6 Mothership colleagues share their ideal food locations for a first date

Live. Love. Eat.

| Melanie Lim | Sponsored | February 14, 2022, 06:26 PM

Regardless of whether you’re single or attached, Valentine’s day is today.

If you’ve secured a first date but are wondering where to bring them, you’ve come to the right article.

We got six of our colleagues to share about their best first date food locations to eat, drink and have a tete-a-tete at.

Here’s what they said.

1) “A sushi restaurant, particularly one with a sushi train”

Photo by Henry & Co. on Unsplash

To Andrew Koay, 29, one place that makes for a good first date location is “a sushi restaurant, particularly one with a sushi train.”

He has three main reasons for this:

  1. “Sushi is really easy to share safely and hygienically as portions tend to come separately. Also, it usually comes in small bites, so it's easier to avoid overeating.”
  2. “You're nervous, and probably so is your date. Having delicious Japanese cuisine slide past you gives you something to focus your eyes on, helping you forget how nervous you are and loosen up a little bit.”
  3. “If you're worried about bad breath, now that you and your date have both eaten raw fish, the feeling will be mutual.”

Koay also recommends ordering something spicy or unusual to “see how a prospective partner acts under pressure and discomfort.”

2) 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar

Image by 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar

On the other hand, 38-year-old Belmont Lay’s ideal first date location is 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar.

According to Lay, “it is not a fancy-schmancy place” but they serve bar food such as greasy, eat-with-your-hands pizza, and beer.

“If eating with hands, leaning in to have a hearty conversation over the din, while trying hard not to laugh with mouth full is not the entrée, the consolation is that the pizza is decent. Think about it this way: If you go to Les Amis on your first date, where are you going to go after that, other than chartering a helicopter or flying to the Alps?”

Located in the heart of Jalan Besar, this bistro is opened under a building sign that reads, "Hock Ann Tractor Spares Pte Ltd" and is diagonally opposite Jalan Besar stadium.

Address

  • 1 Tyrwhitt Rd, Singapore 207522

Opening Hours

  • Monday to Saturday: 3pm to 10:30pm

Also available on foodpanda

  • pandapro subscribers can enjoy free delivery when they order from this restaurant

2) Red Star Restaurant

Image by Red Star Restaurant

Father-of-two, Josiah Ng, 34, feels that the 80s vibes that emanate from Red Star Cantonese dim sum restaurant have an underrated romantic texture to it without having a ‘trying too hard’ vibe.

“The classic metal chairs, gaudy lighting, oriental house music and traditional cart-pushing dim sum ladies will narrowly inspire a couple to be ’In The Mood For Love’. Dim Sum is also typically a light and easy cuisine to partake in, so you won’t have to worry about looking too bloated or unglamorous while trying to chew down huge chunks of food.”

To Ng, dim sum also makes for a nice pace for meaningful conversations during the meal.

“A person’s choice of dim sum tells you a lot about him or her, and this puts one in the perfect position to understand the other party. For example, I hear that ladies who devour phoenix claws with their bare hands are keepers.”

Address

54 Chin Swee Rd, #07-23, Singapore 160054

Opening Hours

  • Monday to Saturday: 8am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm
  • Sunday: 7am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm

4) Thai’d me up

Image by Thai’d Me Up on Facebook

According to Chandel Tan, 28, the Tom Kha Gai at Thai’d Me Up is one of the best she’s ever eaten.

“So if you really want to just bond over good food and conversations, this is the place to go.”

The restaurant is also tucked away in Balmoral Plaza, so it is seldom crowded.

“I guess you'll be quite comfortable chatting away in here, without anybody to chase you away because you are hogging seats. You probably won’t have loud families with rowdy kids next to you also.”

Most importantly, Tan feels that Thai food is a great cuisine to gauge a future partner's spice tolerance levels.

“If you like your spice and this person can't even take Tom Kha Gai, then I guess it's a bit hard to proceed from there.”

Address

  • 271 Bukit Timah Rd, #01-04, Singapore 259708

Opening Hours

  • 12pm to 10pm, daily

Also available on foodpanda

  • pandapro subscribers can enjoy free delivery when they order from this restaurant

5) “Traditional Malay food”

Image via Hjh Maimunah

To Syahindah Ishak, 22, her preferred cuisine for a first date will probably be “traditional Malay food with lots of spicy gravy.”

“I love my Malay food and I love spicy food so I would want to test if my date would be into that as well and see how his taste buds differ from mine!”

She also recommends Hjh Maimumah and Rumah Makan Minang as two restaurants that serve “very nice” traditional Malay food.

6) “A nice food court”

Photo by L YS on Unsplash

Last but not least is a food court recommendation from Zheng Zhangxin, 29.

According to Zheng, she would want to understand her date more to “see if he’s a good fit”, and doesn’t want either party to “compromise too much” during the first date.

“My ideal first date would be at a nice food court e.g. the one at ION or somewhere like Marche where we can go choose our own food and find out more about each other's food preferences.”

Zheng also feels that one shouldn't spend too much money on a first date.

“On a first date, we are almost strangers to each other so I find it uncomfortable if someone spends a lot on me. There’s no other reason except for trying to impress right? Which to be honest is also not an effective way to impress me. So being able to choose what we both want to eat gives that space for us to be authentic and get to know each other comfortably.”

Finally, Zheng’s reason for advocating a food court first date is so both parties can choose food based on the price points that they are each comfortable with.

“If he wants to eat something more expensive then sure, I don’t have to be compelled to do the same if I don’t feel like it, and vice versa.”

Match with Pau-Pau on Tinder this Valentine’s Day

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Simply download the Tinder app and spot Pau-Pau’s profile from Feb. 14 to 28.

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This means that you can order food delivery to share or even send a gift to your loved one if for some reason you can’t spend the day physically together.

Check out foodpanda’s Instagram account for more information.

This sponsored article gave this writer plenty of great first date ideas.

Top image via Henry & Co. on Unsplash and 1 Tyrwhitt Bistro Bar