{"id":81844,"date":"2026-09-03T15:11:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T07:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=81844"},"modified":"2026-09-03T15:11:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T07:11:03","slug":"on-the-menu-im-in-my-just-fine-dining-era-and-no-fuss-neighbourhood-restaurants-are-all-i-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=81844","title":{"rendered":"On the Menu | I\u2019m in my \u2018just fine\u2019 dining era, and no-fuss neighbourhood restaurants are all I need"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I don\u2019t know who needs to hear this, but sometimes it is OK to be ordinary. I am talking about restaurants that make great food and create a comfortable environment for its diners, but have neither the ambition nor the so-called skill to gain a spot on the multiple award lists around the world, or to \u2013 God forbid \u2013 land itself in a well-meaning reel of the influencer du jour.<\/p>\n

Or maybe put it this way: I am bored with everything being touted as the next viral moment, the must-try, the \u201crun, don\u2019t walk\u201d destination that you simply must visit before you perish. Inevitably, places become inundated with portable-light-toting vloggers who tend to hype up the food so much it often feels like the restaurant is set up to fail.<\/p>\n

It is also strange when this kind of hyperbole falls upon neighbourhood staples that have served regulars for decades. I am in two minds about this: on the one hand, it is fantastic when a humble family-run restaurant gets more attention. On the other, more often than not they were doing just fine on their own, supported by a community of local diners, who suddenly find it much harder to get a seat at the table.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Oh my gawd you guys\u2019, expecting every meal to be life changing is extremely exhausting for everyone involved<\/blockquote>

Charmaine Mok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am not saying smaller venues should not be held in the same regard as a high-end restaurant, recognised in guides and immortalised in dramatic slow-mo cinematography; surely, every accolade helps prolong its lifespan in an increasingly challenging climate.<\/p>\n

But there is a distinct frustration when this hype machine descends upon a humble neighbourhood staple. While any independent joint deserves financial survival, the disconnect between internet hyperbole and real life leaves expectant diners deflated. \u201cHow did this<\/em> place get one Michelin star?\u201d they declare incredulously, unaware of the possibility that the restaurant never even asked for it in the first place.<\/p>\n

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\"Social<\/div>
Social media influencers are a mixed blessing for restaurants. They may bring in extra traffic, but often overhype the experience, changing customers\u2019 expectations. Photo: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Anyway, I would hazard that most of these places would just be as happy chugging along catering to a steady stream of regulars who would ask about their day, not an obnoxious creator letting the hot food go cold as they adjust their gimbals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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I don\u2019t know who needs to hear this, but sometimes it is OK to be ordinary. I am talking about restaurants that make great food…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[5970,1224,7393,739,3021,29398,3644],"class_list":["post-81844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-dining","tag-era","tag-fine","tag-menu","tag-neighbourhood","tag-nofuss","tag-restaurants","wpcat-33-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}