Tuesday 7 July 2015

A Slice Of New York In Singapore


If you love the robust fare that is served at a typical deli in New York where a bagel and cream cheese would fill you for an entire day, then you need not travel too far to get some of that wholesome goodness.  Right here in Singapore, at the heart of Orchard Road is our very own New York style deli, Sacha and Sons.  


A visit to Sacha and Sons is never complete without a bite of its Reuben sandwiches with pastrami or roast beef on rye or bagel.  The sandwiches come in 3 sizes but please, if you have been to New York and seen the size of the portions served, it would be best that you stick to the regular portion. The portions here are quite large too.    The bagels that I have had in New York were the size of a life buoy.  Thankfully, at Sacha and Sons, you would still be able to see your dining companion's face as he takes a bite out of his bagel.


My brother Jerome and I are big fans of their potato latke.  Served with gravalax and a dollop of crème fraiche, it transported me back to New York the very first time I took a bite.  The gravalax is house-cured with dill, peppercorns, salt, sugar and vodka. If you like rosti and balk at the disgusting soggy heap of stringy shredded potatoes whipped up at a certain restaurant just down the road where you are required to serve yourself, the potato latke at Sacha and Sons is truly a delight. It is thin, light and crispy.

 Jerome often eats the entire New York at Sacha and Sons.  His typical dinner there would consist of a thick slab of juicy meatloaf on rye. If that was not enough to tickle the sides of his belly, he would then order a chicken snitzel sandwich.   I have never ordered their sandwiches because that meatloaf or chicken schnitzel would probably sit in my stomach for days.  Jerome would also have an order of potato latkes with gravalax.  That is a must-order. In the words of my fellow Singaporeans, I would rate it at a "Die-Die-Must-Try" rating.   While Jerome loved the rich gravalax paired with the light and crispy latke, it has become my dish of choice at the restaurant simply because I am on a gluten-free diet and not allowed bread in any shape and form. 


 Jerome usually finishes his meal with a cherry strudel.  He mops up the sweet cherry filling and the cream with its light filo pastry crust.  I have not ordered the cherry strudel before because dessert is the Devil's spawn.  I would have to pay for it with hill sprints and extra rounds of boxing thereafter.  So I make up for it by ordering a bottle of prosecco rose shared between David and I.  It pairs perfectly with my potato latke and gravalax and for David it washes his Reuben sandwich with pastrami on rye down perfectly.


The next time I visit the restaurant, I am going to order the potato latke with smoked river trout salad.  This was not on the menu and Jerome placed a special request for this because he loved the smoked river trout salad.   I like to patronize restaurants that are flexible when it comes to accommodating to their customers' preferences.  With my dietary requirements, I need not have to repeat my order of the potato latke with gravalax each time I visit Sacha and Sons.  I could also request for my potato latke to be served with smoked river trout salad, egg and onion salad, and a host of other delicious sides that are available at Sacha and Sons' but traditionally only served with bagels.


Our take on Sacha and Sons?  BELLY-GOOD.


About The Writer:

This blog post was co-written by my brother Jerome and I. Although we are siblings who grew up 11 years apart, shaped by differing experiences to see the world from different perspectives, we do share a common obsession – FOOD.  We celebrate our passion for life with food.  However, our attitudes to food are quite different and the way we celebrate our love for food are also quite different.  Jerome lives to eat and hoovers everything edible that crosses his path.  As he shovels food into his mouth with that fork in his right hand, he takes photographs of what he eats, and posts pictures and notes up on Facebook with his left.  Often, his beautifully written prose about what he had eaten would be 7 paragraphs in length and would not have any punctuations in between because he had been too busy multi-tasking. 

I, on the other hand, eat to live. It is not just about my attempts to eat healthily. As I am a “cam-whore” and “social media hussy”, I spend about half an hour styling my food, taking photographs, writing notes and posting them across my social media platforms before eating them, right after the hubby has paid for the bill and is about to head out of the restaurant.  I enjoy reading all my posts about what I had eaten because I know that I had lived fully in spite of watching what I eat.  Welcome to the foodie world of the quirky Ong siblings.

Potato Latke With Gravalax And Prosecco Rose

The Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich

Potato Latke with Smoked River Trout Salad

Cherry Strudel - so sinfully good

No comments:

Post a Comment