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A for Arbite – Aliwal Street’s new gem

A for Arbite

PUBLISHED May 29th, 2013 08:29 am | UPDATED April 14th, 2016 02:45 pm

Being a resident of the Lavender area, Kampong Glam and the surrounding area is one of my main stomping grounds. It’s seen quite a period of transition over the past few years with the rise in popularity of Bali Lane and Haji Lane..now the new kids are spreading further up the Kampong to Kandahar and Aliwal Street.

One very cool new venue that has recently opened up just next-door to the Aliwal Performing Arts Centre is A for Arbite, a minimalistic spacious place with furniture that reminds me of life-sized Lego. Bold primary colours with an industrial backdrop, and totally unpretentious.

With a Western style menu filled with comfort foods, A for Arbite is a great brunch place or afterwork hangout. And not just because of their great selection of craft beers, specifically geared towards food pairing.

And  so with your beer, you might want to snap up some of their small plates. I was rather partial to the Beef Onglet Tataki ($13.90) – pan seared beef onglet served rare on a bed of sautéed mushrooms and a drizzle of white truffle oil…

and the Tri Pepper Spaghetti ($12.90) – green, pink and black pepper pasta with swimmer crab, chilli, spring onion, and tempura- battered soft shell crab.

The Szechuan Pepper Squid ($12.90) also makes a great bar snack, though it could definitely use a side of aioli or mayonnaise to moisten things up.

What surprised me most about eating at A for Arbite was their pasta dishes. Turns out all of them are handmade on site and really delicious. Definitely not traditional Italian style but when it comes to comfort food, this is right on the money. Two particularly good dishes are the Pulled Pork Ragout Fettuccine ($24.90) and the Spaghetinni with Lobster ($31.90)

The pulled pork was just lush! Rich sauce, tender meat and soft pasta to soak it all up. This is the kind of dish you need on a Saturday lunch after a heavy night out. As for the spaghetinni, the portion here is generous and there’s a fair amount of lobster in this, and most importantly, it’s well cooked. Again, very comforting, but with a bit more flair.

Alternatively, come by for bunch. Excellent Pancakes ($14.90), fluffy, soft and served with caramelized bananas and caramel sauce. The eggs are decent here too if you’re partial to Eggs Benedict ($14.90) or some Smoked Salmon and Scrambled eggs ($13.90)

Written by The City Nomad over three visits


When not rambling his way around Singapore on discovery-mode, he likes to hang out with friends, cook, make experimental cocktails and attempt handstands during yoga.