Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant has long been a go-to place for Spanish food here in Singapore. We visited its VivoCity branch on a busy Friday evening.
We ordered a pulpitos as appetizer. This is considered part of their tapas selection. Tapas is a Spanish word to describe food that falls into the appetizer or snack categories. Pulpitos is basically cooked squid marinated with some Mediterranean sauce. The squids were brittle, the taste was a bit sour nevertheless quite appetizing. I did enjoy this dish, except that the portion was really tiny, what you see in the picture above was all that we had for $16.80.
For the main, we ordered the seafood rice, or Paella in Spanish. Paella is another dish that is quite open for interpretation. You will find many variations across the world, however, the basic ingredients are more or less the same. The main ingredient is, of course, the rice. Not the kind of Asian rice that we eat normally, but the Italian risotto type of short-grain rice. For the seafood part, prawns and squids are normally the main ingredients.
For the authentic Spanish paella, the rice is wet & soggy, and worse, it will not be fully cooked and it is done intentionally! Most Asians don't like it. To cater to the Asian taste, Serenity modifies their paella so that the rice is fully cooked and less soggy. Well, it is definitely inauthentic, but, frankly speaking, I like it.
The restaurant advises that normally it will take 30 minutes for the paella to be ready for serving, longer if it is on a busy day. At the end, our paella came after 45 minutes. My stomach was already drumming in protest. The rice was not bad, not too soft, not too hard. It was cooked together with some squid rings, soaking in the flavor of the sea. It was a tad salty to my taste, but still acceptable. Prawns and mussels were cooked separately and placed atop the rice. Portion-wise, it was just nice for two no-so-hungry stomachs. For young army boys, probably one can finish the whole portion.
Overall, I think the restaurant provides an opportunity for locals to have a taste of Spanish food, although with an Asian twist. The service was alright, but the price is a bit on the high side, probably it is also a bar. I will still go back if I have a sudden craving for Spanish food.
Pulpitos, $16.80
We ordered a pulpitos as appetizer. This is considered part of their tapas selection. Tapas is a Spanish word to describe food that falls into the appetizer or snack categories. Pulpitos is basically cooked squid marinated with some Mediterranean sauce. The squids were brittle, the taste was a bit sour nevertheless quite appetizing. I did enjoy this dish, except that the portion was really tiny, what you see in the picture above was all that we had for $16.80.
Paella Valen for 2 pax, $43.00
For the main, we ordered the seafood rice, or Paella in Spanish. Paella is another dish that is quite open for interpretation. You will find many variations across the world, however, the basic ingredients are more or less the same. The main ingredient is, of course, the rice. Not the kind of Asian rice that we eat normally, but the Italian risotto type of short-grain rice. For the seafood part, prawns and squids are normally the main ingredients.
For the authentic Spanish paella, the rice is wet & soggy, and worse, it will not be fully cooked and it is done intentionally! Most Asians don't like it. To cater to the Asian taste, Serenity modifies their paella so that the rice is fully cooked and less soggy. Well, it is definitely inauthentic, but, frankly speaking, I like it.
The restaurant advises that normally it will take 30 minutes for the paella to be ready for serving, longer if it is on a busy day. At the end, our paella came after 45 minutes. My stomach was already drumming in protest. The rice was not bad, not too soft, not too hard. It was cooked together with some squid rings, soaking in the flavor of the sea. It was a tad salty to my taste, but still acceptable. Prawns and mussels were cooked separately and placed atop the rice. Portion-wise, it was just nice for two no-so-hungry stomachs. For young army boys, probably one can finish the whole portion.
Overall, I think the restaurant provides an opportunity for locals to have a taste of Spanish food, although with an Asian twist. The service was alright, but the price is a bit on the high side, probably it is also a bar. I will still go back if I have a sudden craving for Spanish food.
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