While I was feeling bored and not knowing where else to visit in this tiny island, my gf suggested somewhere she knew I would love - Pasar Bella. Modelled closely after overseas markets (I thought it looked very much like those I visited in Australia), it was definitely a refreshing place in Singapore. (Bella is actually the Italian word for 'beautiful') Located at The Grandstand, Pasar Bella is huge - covering supposedly more than 30,000 square feet, and housing more than 30 stalls.
Once we entered, we were greeted by the directory of all the stalls available.
Looking at the list, I immediately struck off some stalls off my head. Notably those that I have tried or could try outside. Charly T's, out. Da Paolo, out. Salad Stop, out. Balloon Blasters? What's a balloon stall doing here? Out.
We came here at around 5pm, just before dinner time. So our plan was to walk around and try out a variety of food for dinner. Our first stop was at Keith Crackling Roast - one look at the roast pork there and I knew I had to try it. It looked (and smelled) irresistible.
Just to clarify, the picture above does not show one portion of roast pork. One portion is actually only one strip, which they will cut and chop into small pieces. Definitely quite expensive, but at least it was really good - the skin was deliciously crunchy, and the meat was tender, juicy and not too salty.
Next stop - Oceans of Seafood, one of the largest stalls in Pasar Bella.
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| Keith Crackling Roast |
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| Roast pork, $8 per portion |
Next stop - Oceans of Seafood, one of the largest stalls in Pasar Bella.
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| Oceans of Seafood |
The sushi here was obviously not cheap, so we decided to just try two each and move on to the next stall.
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| Chu-toro, Mekajiki, and Kanpachi sushi |
I would love to try their oo-toro sushi (blue fin fatty tuna belly), but at $11 per piece, I found it a bit too steep and opted for their chu-toro sushi (blue fin semi fatty tuna belly) instead, which costs $6.50 each. It was delicious! I took the mekajiki sushi (swordfish) while my gf ate the kanpachi sushi (amberjack). The swordfish was the best I have ever tasted; it was deliciously oily and smooth!
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| Just look at it shimmer and glisten! |
More pictures of Oceans of Seafood below.
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| Live crabs and lobsters for sale |
The stall below, Le Patio, was definitely one of the biggest attention grabbers. Many people crowded near to take a closer look at that humongous pan and to see what they were cooking.
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| Le Patio. The guy was preparing paella |
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| The end product - paella, a kind of Spanish seafood rice |
Naturally, we ordered a plate of paella to share. The portion was actually quite small, and at $13.50 each, it was way overpriced!
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| Paella, $13.50 |
Not to mention, the paella was not really good either. The seafood taste was not brought out well, and the rice were not infused with the sweetness of the mussels and prawns. My mother can do it much better than them.
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| View of Pasar Bella from one of their second storey platforms |
A bright yellow signboard 'This way to Rare Cheese' directed us to The Cheese Ark.
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| Free cheese tasting |
The counter staff here were obviously very passionate about cheeses. They enthusiastically told us to take up one spot at the left side of the table, and introduced us some cheeses. We tried some gouda cheese (with different ageing times) and even some blue cheese, to my reluctance. The buffalo blue cheese she recommended was pleasantly not smelly, and was actually pretty good! My gf ended up buying some of it, while I bought some gouda cheese that had been aged for six years. It wasn't cheap, at around $156 per kg! Just a small 144g slice cost me around $24 (with GST).
And of course, some desserts to round up the day, at Seventh Heaven.
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| Variety of flavours available at The Seventh Heaven |
The ice cream flavours here were definitely much more exotic than your usual strawberry-chocolate-vanilla, and they were happy to let us try out several before deciding on our choices. In the end, we went with three scoops - lychee martini, peach, and... I can't remember the last flavour.
Pasar Bella is really a nice and quaint place, which appeals to the foodie in me who wants to try out many different things. The food here may cost a premium, but at least it provided an interesting experience. Parking at The Grandstand was also free and plentiful, so this should be welcome news to drivers.
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