Pita Pan – Magical Vegetarian at Marina Bay Sands
PUBLISHED January 6th, 2012 08:57 am | UPDATED February 28th, 2021 06:51 am
I never thought the day would come that I would be writing this. I have lived in Singapore for 2 1/2 years now and this is the first time I have come home from eating middle eastern food and am…content. Located just next to the Science & Art Museum (you know, that giant white lotus flower on the skyline), Pita Pan, which opened 2 months ago, is in this author’s opinion, the only place to get quality, authentic (albeit vegetarian) middle eastern cuisine in this fair city.
Founded by Chef Reena Pushkarna, this Maestro combines her expertise of Indian, Iraqi and Mediterranean to craft a winning dining establishment.
Prices are very reasonable. A fully filled pita with salad and falafel is not even $10 or you can make your own salads for between $10-15. Realistically, you are going to spend between $10-25 on food, possibly a bit more if you harbour a penchant for liquid luxury.
My dear friend Giovanni and I decided to go traditional and try their Red Shakshouka ($10) – a well-known middle-eastern dish – effectively a spicy tomato and pepper stew with a couple of eggs poached in the devilish mixture, then served fresh, hot and still in the skillet, accompanied by some pita to soak up the juices. It was love at first bite. To put it simply, it was exactly how a shakshouka should taste – thick, rich, a little spicy, and utterly full of flavor. Great for brunch or a hangover cure.
Next up was a
Standard Mezze Platter ($25). This delightful glass plate is filled with fresh falafel, moutabal (baba ghanoush), hummus, olives, tabbouleh, dolma (stuffed vine leaves), pickled chili and of course, soft, fluffy pita bread.
If you are looking at a basic introduction to middle eastern food, ORDER THIS! It has all the basics! Personally, the falafel and the moutabal impressed me the most. The moutabal had a very strong flavour of sesame and was super-chunky (you real feel the bite off the eggplant), which was fantastic. The falafel on the other hand, simply the best i’ve had in Singapore, with nothing even coming close. Crunchy on the outside and a soft herbaceous centre. (Oh and they have three kinds: regular, basil (green), and sundried tomato (red). I had the chance of trying the regular and the sundried tomato ones. Word of advice, soak them in the ‘amba’ sauce (see below) – it’s an incredible combination of flavors – Sweet, sour, spicy and savoury. Delicious.
My only minor gripe was the hummus. It was tasty, just not extraordinary. But then, as my friends will tell you, I have ridiculously high standard for hummus.
What really rocked my world were the chilli sauces that accompanied. To be honest, unless you speak Hebrew or Arabic or are part of that ethnicity, you’ve probably never heard of zhoog (pronounced Z – phlegm – hoooog) or Amba (pronounced am-ba). These colourful delights are simply superb.
The zhoog is made from fresh chillis, pounded with potent herbs, spices and oil. The aromatic Amba is predominantly made from mustard and mango (as you can see by the colour!). This is the only place in Singapore which has both of these sauces….and as someone who has eaten them in Europe and the Middle East, the ones served at Pita Pan are world class.
To finish off the meal, we ordered some classic Turkish coffee. Basically it is black coffee with cardamon and other spices flavoring the coffee. Have it black, with some sugar and it’s a perfect end to the meal.
Pretty obviously from this entry, I am was super impressed with Pita Pan. I am already craving their falafel with chilli sauces and will probably be back within the next 2 weeks for my fix.
If you’re looking for other great mediterranean eateries, check our list of the best mediterranean restaurants in Singapore.
