Restaurant Review: Dolce Vita Mandarin Oriental Singapore

Dolce Vita Mandarin Oriental Singapore

5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square

Singapore 039797

+65 6338 0066

Dolce Vita is an Italian restaurant located at the poolside of the Mandarin Oriental Singapore with a view of Marina Bay Sands and the skyline. Even on weekends the restaurant is rarely booked out, but if you want a more quiet and out of the way table, it might be a good idea to call beforehand. If the weather allows for it, or in the evenings, sitting outside next to the pool is very chilled, especially as the pool itself is not frequented a lot.

While you might want to enjoy the chilled atmosphere outdoors, the indoors area of Dolce Vita is more dignified, with stone floors and wall, a big bar and a cozy/stylish Italian air. The staff is impeccably professional (even though sometimes it might be a little hard to get their attention) and very friendly and accommodating. On our first visit, we were greeted by Jan Immoff, the recently appointed restaurant manager of Dolce Vita. It’s always a nice touch if management takes 5 minutes to say hello at your table, no matter where you go.

The food at Dolce Vita is not cheap, but it’s among the more decent Italian restaurants you will find in Singapore. Some of Dolce Vita’s signature dishes include a wide selection of yummy thin-crust pizzas, penne with osso bucco ragout and beef tenderloin with foie gras. A very nice starter or palate cleanser in between courses is their oven-fresh bread with olives. If you’re wine connoisseur, you will appreciate the wide selection on offer.

Complimentary Gazpacho at Dolce Vita

Complimentary oven-fresh buns at Dolce Vita

Penne Carbonara at Dolce Vita

Tris di Pasta at Dolce Vita

Tris di Pasta at Dolce Vita

At times, Dolce Vita invites guest cooks that stay for a week or so (when we were there two cooks from Norway were visiting and we were invited to try some complimentary smoked salmon). During these times, guests have the opportunity to sample special menus/dishes at very reasonable prices.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review - SuperTree by IndoChine

Restaurant Review - SuperTree by IndoChine

18 Marina Gardens Drive
Gardens by the Bay, #03-01
Singapore 018953

 +65 6694 8489

One of Michael Ma's latest addition to the IndoChine group of restaurants, hotels and clubs is located in the heart of Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. Placatively named SuperTree, the restaurant cum rooftop bar sits atop the biggest artificial tree in Gardens by the Bay. Visiting at night is particularly impressing, as the trees are lit up in serene colours and the SuperTree stands out against the impressive sight of Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Mink Tan, the interior designer for the SuperTree also designed various popular clubs in Singapore. Unfortunately, and in my personal opinion, the interior design is indeed more apt for a night club (and rather one from the 70s) rather than a treetop restaurant, with cow hides on the floor, cow-themed bar stools and a bubble chair hanging from the ceiling. Even the elevator up to the restaurant is a homage to the disco era, with a marine theme and white jellyfish painted on the walls, and including a broken vent with duct tape hanging from the ceiling. Inside the restaurant, I recommend a table away from the glaring colored lights hanging behind the bar, as they reflect in the glass windows, preventing you from enjoying the view. The restaurant in the SuperTree opened just 7 months ago, yet much of the interior already looks worn and chipped (more duct tape at the corner of the bar, badly scratched cutlery, worn-out menus) As you can see from the pictures, the table deco also follows the 70s theme, and unfortunately the table cloth does not get changed after every meal, so there are splotches. 

You might gather correctly that my first impression of IndoChine's SuperTree was not very favourable. Fortunately, however, SupreTree has a few aces up its sleeve that more than make up for its drawbacks.

First, the food. We were a small party, but we ordered quite a lot of food and two bottles of wine. We started out with the SuperTree Platter. This platter is made up four of each Bó La Lot (Grilled beef in wild betel leaves), Nem Khao Hor (Rice paper hand rolls with minced chicken and roasted organic brown rice), Gói Cuôn (Vietnamese fresh rice paper rolls with tiger prawn), Lychee Beignets with kurobuta pork loin and bacon, as well as Nem Re So (Vietnamese scallop rolls in crispy sliver threadskin). This starter was nothing short of delicious, with all items tasting fabulously.

