiness) that our taste buds can recognize.. I can only say this was something extraordinary. It had the sweetness of the ocean, fragrance of mushrooms, mild pungency of mustard, slight bitterness of the brandy, cheese flavor, and had the texture of a thick chowder. It was so flavorful and tasty that we licked off every single drop in the bowl. In my opinion, this is the signature of A for Arbite and I would return to order again, except that I would not make the mistake of agreeing to share it :p

Our choice of big plate was the Tri pepper spaghettini with snow crab ($27++, below) which had green, pink and black pepper pasta with snow crabs. The dish was slightly spicy. We thought the pasta was special, and we felt like we were eating ramen that's cooked al dente. The pepper was not overpowering, but very subtle. And not forgetting the main character- delicious and juicy snow crab. 

Ending off with a sweet dessert- sticky date pudding ($10++, below). The moist and airy chocolate sponge cake was wondrously drizzled with ultra sweet caramel sauce and topped with refreshing vanilla ice-cream. Too sweet for me. Strictly for those with a sweet tooth.

Service was attentive, right from the moment we entered till the end of dinner. The serving speed was well paced and commendable given the crowd. Place was empty when we visited at 8pm but packed when we left at about 10pm. Overall, an amazing place which I will certainly return again. So happy to find a secret gem!

Address: 28 Aliwal Street, #01-01, Singapore 199918