The Place It was a surprise to me that there is a new restaurant which quietly opened at Amoy Street Street since February this year as I am usually pay attention to the new openings in CBD. Anyway, here’s Claypots Full Circle, a seafood restaurant and bar, by the The Claypots Group in Australia a few doors down from Birds Of A Feather. The long shophouse setting feels more like a bar than restaurant due to the relatively dim lighting, which is also the first international of the Australian group which has 4 outlets in Melbourne.

The Food Contrary to the claypot name, not many dishes are served in a claypot though most of the dishes are influenced by Mediterranean and Asian flavours. Instead, the menu is arranged around starters, fresh plates, blackboard specials and dessert. I am rarely a sardine fan as I’m afraid of the fishy flavour, but this Atlantic Sardines with Kaffir Lime Leaves (S$12) works for me. The sardine is fried in olive oil and coated with house made sambal sauce, hence there is a good balance with the sardine flavour itself. It is not too spicy, and if you are concerned, the tiny bones are easy to chew and digest.

For tiger prawn lovers, the Garlic Prawn (Market Price) is served on a hotplate and the sambal smell is very distinct for me. The prawn is juicy and soaks up the flavours of the olive oil, garlic, sambal oelek and coriander well. The best part here is the jus, which I will recommend having it along with the slices of pide bread served. This is probably the best way to savour the rich flavours in this pot.

Moving on to more seafood, I finally had a dish served in a claypot, the Moroccan Claypot (S$26) packs a medley of seafood such as fish fillets, mussels and clams prepared with an herb-and-spice-laced, tomato-based sauce with a touch of harissa. I’m not a big fan of the Mediterranean flavours here, so this dish didn’t particularly stand out for me as compared to other dishes. Suffice to say, the seafood ingredients are fresh.

Another signature dish I tried here is the Full Circle Port Arlington Mussels (S$25) from Australia. The flavour of the mussels are naturally salty, which I learnt no salt is added. The mussels are fried with garlic, lemongrass and herbs along with white wine and butter, hence the flavours are quite rich, which I enjoyed.

If you have a big party size, the St Kilda Shellfish Stir-Fry (Black Board Special Market Price – S$95 during my visit) is a gigantic serving for sharing. It’s a mix of seafood like flower crab, mussels, clams and prawns, wok-tossed in coriander, lemongrass, ginger, garlic and spices. Served with rice, I like the slightly spicy gravy on the rice which reminds me of a high SES ‘Cai Png’. It’s a dish which I only recommend to order if you have at least 4 persons to share with, and it also very well depends on what other dishes you are having as it is quite filling.

The Seabass with Chermoula (S$58) is another lightly seasoned dish sprinkled with sea salt and parsley, where the freshness of the fish is evident.

Rants The name of the restaurant may seem a little of a misnomer given that there are not many dishes served in claypots as I would have thought so. The relatively dim lighting of the restaurant may also feel a little sleepy especially during lunch hours.

Will I Return Again? With so many dining options in the vicinity, it is good to come to Claypots Full Circle with an open mind without expecting most dishes in a claypot form. The lunch and dinner menu are largely the same, so it will be good if lunch sets can be introduced to draw more of the working crowd over.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at Claypots Full Circle here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5

Claypots Full Circle
103 Amoy Street
Singapore 069923
Tel: +65 6203 2203

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 10.30am to 12am
Saturday: 5pm to 12am
Closed on Sundays

Ranted by The Ranter