The Chef’s Special Chargrilled Fresh Squid might have been good, but it arrived at our table lukewarm, and after a few minutes on the table it was cold, so that I did not try more than 2 pieces, which tasted decently.

We had two salads at Supertree, namely the Tam Som – Traditional Papaya Salad with shredded green papaya, dried shrimp, long beans, chilli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, lime juice & peanuts, dressed with a traditional Laotian sauce as well as the Gói Buòi Saigon – Pomelo Prawn Salad of Saigon, with freshly poached tiger prawns, pomelo, dried shrimp, chilli & carrot tossed with the IndoChine house dressing. On the latter, our friendly waitress rightfully advised us that it would taste rather intensely of fish. Both salads were quite decent and notably made with fresh ingredients.

Of the Tom Yam Lobster Broth with wild Asian herbs, tomatoes & lobster meat we had both the creamy and the clear versions at our table. The Tom Yam was not very spicy and very full-flavored, with a fresh aftertaste, making the broth very savoury. Maybe because of the overpowering explosion of Tom-Yam flavour, the lobster did not really shine.

The Thit Bo Luc Lac – Prime Black Pepper Beef sautéed in herbs, spices & melted butter was served on a bed of sliced onions & tomatoes, accompanied by a sour-sweet dip.The "basket of daily selected garden greens for traditional wrapping" was nothing more than regular lettuce leaves, but the beef itself was alright.

Another highly-recommended signature dish at the SuperTree restaurant is steamed black cod with a sauce of lemon juice, garlic, coriander & chilli, topped a poached tiger prawn. While the cod and prawn were decent, I would not call it a signature dish, as it did not outperform some of the other dishes we tried that night. Instead, I recommend trying the pan-seared red drum fish with poached pear, tamarind dressing, and cashew nuts, as this was more intense in flavor and definitely one of the better dishes at SuperTree.

IndoChine's lightly fried rice with chicken & prawns is spiced with special herbs & a home-made sauce,
and was also quite yummy, accompanying our other dishes nicely.

Second big pro for Indochine's Supertree are the outdoor seating areas. Due to the fact that seating is 360 degrees around the tree, the outdoor seating areas provide a modicum of privacy and do not appear crowded even when a number of patrons are seated. In fact, as far as I could tell that night, not a single person was sitting in the outdoor area of the restaurant, which is actually ideal, as you get a breeze, a great view and you can hear the sounds from the Gardens by the Bay in a loft setting.

I recommend to have a drink at the revolving rooftop bar after your dinner at SuperTree (hopefully it will revolve again, as it was out of order when we were visiting). The design of the tree makes you feel like you are sitting on a floating platform, and the 360 degree view is impressive. A particular highlight is sunset atop the SuperTree, with the sun slipping behind the horizon and its last rays glinting off the ships in the bay.

Overall, I'd say very good food and the surrounding Gardens by the Bay offset SuperTree's interior design and make for a nice evening in an unusual surrounding.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review: Tamarind Hill Singapore

Restaurant Review: Tamarind Hill Singapore

30 Labrador Villa Road
Singapore 119189
+65 6278 6364

Tamarind Hill restaurant is located in a colonial building situated on top of a hill in the green oasis of Labrador Park. Formerly known as Labrador Villa, this building was once the home of businessman George John Mansfield. As you can see in the below picture, the entrance to Tamarind Hill restaurant is nothing short of spectacular, with a staircase more befitting a royal palace than a home.

Copyright: Samadhi

In line with the elegant setting, the dress code at Tamarin Hill is smart casual and so as not to disturb dinner guests, children below the age of 14 are not permitted entrance. Arriving at Labrador Villa, one might get the impression that the place is deserted, as no signs of occupation are visible from the outside. However, once you enter the restaurant, you will quickly notice that the many tables are taken for the most part, at least on a weekend night.

