PRE-CONCERT EATS: YUGOSLAVIA BAKERY & CAFE @ CITYLINK MALL

This is a cafe with a difference. Located in Citylink Mall / Raffles Link, it's just a five-minute walk to Esplanade. My friend Montenegrin pianist Boris Kraljevic swears by it. He knows, because he was born in the former Balkan state that used to be called Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia Bakery & Cafe specialises in Balkan bread and beverages, and is a refreshing change from all those chain coffee places.

Yugoslavia Bakery is owned by a Macedonian couple Mitre and Katerina, who obviously have a nostalgic link to the old country before it split apart in the 1990s to form six (some say seven) separate states. I've never been to that part of Europe but I can feel the pride in the way their breads are named and described. 

That's Marshal Tito,
former head of state of Yugoslavia (1945-1980),
one of the good Commies (if there's such a thing).

The way we were,
but at least the bread's the same.

Just before the six-hour extravaganza that was Wagner's Siegfried, I stopped by to get a fill-up. So I tried one of its pizza slices and a pogacha (or pogaca), a Balkan bread snack - this one had cinnamon and raisins. I had my fill and should have had a Balkan coffee to wash it down just before the opera. Perhaps the next time.

YUGOSLAVIA BAKERY & CAFE

1 Raffles Link #B1-13

Citylink Mall

Singapore 039393

Yugoslavia Bakery and Cafe – The spirit of Yugoslavia Bakery & Cafe

PRE-CONCERT EATS: MALATANG BY RU YI FANG @ CITYLINK MALL

Mala restaurants have been opening in Singapore like mushrooms after a rain. There are at least three mala restaurants near Esplanade, and this is the closet one to it. Located in Raffles Link / Citylink Mall, Ru Yi Fang's Malatang outlet occupies the space that was once a New York-styled pizza joint.  

It's 6.45pm and there's hardly anyone here.

The all-important sauce / condiment station.

For some reason, it's always deserted, as if no one knew it existed. That makes the service very prompt. The formula is much the same: get a bowl, load it with the assorted goodies - noodles, vegetables, mushrooms, meat and seafood - and have it weighed for the price you pay. Its $2.98 for 100g, with a minimum of 300g for an order. So each bowl should minimally cost $9.94.

There are different soup options, but I opted for the boring stir-fried version with the lowest possible level of spice. Mala uses peppers which leave a chilly, numbing and tingling sensation on the lips, and some people love that. Me? Not so much. I'll try the soupy version the next time around.

RU YI FANG MALATANG 

@ CITYLINK MALL

1 Raffles Link #B1-01 and 02

Citylink Mall

PRE-CONCERT EATS: WOW! FISH @ CITYLINK MALL

It appears that I am eating through all of Citylink Mall's eateries, one by one, as long as concerts take place at the Esplanade. The close proximity of this mall makes it ideally suited to quick eats before rushing off to a concert. I remember a record 9 minutes needed from the time of order to completing a meal at Kim's Bibimbap, and just under $10. Kim's has now been replaced by Wow! Fish, another franchise outlet, one which specialises in Chinese-styled fish soup with pickled vegetable.

The premises is spare and simple, and also easy to clean for restaurant personnel. It's mostly self-service, and after payment one just waits for your number to be announced, and one can begin eating.

I chose the Signature soup,
which was slightly sour, slightly spicy,
 but still very palatable.

Spicy soups take a longer time to be gulped down, but I now have the luxury of time. I also have time to indulge in some pork strips, which are tasty when eaten with chilli flakes (provided). All in all, rather satisfying and it's a nice leisurely walk through Esplanade Tunnel to the next concert.

WOW! FISH @ CITYLINK MALL

1 Raffles Link #B1-19

Singapore 039393

Menu and prices at Wow Fish 哇哦酸菜鱼 - CityLink, Singapore | Quandoo

PRE-CONCERT EATS: LE'S BANH MI @ CITYLINK MALL / RAFFLES LINK

I just love Vietnamese food, and what a delight it is to find a Viet cafe so near the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. Le's Banh Mi is a relatively new outlet in Citylink Mall / Raffles Link just midway between Esplanade MRT station and the concert halls. It's a very small joint, almost a hole in the wall, that is run by Vietnamese people. That itself is a guarantee of quality.

Although its name suggests it sells favourite Vietnamese baguettes, it also serves pho, and Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) is one of my favourite comfort foods. Add $6 more, and one gets two summer rolls (with a sweet dipping sauce) and an iced tea to the mix. Something delicious, and not too heavy to digest before a concert. That's makes just the perfect pre-concert eat. This outlet does not charge GST nor service as everything is built into the advertised price, and that's nice too.

LE'S BANH MI

1 Raffles Link #B1-16

Citylink Mall / Raffles Link

Singapore 039393

 Le's Banh Mi - Vietnamese Burgers and Sandwiches Café in City Hall Singapore | OpenRice Singapore