With a Pinch of Salt
297, Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437080
+65 6348 2297
I came across the restaurant named “With a Pinch Of Salt” when looking for a dinner place on Saturday night. It was recommended by Lady Ironchef and is located in the Katong, one of my favourite neighbourhoods to dine out. So what could go wrong? Well, maybe I should have lent more credibility to the 51% vote on hungrygowhere, but most of the voters there complained about issues with Groupon and the fact that With a Pinch Of Salt charges 30 cent for water. I don’t have a gripe with that, and since all alcohol-free drinks there are very reasonably priced, I think it’s acceptable.When we arrived, we realized that there were not one but 2 birthday parties going on in the café, with one small table free in the middle between the two parties. No one had told us this when we called to make our reservation, and luckily I wasn’t planning on a romantic night out. Accordingly, it was rather noisy and sitting in the middle of all this activity was not very relaxing. The café/restaurant looks very family-oriented, with wall decorations like you would expect in an American nursery, including short fairy tales about the dishes they offer. I reckon it’s fine if you’re out with kid, though as an adult it does feel a little strange sitting in a room full with pastel colored, striped walls. Then again, the motto at With a Pinch of Salt is “It’s only a café, don’t take it so seriously’.
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In my mind, they should stick to this, and rename the place, as salt & flavour was exactly what the food (or most of it) was missing. The iced mocha I ordered was very watery, and one of the worst I’ve had in Singapore. Usually not a drink anyone could do wrong, but this one was definitely sub-par. To eat, we ordered one Chicken Cordon Bleu and one Old Uncle Mac’s Farm Platter (which comprised sausages, fried fish, steak and fried chicken). When the food arrived, some of it was lukewarm. For both the Cordon Bleu and fried chicken/fish, the breading was so thick you had to search for the meat, and it was only edible doused with ketchup. The steak was streaky. The mashed potatos and few vegetables sprinkled in between were the best parts, yet not very plentiful.
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| Uncle Mac's Meat Platter |
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| Cordon Bleu |
On the plus side, staff was nice, food arrived relatively quickly (must have been re-heated) and was relatively cheap (less than SGD 50 for one beer, one iced mocha and the two mains). Even so, I would not come back, and cannot quite understand the laudable review by Lady Ironchef (then again I have to yet read one of her reviews where she didn’t like the food).
2/5 Stars
