You can find similar – a good handful claim better – local flavours at the hawker centre down the hill, but do give the re-branded ground-floor restaurant of The Scarlet Hotel a try. This 80-seater counts a heady laksa clam chowder with truffle oil (served in a sturdy focaccia bread bowl, $14) and a smart and playful chilli crab linguine ($25) topped with poached egg as its bestsellers – neither of which are overdone in Eastern or Western components. The beige furniture and do-away of the curtains lightens the once-dim atmosphere. It’s still intimate, but not quite as racy.