Po @ The Warehouse Hotel

 "A refined modern Singaporean concept" as stated on their website. Ivan recommended this place for our wine gathering and so we went.

I did some checking up on their food menu prior to the visit and instantly, "expensive local jiak" was ingrained in my mind. I don't think I'd ever be comfortable paying $20 for a plate of chee cheong fun (handmade rice roll), so no to that as of now.

inside Warehouse Hotel

Was ushered to our table because the few of us were early. Warm lights and cosy. Service crew were courteous, and made an effort to attend to our table.

a table in Po

how to enjoy popiah~

For starters, we had cocktails. Guess, which was mine.

Old Soul @$24++

Rose Chan @$26++

Lady Luck @$24++

B.B King @$26++

I could only tell you how mine tasted like. The 'Old Soul' was nothing of what I had expected. It has bourbon, laksa leaf, gula melaka and bitters. Hmmm, maybe am not a bourbon person after all, or this mixture is not my kind of thing. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy it. Moderate alcoholic strength for this drink.

Now, onto the food. Let's start with some 'keropok'. The belinjo crackers was nice. Served with small sides of kechap manis and sambal. The sambal packed a swift punch too!

Bar Snacks

Belinjo Crackers @$9++

I suppose we were expected to like, do tiny dips onto the sambal with our crackers since the amount was so little? Hahaa, not enough for us and we asked for more but it still came in trickling. Limited edition!

There's also the Indonesian Prawn Crackers but that tasted pretty run of the mill. Between the two, I'd recommend Belinjo.

Indonesian Prawn Crackers @$9++

Did we order chicken wing? At first glance, I thought we ordered fried chicken wings but alas, no.. it was the soft-shell crab. Pretty good to eat while it is hot. Didn't need any sauce, but you can have it with the lime mayo dip that came along with it.

Soft Shell Crab @$22++

yummy

Otah @$18++

Wow, the otah was delicious! Just the right balance of chunky, savoury, tangy and a rich coconut milk rempah taste. Lovely.

With just 3 skewers of satay, it better be good at $8 per stick. Well, it was good but not sure if I will order this again.

Charcoal Grilled Iberico Satay @$24++

We also had the Kurobuta Char Siew. Hmm, what's the difference between Kurobuta and Iberico? Well, Iberico is from Spain while Kurobuta is from Japan. Both meat are of a likeable texture.

I preferred the Kurobuta Char Siew at Po because one could taste more of the natural flavours of the meat and since it was sous vide, it has a more tender mouthfeel as well. 

Kurobuta Char Siew @$20++

Popiah

Popiah Classic (6 pax) @$48++

to sprinkle: crushed peanuts, crispy flatfish, crispy shallots, corriander sprigs, chili, garlic, eggs

Yes, one gets to DIY their popiah here. We got the classic ones and there were enough ingredients to  make 2 rolls per pax. I recommend some crushed belinjo inside this mix to make it extra crunchy!

classic popiah with satay

While the appetisers didn't do much to satisfy our hunger, the popiah filled us up pretty quickly. Or was it because we had 2 rolls instead of 1? Muahaha!

But that didn't deter us from trying more food. Time for main course.

Mains

Paper Spring Chicken @$68++

They did a table side carving of the chicken but I didn't get the pre-carve shot as I went to the ladies when the dish was served. Although I had initially balked at the idea of having spring chicken, this dish here was good. The chicken was of a good size (meaning not too small) and it was stuffed with glutinous rice. The star was the rice. So tasty from the conpoy, dried shrimps, mushrooms and chinese sausage. Legit yums.

Equatorial @$24++

Singapore Sazerac @$26++

We didn't have dessert to end the meal. Instead, we had a glammed up version of hokkien mee. 

Giant River Prawns Konbu Mee @$38++

It was impressive, in terms of its visuals. In terms of taste, it was good but I have my favourite elsewhere. Or, maybe I was simply too full.

We spent about $105 per pax. Thank you Hoong An, Ivan, Elle, Tracy and Hence for the company!

Po

Address: 320 Havelock Rd, Singapore 169628

Website: https://www.po.com.sg/

Business Hours:

Closed: Mon-Tues

Wed - Sun: 7–10:30am, 12–3pm, 6–10:30pm