Christmas takeaways

Emporium Shokuhin 6 Raffles Boulevard, #01-18 Marina Square Tel 6812-2157 www.emporiumshokuhin.com.sg

GET a luxurious meat and seafood combination that is a great compromise between cooking everything yourself and ordering hot takeaways that go cold by dinnertime. Gourmet purveyor Emporium Shokuhin's surprise surf-and-turf hamper (S$288) gets you a whole cooked lobster and cold brown crab that you can either eat as part of a cold starter or turn into a seafood salad (a home-made Thai dressing works quite nicely). A hunk of raw USDA prime rib (two ribs) comes with cooking instructions for an easy roast. For another S$98, upgrade to a 21-day dry-aged version for a richer, gamier flavour if you like stronger, earthy meat. Roast pork knuckle and peppercorn ham are easily heated up and a packet of beef and pork cheese sausages from Pan Pacific deli rounds off this good value hamper.

Available for orders until 2pm, Dec 23, and for delivery till Dec 25. Orders to be placed three days in advance via phone, online, or at the store.

Saint Pierre Market 391 Orchard Road, #02-11 Takashimaya Shopping Centre Tel 6694 4414 Open daily from 8am to 7pm

TAKING over from the old Toast, the Emmanuel Stroobant group's new casual salad and sandwich bar adds chef Emmanuel Stroobant's professional touch to your healthy diet staple. Since nobody really thinks about side dishes to go with Christmas dinner, check out the party-sized salads here at S$68 which is enough for around 10 people. We like the kale soba with its mix of organic kale, soba noodles, tofu and sunflower seeds in a thick sesame gomadare dressing. Take a leaf out of chef Stroobant's own diet with the aptly named Chef's Favourite - chick peas, romaine lettuce, cucumber, shaved parmesan cheese and walnuts in an avocado dressing. Other options include a pretty good lentil salad with poached chicken and mushrooms, Greek and quinoa salads. The creamy curried zucchini soup is also tasty enough to serve as a starter.

Order at least three working days in advance. Order by phone or e-mail info@saintpierremarket.com

Two Bakers 88 Horne Road Tel 6293-0329 two-bakers.com

IT may be better known as an artisanal patisserie, but the Two Bakers really know how to make sausages. The house special chicken sausages have an appealing smokiness and juicy bite while the Spanish chorizo has an addictive spiciness. The sausages are part of its range of savoury takeaways that stand out. There are four Christmas sets available, ranging from the Festive at S$98 to the Gourmet at S$198. The Gourmet set comprises citrus salad, New England clam chowder, thyme garlic butter bread, a tender roast ribeye (approximately 1kg) with potatoes and mushrooms, plus a charcuterie platter. The platter includes honey baked ham and turkey ham, as well as some juicy smoked chicken sausages and spicy Spanish chorizo.

Available until Dec 31, with orders made one day in advance via 6293-0329, enquiry@two-bakers.com, or at the store.

Bar-Roque Grill 165 Tanjong Pagar Road #01-00 Tel 6444-9672 www.bar-roque.com.sg

STEPHANE Istel's homespun European classics get a luxury spin this Christmas with a luxurious beef wellington - think buttery, rich pastry that's both flaky yet with a nice chew, smeared with a thin layer of mushroom druxelles and stuffed with layers of very tender medium-rare beef and foie gras, moistened with bordelaise sauce. It's rich and elegant - the ultimate celebratory pie. The portion serves four generously at S$248. Available until the end of the month. Orders to be made in advance via 6444-9672 or www.bar-roque.com.sg.

Parkroyal on Beach Road 7500 Beach Road Tel 6505-5710 www.parkroyalhotels.com

A HEARTY, literally easy-as-pie meal can be made out of the baked fillet salmon brioche, from Parkroyal on Beach Road, which is filled with mushroom ragout, spinach and lemon yogurt (S$78 for 1kg). Executive Chef Jackson Goh and his team do a good job of making a crust that remains crispy even after being kept overnight, and filling it with a generous stuffing of fish that goes well with the mushrooms and lemon.

