New company, new place for lunch. Have not been back to the Tanjong Pagar area for years, but this new opportunity allows me to try out the exciting culinary scene that is happening in Tanjong Pagar. Today we start at a Turkish eatery just below my office block.

First day of work in the new company and a colleague suggested to look for a coffee place that they frequented before the WFH practice kicked in. We walked to Fat Prince just around our block, and it looked like they weren’t serving coffee. Since it was close to lunch, we asked for a table and went ahead to order some coffee with the intention to stay for lunch.

Fat Prince is a modern Middle Eastern restaurant that defies tradition and explores the facets of creativity to offer an elevated, energetic and engaging dining experience. During happy hours, the place transformed into a casual cocktail bar with mezze to match the creative cocktails on offer. And every lunchtime they serve a high value lunch set that is very popular with the crowd working in that area.

Artichoke & Herb Hummus

paprika, dill, pumpkin seeds

A Middle Eastern meal always starts with a mezze consisting of different dips and salad. I had to choose the artichoke and herb hummus (mashed chickpea) as I loved anything with artichoke in it. The hummus was topped with pumpkin seed and sprinkled with paprika powder. Couldn’t taste the dill, perhaps it was overpowered by the artichoke which has similar flavour profiles. I find this hummus a bit too dry for my liking, but nothing cannot be solved with more EVOL. Came with a freshly toasted pita bread for the dip.

Fried Cauliflower

lemon, black olive, green tahini

Beautifully deep fried cauliflower that had been dusted with flour. A spice and salt mix was dusted to the fried cauliflower to give it an exotic flavour. The green tahini was a mix of tahini and parsley, which took away some of the greasiness of deep fried food. But none of that grease was present with this well executed fried cauliflower.

Pit Smoked Aubergine

tomato, chili, yoghurt, tahini, mint

Aubergine, which we call brinjal in Singapore, was grilled and then topped with cherry tomatoes that had been marinated with olive oil and other condiments. Served on a bed of Greek yoghurt and tahini sauce with more spices and pomegranate thrown in. Wonderful, I could eat this as a main course if I was vegan.

Kebabs

Kebabs at Fat Prince are not what you think they should be – long skewers of sheesh kebabs or seafood strung together grilled to perfection. Grilled to perfection they are, but they are served in a taco-like manner. They are very delicious, and two of them with the the appetisers would satisfy even a large appetite like mine.

When you order them at lunch, they will come together with the rest of the orders for the table. Each lunch set menu comes with two choices of kebabs (or one if you really like a particular choice out of six available daily).

Pit Roasted Lamb

zhoug, olive, dukkah, rocket, fried garlic

Hand pulled lamb with rockets filled the pita bread (I mistaken it for a taco shell). The lamb was aromatic with the Middle Eastern spices. Came with the condiments in the pita, so if you do not like some of the flavours you need to inform the servers. Zhoug is not the enemy of Buzz Lightyear, but a spicy cilantro sauce and I know many don’t like cilantro. Dukkah is a mix of spices, nuts and herbs, and it was the dukkah that gave the smoky flavour.

Harissa Prawn

turkish hot sauce, watermelon, buckwheat

Harissa is a hot chilli pepper paste that is commonly used in North African-Middle Eastern cuisine. It was used to marinate the prawns to give the spice and heat, plus some smokiness. The prawns were grilled perfectly, and I loved the addition of the compressed watermelon to balance the heat.

Pecan Cheesecake With Vanilla Cream

Dessert is according to the chef’s whim and fancy for the day.

I placed the fork next to the cheesecake for perspective. Even thought it was a small piece of cake, the flavours came through in huge measures. The sweet ending was accompanied with a shot of their lovely espresso. Did I mention we came for the coffee and ended up having lunch?

Friendly atmosphere, great food, I am convinced to come back and try their dinner menu with a larger group. In the meantime, this is one for the phonebook for lunchtime picks around the office.

Fat Prince Kafé-Bar-Kebab
48 Peck Seah St, Singapore 079317
Tel : +65 6221 7794

Date visited : Feb 2022