1 Twenty Six : A Great Chill-out Spot Along East Coast

25th January 2013.

Located along the idyllic East Coast, 1 Twenty Six promises a casual and relaxing atmosphere for anyone who seeks a great chill out place. Comfortable lounge seating, lush greenery and a laidback environment with excellent live performances by local musicians and singers makes 1-Twenty Six the perfect TGIF chill-out place or for those lucky East Coast residents, a great place to hang out with friends.

Here you can enjoy the ocean breeze, a myriad of finger food, a plethora of beverages and a really decent performance by local artistes. I am not a fan of pop music but the performers for the evening from EJS managed to entertain us well with a retro twist to their range of songs, including some old school titles and as well as a surprisingly enjoyable version of Oppa Gangnam Style. They did an excellent job of creating a casual atmosphere at 1-Twenty Six that evening.

With great music and ambiance, how can we miss out on the food? Just recently, 1 Twenty Six has re-looked into their menus and revamped their Tapas menus for more communal dining friendly which has always been a hallmark of the menus in the 1-Rochester group of restaurants such as ROAST at 1-Rochester. Gone are the single items and in its place, are more platters that cater a variety of palates.

“Tapas” are a wide variety of snacks or appetizers normally associated with Spanish cuisine and it is not too different from the Korean banchan. Here in Singapore “tapas” have come to be a word referring to appetizers and finger food rather than Spanish food itself.

One of the platters, the Tapas Platter (42++ SGD) pays tribute to the Spanish origins of the word tapas with a selection of five Spanish-inspired finger foods such as patatas bravas, chorizo, gambas, albondigas and calamari. The tapas were generally okay and on the spicy side but nothing a Singaporean couldn’t cope. Yew Ann pointed out that the patatas bravas has a nice mix of sour and spicy.

If you are into cold cuts, then there is the Charcuterie Platter (28++ SGD) which consists of Jamon Serrano, prosciutto de parma and contechino sausages.

Burger lovers would enjoy the 126 Sliders (42++ SGD) which comes with 6 burgers and a side of fries and crispy french bean. There are 3 kinds of burgers in this platter. For a start, there is the classic Cheese, Tomato, Bacon and Mustard Mayo Burger. Then there was the decadent but rather tasty Beef Burger with Foie Gras and Caramelized Onions. Lastly, and probably my favourite of all, is the Beef Burger with Rocket and Tomato Jam which comes with a huge juicy beef patty brushed with a sweet tomato jam and finished off with earthy rocket leaves.

The Crispy French Beans was kind of unique and it is similar to Japanese vegetable tempura. Except instead of the tempura dipping, Thai style sweet chili sauce was provided. Both the French fries and Crispy French Beans were very appetizing.

For those who could not consume beef and enjoys poultry, worry not as there is a Poultry Platter (32++ SGD) as well! The Poultry Platter features 3 kinds of poultry, namely Roasted Baby Chicken, Duck Leg Confit and Honey Grilled Quail with pine nut. Raisin stuffing and sautéed mushrooms were served alongside with the Poultry Platter.

I haven’t had quail before and this was a first for me. The meat was quite tender and there was a delicate sweetness from the honey. The Duck Leg Confit was tender too and had a nice crispy skin but I personally found it too salty for my liking. Yew Ann on the other hand, enjoyed it. On a side note, the mushrooms were really good.

Just like the Tomahawk in Stellar marks the climax for the meal, the Meat Platter (69++ SGD) is the star (besides the burgers!) for 1-Twenty Six. Just as its name suggests, the Meat Platter offers some juicy meats on the platter such as a tender Grilled Beef of Rib Eye, Snail Sausage and Pork Belly. These were served with Mashed Potatoes and Baked Vegetables.

If I haven’t read the menu, I would probably thought the sausage was Chicken Chipolata. It was savoury and has a nice smooth texture. The Pork Belly was very good too like an excellently pork belly. The meat was very tender and it has nice balance of both fats and lean meat. Tasty!

Yew Ann, who loves steaks, enjoyed his Grilled Beef of Rib Eye a lot. The meat with a medium-medium rare doneness was very tender and well-seasoned. It has a juicy and slightly pink flesh with a nicely smoky and lightly charred exterior. Nonetheless, as Yew Ann pointed out, the doneness was not consistent a small portion of the meat was almost medium well hence too chewy for our liking.

While most of the single items were gone some are still around, such as the Breaded Fried Brie with Red Onion Marmalade (16++ SGD), tasty cheesy snacks paired with sweet onion marmalade.

And lastly, Deep Fried Salt and Pepper Calamari with Aioli Sauce (18.00++ SGD) which I enjoyed a lot, the calamari was succulent with a nice balance of salt and pepper and the skin has a delicate smoky flavor.

Being a place to chill out, drinks are an essential. Even for the non-alcoholic like me, there is a range of teas from the Gryphon Tea Company to pick such as Peppermint, a slightly spicy and minty tea.

Some of the cocktails offered include the Berry French Martini (16++ SGD), a mildly sweet, sour and fruity berry flavoured cocktail made with Vodka, Chambord, pineapple juice and fresh raspberry. There is also a milky, milkshake-like cocktail named Snowball.

Perhaps the best part of the drinking experience in 1-Twenty-Six would be the making of your own cocktails which 1-Twenty Six is experimenting to create a more fun atmosphere where you could mix your own cocktails with the assistance of the bartenders.

In short, I really enjoyed the casual atmosphere at 1-Twenty-Six, the ocean breeze and the relaxing ambience makes this great a place to chill out. Furthermore 1-Twenty-Six also offers a number of promotions such as a Happy Hour Special where all house beer and wine purchased will be 10 SGD nett from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm.. Just next to 1-Twenty Six there is also a more formal dining area, where full meals similar to Stellar and ROAST could be consumed.

For more information do check out their website below and their facebook page for promotions and their menus*, 1 Twenty Six also offers brunch too!

*The new Tapas menu is not available yet in 1 Twenty Six's website.
Many Thanks to Immelia, Amin and the people from 1-Rochester Group for inviting and hosting us.

1 Twenty Six
902 East Coast Parkway
Singapore 449874
+65 6348 2126