Available until Dec 31, with orders made three days in advance via 6505 5710 or dining.prsin@parkroyalhotels.com.

Cocotte 2 Dickson Road Tel 6298-1188 www.restaurantcocotte.com

CHEF Anthony Yeoh makes great savoury starters perfect for festive nibbling. His rustic French restaurant at the Wanderlust Hotel offers a packaged trio (S$59+) which includes a duck rillette, a rich and smooth chicken liver mousse, and ham & parsley terrine. They're ready to eat right out of their jars so just toast up a loaf of bread and you're good to go.

Available until Dec 26, pre-orders recommended. Call 6298 1188 or e-mail info@restaurantcocotte.com.

The Fishwives 501 Bukit Timah Road, #01-05B Cluny Court Tel 6464-8384 www.thefishwives.com

DINE sustainably without compromising on taste is the Christmas mantra of the Fishwives - a gourmet food emporium at Bukit Timah.

It offers both hand-smoked bone-in (approx. 5 to 7 kg, S$200) and boneless (approx. 1.5 to 3kg, S$185) hams from an award-winning Australian artisan company, Skara Smallgoods. Meat from certified free-range and sustainably-farmed pigs is used to create meaty, moist ham that isn't too salty. Other options include Mandy's gluten-free Christmas fruit cake (S$38).

Bone-in ham available while stocks last, pre-order is recommended. Next-day delivery for orders made before 2pm. Order via www.thefishwives.com.

One Farrer Hotel & Spa 1 Farrer Park Station Road Tel 6705-7825 www.onefarrer.com

BYPASS the traditional turkey this year in favour of one with an Asian twist - the Thai-style turkey skewers from One Farrer Hotel & Spa.

Don't expect to receive the entire bird in its usual shape and form, however, because this dish is conveniently deboned - saving you the trouble of carving around the bones. While it may smell and taste a little like Indonesian rendang at first, it's the slightly salty chilli plum sauce that gives it the kick of Thai spices, plus the accompanying green papaya salad and fragrant olive rice.

Available for orders until Dec 22 with advance notice. Enquire at 6705-7825 or originsoffood@onefarrer.com for details.

Casse-Croute Park West Condo, The Club House Block 8, #02-02, Jalan Lempeng Tel 9630-4526 www.cassecroute.com.sg

OUT of his little cafe located at a condominium club house in Clementi, Patrick Heuberger spends his time churning out various types of charcuterie, pates and terrines - all by hand. For the festive season, he's putting together a Christmas gift box (S$85) with a jar of smoked turkey rillette (goes great on bread and crackers), a quail stuffed generously with foie gras, a box of dense, sweet gingerbread, plus a duck/foie gras pate en croute. It also comes with six preserved dried plums in Armagnac that he recommends to be eaten with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Available for self-collection at the store from Dec 23 to Dec 27, with pre-orders via www.cassecroute.com.sg.

Antoinette Tel 6293-3121/6836-9527 www.antoinette.com.sg

THOSE who lack a sweet-tooth might appreciate Antoinette's savoury alternative to the usual Christmas desserts. It has created a sandwich "cake" called the La Foret (S$75) which is made up of four layers of walnut and fig country bread drizzled in olive oil and filled with layers of onion marmalade, tomato jam, Serrano ham, homemade orange duck rillette, foie gras mousse and roasted chicken mimosa. This is covered in a coat of Mascarpone cheese and charcoal cream which looks deceptively like fondant icing - at least until you take a closer look and notice that it's actually slices of tomato and ham decorating the surface.

Available until the end of the month. Orders recommended to be placed two to three days in advance, either by calling the outlets or by e-mailing sweets@sugardaddy.com.sg.

jaime@sph.com.sg @JaimeEeBT rachloi@sph.com.sg @RachelLoiBT