The new shopping mall at Holland Village – Holland Piazza, has enlivened the food scene in this precinct. If you haven’t check out at Holland Village for a long time, this is the time to rediscover this dining enclave again. One of the newer F&B outlets is Oporto, and we’re so glad that we had checked this place out. I’m now a flame-grilled chicken convert.
Origins of Oporto
This Australian fast-food chain dates back all the way to 1986 with its first Oporto outlet established in North Bondi in Sydney, Australia. But historically speaking, the story also has its roots in Portugal.
Their founder, Antonio Cerqueira who used to grow up in Portugal, could not find delicious flame-grilled chicken in Australia when he moved to Australia. So he decided to set up a chicken shop -offering spicy Portuguese to the locals living along Bondi beach. It became an instant hit with the locals that Antonio started expanding this business across Australia and New Zealand, and the rest is history.
Now that it has reached Singapore’s shores, we could now enjoy the authentic flavours of Portugal.
What’s on their menu?
Oporto serves up their signature flame-grilled Portuguese chicken, burgers, healthy wraps, Chicken Taça (Portuguese for ‘bowl’), cold beverages and some snacks to round off your meal.
Oporto’s Sauces
Finding the right sauce which suits your palate is essential. It can either enhance or null the flavours of the dish. There are currently six different sauces to choose from – BBQ Sauce, Lemon & Herb, Original Chilli sauce, Prego sauce, Garlic dipping sauce and Mayo.
We recommend their original Chilli sauce which looks strangely like our Asian curries but has a lingering spicy kick to it.
Another favourite of mine is their Prego (a creamy and tangy BBQ-inspired) and Garlic dipping sauce which goes so well with their chips and Taça bowl.
If you wish to know more about what ingredients goes into each sauce and dishes served at Oporto, you can visit their website to check out their detailed nutritional information.
Flame-grilled Portuguese Chicken
Chicken Taça Bowl
This Portuguese-style rice bowl is served with spicy rice, lettuce, crunchy slaw, grilled chicken tenders and topped with the sauce of your choice. It is one of their healthier options, and it is also surprisingly our favourite.
I’m not too sure if it is the prego sauce or grilled chicken tenders that made this dish delicious or the combination of flavours that complements each other; it is one of those dishes which I would order again.
On a side note, their version of spicy rice is more like rice which has been spiced up with Mexican sauce, herbs and spices. The rice does not taste spicy hot at all, but it is quite flavourful.
Bondi Burger
Another popular dish at Oporto is their Bondi burger. You can choose either a single, double or triple patty. We went with a double patty Bondi burger served with crispy chips.
The crispy chips went so well with the garlic dipping sauce.
I’m not too sure if the burger was prepared in a hurry or not as the chicken fillet looks a little crumbly. The patty was also missing that char-grilled flavour.
On a positive note, the buns are soft and the burger patty pairs well with the original chilli sauce.
Churros
To sweeten things up, we also tried their churros. These baby churros coated with salted caramel sauce were quite good!
I prefer their version of skinny churros over the usual big chunky ones as it is so much crunchier.
Must-try dishes: Flame-grilled Portuguese Chicken, Chicken Taca Bowl, Chips, and Churros
Who knew that this fast-food outlet would serve tasty churros?
Rating: 3.9/5
Oporto Singapore
No. 3 Lorong Liput
#01-01
Singapore 277725