For starters, we ordered the Tamarind Hill Platter, which is one of the restaurant's signature dishes and combines 4 different starters, with two items of each caramelized minced chicken and peanut embedded in tangerine, breaded calamari, prawn cake and salmon tataki. While this platter was not huge, and in line with what you'd expect from most elegant restaurants, it made up for it in flavor, with especially the salmon tataki and prawn cake standing out.

When our two main courses arrived (grilled fish and deep-fried duck, as per the waiter's recommendation also signature dishes at Tamarind Hill), I was very positively surprised by their sheer size. Usually, and as was the case with the starters and desert platters at Tamarind Hill, the portions in fancy restaurants tend to be rather inadequate for a hungry person. However, in this Labrador Park restaurant, the serving size for the main dishes is very, very generous. I'm not entirely sure how many ducks had to give their lives to fill this big platter with duck breast, and the grilled fish was quite decently sized as well. Of the two, the Thai-style grilled fish was the clear winner, hands down. The meat was succulent and doused with the accompanying sauce, this was by far the best dish we tried at Tamarind Hill, and I highly recommend giving it a try. Unfortunately, the deep-fried duck was not up to par, as the deepfrying apparently sapped most of the flavor from the duck meat, and even with the good tamarind sauce, the flavor was disappointing. Given the generous serving sizes, we were barely able to finish both dishes.

To finish our meal at Labrador Park, we decided on Tamarind Hill's desert platter. There were a few more or less traditional Thai deserts, and the only two I found tasty, my companion refused to eat, saying they were way too sweet. Now, I do have a sweet tooth, but I have to say they were indeed rather intensively sweet. The other desert items I found to be average at best, and my companion was also not impressed by this course.

Two items saved our dining experience at Tamarind Hill. First, the very nice location and atmosphere, and second the best grilled fish I have eaten in Singapore to date. On the downside, the other dishes we had varied below and above average, and service was merely ok (had to ask for cold water twice), although the staff was friendly. In line with its reputation, dinner at Tamarind Hill was not a cheap affair at a total of SGD ~250, including a bottle of  wine.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review - Rabbit Carrot Gun

Rabbit Carrot Gun Bed & Breakfast (& Lunch & Dinner)

49 East Coast Road
Singapore 428768

+65 6348 8568

Rabbit Carrot Gun is hard to describe. It's a Bed & Breakfast, it's a lunch place, it's a dinner locale, it's a pub, it's restaurant, all under one cozy roof with a common, uncommon theme. The restaurant is located on Singapore's East Coast area, close to the hustle and bustle of 112 Katong. A number of new restaurants and bars are sprouting up in this area, next to old-established hawkers and drinking places, adding their own mark to the mix and yet another interesting area to explore in Singapore.

We went to Rabbit Carrot Gun restaurant on a Friday night, so the place was pretty packed. You will meet locals here, but also a number of foreigners from all walks of life. At night, the restaurant itself is rather cozy and dark, which fits the rabbit-hole theme and makes it look more like a pub than a restaurant. As would befit any English pub, the Rabbit Carrot Gun has its own beer, called Buckshot Pint, which has a very rich dark-red-brownish colour and tastes similar to Guinness.

For a starter, we chose the Casserole of Mushrooms & Crème Fraiche on Toasted Brioche with Balsamic Poached Egg. Unlike many other (even supposedly very good) restaurants in Singapore, the ingredients used at the Rabbit Carrot Gun were very fresh, easily noticeable in the taste. The mushrooms were not quite hot enough, but still warm and the whole dish was a feast for the taste buds. The poached egg oozed out once cut, and saturated the brioche with creamy yellow goodness, making each bite a pleasure.

Unfortunately, the chef at Rabbit Carrot Gun restaurant seemed to have run out of some ingredients that night, so that our friendly waitress informed us that the Roasted Chicken Breast and the Lamb Shank on the menu would come with different sauces, which is why we went with two other main dishes instead. Mr McGregor’s Fish Pie Topped with Mashed Potatoes Served with Seasonal Vegetables apparently is a signature dish at the Rabbit Carrot Gun and as our second option we ordered Pork, Rosemary & Apple Sausage with Bubble & Squeak Served with Ale & Onion Gravy.

