Catalunya

Celebrated my birthday with the family with a meal at Catalunya! I've been wanting to check out this place ever since it opened around, what, 2 years ago? But of course it's not the kind of place we go to on any normal day. The ambience is stunning, with 360 degree panoramic views of Marina Bay thanks to full length windows around the entire restaurant. Service was pretty good too - we had to wait for our table to be ready as we arrived early, and they seated us at the bar area and served us water (warm water specially for my grandma) without us having to ask.

I've read quite a number of reviews on how Catalunya is over-priced. To a certain extent, yes, you are forking out quite a bit for the ambience and view. But then again, Spanish food is pretty expensive in general.The Traditional Suckling Pig ($135) from Catalunya is probably the most "reasonably-priced" item on the menu, in my opinion. Compared to the ½ pig we had at Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant that cost $168, this was definitely a better deal! But then again, all the other items at Serenity were more affordable.

I was initially a tad disappointed when I saw the pig. It definitely appears more like a piglet by the looks of it. But whoa, after we ate it, I was full to bursting by the end of it. Our waiter served the dish to us with true Spanish flair, chopping it up rapidly with a plate and flinging the plate to the ground in one fluid movement, shattering it to smithereens. The skin of the pig was satisfyingly crackly, and the meat was very tender too. While it looked small, it was massive to eat is definitely good for sharing.

It is unfortunate that Catalunya doesn't serve paellas for dinner. How could we eat Spanish food without having that signature dish?? :( Thankfully, in place of that, Catalunya has a dish that is close enough to satisfy all possible cravings of those who love the Spanish rice as much as I do! The Lobster Rice ($80) is a wetter version of our favourite paella. While there are no crispy bits at the bottom, the dish is not lacking in any way, with every grain of rice suffused with a delicious flavour. And who can say no to those lobster pincers balanced on top of the rice?

Why Spanish food is so expensive is because no one really wants to pay the same price for a few scraps of tapas, when you can get a full meal in another restaurant. Catalunya's tapas are really quite expensive, and they sure weren't enough to satisfy our starving selves at the start of the meal. (We needn't have ordered them actually, if we knew how filling the suckling pig & lobster rice would be!!)

I was really glad that I finally had the chance to try White Asparagus ($18) though! :) I've been hearing so much about it (it was one of my greatest regrets that I didn't buy it while it was in season when I was in Europe...), and it was really quite delicious! The texture is pretty different from that of green asparagus, and it was served simply - steamed, so that its natural flavours could shine through, and topped with blood orange sections and tarragon mayonnaise.

The Bikini ($20, a double portion is pictured above) was anything but skimpy, with two super crisp slices of toast (the bread they used was awesome!) sandwiching ham, gooey cheese and truffle. Sounds simple, but it packed a punch in terms of flavour, and we devoured it in seconds. Didn't help that it was so tiny :P Luckily we ordered two portions of it. 

I think this was the Tortilla Del Trampo ($18) if I remember correctly. Eggy, fluffy, and topped with an interesting sauce. This was quite tasty, but didn't really stand out significantly. 

Conclusion? Great for a one-off experience, but I probably wouldn't be back :P

Catalunya

82 Collyer Quay

Tel.: +65 6534 0886

Mon-Sat (lunch) 12pm-2.30pm

Mon-Sun (dinner) 6pm-10.30pm

Sunday Brunch 12.30pm-4pm

Aaaand I have to showcase my birthday cake! ^^ This is such a poor picture of it though >.< But I really liked it!! I took a risk this time, ordering a cake from Maple and Market though I've never tried their cakes before, nor have I heard anything about it. Their bakes seemed really nice though! And since they organise baking classes, I figured the quality should be pretty good. I wasn't disappointed! :))) When I first saw my cake, I thought that it looked like a really fluffy sponge cake. When I cut into it though, I got the shock of my life. It was super dense. In a good way though! I absolutely loved it!!! I'm evidently in an adventurous mood this birthday, because I ordered a flavour that I wouldn't usually go for (not in my birthday cake!) - The Blossom ($34 for 6" cake) was a rose cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting and caramelised pistachios. And it was super yummy!!! I can't wait to go back to the cafe and try more flavours already ^^