Mr. McGregor apparently knows his fish pies, as this recipe is definitely a secret that should be guarded well. Again, the different fish in the pie had a very fresh and intense taste to them and the dish was mouth-watering good. In my view, the Pork Sausage was the weakest dish we tried that night at the Rabbit Carrot Gun restaurant. While still good, this dish seemed nothing out of the ordinary, though the gravy was quite yummy.

To finish our meal, we chose 3-chesse-platter, with English Stilton, a very creamy brie and a rather strong blue cheese, that probably would be a bit too much for most Singaporean palates. All three cheeses were extraordinarily and finger-licking good, ideally complimented by aromatic strawberries, walnuts and toasted bread.

Overall, the dining experience at the Rabbit Carrot Gun was a very nice one, and quite different from your standard fare in Singapore. If you're bored of fine dining but still want good food, or if you're tired of hawker meals, this will make for a very nice change. However, as so often, quality has its price, and with 2 beers, 1 starter, 2 mains and 1 desert, the total bill came up to SGD 125, well worth it imho.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review: Broth @ Duxton Hill

Restaurant Review: Broth @ Duxton Hill

21 Duxton Hill
Singapore 089604

+65 6323 3353 

Situated in a corner of Duxton Hill, Broth is an elegant little restaurant with an atmosphere best suited for a nice dinner for two or a quiet evening out with friends. Given the elevated prices, usually it is not hard to find a table even at times when more trending places such as Lucha Loco (also on Duxton Hill), are packed. Curiously enough, the restaurant does not have a theme of soups/broths but is rather the acronym for Bar Restaurant On The Hill...could have fooled me ;-)

We went on a weekday night and besides ours, only two other tables were taken. The staff is friendly and the service pretty decent. The menu is not very extensive, and if you have any dietary restrictions (e.g. as a vegetarian) you will only have a handful of items to choose from, most of which are starters. Since my companion and I found the Lamb Loin In A Green Coat On Fine Beans, Rosemary Potatoes & Mint Jus the most appealing, we both ordered the same main dish (usually we choose two different ones, so we can switch, but as I said the selection at Broth is rather limited and nothing else tickled our fancy). As mentioned above, Broth is not focused around soup, so the only soup they have is a "Broth of the Day', which in our case was potato soup. To be honest, I don't see the point of paying 12 bucks in a fancy-shmanzy restaurant for a potato soup even the most novice chef can't go wrong with cooking it at home. Instead, we ordered Sugar Beet Cured Salmon, Cucumber Tagliatelle, Caperberries & Mandarine Dressing and some house-made olive/onion bread with oil, butter and pepper to start our dinner.

Home/house made bread sounds good, and the two slices we were served at Broth did look appetizing (as an appetizer should ;-) ), however, the dough was much too soft, so instead of a rich wholemeal bread, it rather had the consistency of soggy toast. Not sure if baking it longer would help, but they should do something about it. The olive oil seemed of decent quality, and what can go wrong with butter and salt. Would have been so simple to make this into a decent appetizer, but Broth failed.

Disappointingly, as it happens in many elegant restaurants, the salad was rather tiny and the few slices of salmon were well hidden by a camouflage of greens. If the starter had made up in taste what it was lacking for in size, I wouldn't complain. However, the mandarin dressing did not have a fruity flavor, the two olives that came with the salad were pickled and the cucumber was absolutely devoid of taste. The salmon itself was ok, but nothing that you wouldn't get at cold storage, i.e. no beet-cured taste at all.

The lamb loin that we had did look appealing, and was quite decent taste-wise. The crust could have been a little more thick and crisp, but otherwise it was savory. Wedged in between the slices of lamp were two or three slices of roast potato. If you're hungry, better order several dishes (like starters) or go elsewhere, otherwise a grown man or woman with a healthy appetite will go home hungry.

With 2 glasses of wine, 2 starters and 2 mains the total bill was close to SGD 170. For this kind of money for a dinner for 2, I would have expected the food to be of higher quality and not just average overall. Still, the restaurant does have a nice athmosphere at night, and may still be worth a visit, at least once.

3/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review - Long Beach Seafood @ Dempsey

 resta Restaurant Review - Long Beach Seafood @ Dempsey

25 Dempsey Rd
249670 Singapore

+65 6323 2222

The Long Beach Seafood restaurant has been around for almost 70 years by now and although the flair of the original seaside establishment has made way to today's style of a modernized Chinese restaurant, the place still has some things going for it. Long Beach Seafood has a total of five outlets in Singapore, and the one at Dempsey is arguably the best. Since Dempsey in general is very crowded on the weekends and since Long Beach Seafood has a good reputation in Singapore, it is advisable that you make reservations beforehand.

As you may guess from the picture above, interior design is not Long Beach's forte, and the place is neither elegant nor stylish. So, Long Beach Seafood is probably less suited for a romantic dinner for two, but rather an evening out with friends and family where decent food is in the focus. Unarguably, all seafood served at Long Beach is fresh, as you can even pick which crab, lobster or golden phoenix fish should end up in the cooking pot. The staff is very nice, and if you want a souvenir, they will be happy to hand you a giant Alaskan king crab to take a picture with.

Long Beach Seafood claims to be the creator of the "Original and Best Black Pepper Crab of Singapore", and indeed the crab meat is very succulent and juicy, the black pepper adding some spiciness, without totally covering up the flavor of the meat itself.

 

Personally, I liked the White Pepper Crab better, though. It is a trifle less spicy, but the white pepper beautifully compliments the crab meat and creates a literal feast for your taste buds. Long Beach Seafood really got the hang of this dish, and I very much recommend gicing it a try.

The Curry Crab is probably THE signature dish of Singapore, and the Long Beach Seafood restaurant's version is quite a decent one. The dish is served with little fried/steamed buns so you can better soak up the chili-tomato sauce (or you can also just spoon it up). I like the taste of chili crab, and think it's also very well suited for people who are not great seafood aficionados, just because the chili-tomato sauce covers much of the flavor of the crab itself. If instead you prefer to taste the crab meat more intensely, I would recommend going with the White/Black Pepper Crab.

 

 

In addition to the crabs, we also ordered another of Long Beach Seafood's signature dishes: BBQ Golden Phoenix Fish. Again, this fish is served as fresh as it gets (short of fishing it up yourself and eating it on the beach) and you can pick the one you wish to have prepared for yourself. On the downside, the one we got was slightly undercooked and the waiter we asked to carve it for us massacred the fish, leaving spines everywhere.

 

Besides seafood, Long Beach also serves quite a wide variety of meat, from your usual chicken, duck and pork to even deer meat. To finish our meal, we ordered a rack of ribs, fried rice and some green sprouts. I think, if you go to a seafood place, you're usually well advised to stick with the seafood, and although the other dishes we had besides the crabs were okay, they were not as exceptional as the first courses. The fried rice was okay, the green sprouts were literally drowned in garlic (no matter how many times we ask them to put less, they always put large quantities in) and the ribs would actually have been quite good if they hadn't been so very sweet as to almost taste like a desert.

Overall, I would recommend Long Beach Seafood, also if you have people visiting you in Singapore. The crab dishes are quite a few notches above your average Singaporean seafood restaurant and definitely worth a try. The other dishes were had mostly okay to decent, and for the more adventurous palates Long Beach also offers more exotic seafood such as geoduck and tiger mantis. That said, quality has its price, and you should not go to Long Beach Seafood restaurant expecting a cheap meal.

4/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review - Shin Kushiya at Far East Square

Restaurant Review - Shin Kushiya

33 Peking Street
Far East Square #01-01
Singapore 048703

+65 6438 8991

One of Shin Kushiya's three outlets is located right in the CBD, very close to Raffles Place, in the hustle and bustle of Peking Street, where the working crowd hangs out after office hours. I've never been to Shin Kushiya on a weekend, but I imagine it might actually be less busy than on a weekday evening, as the people working around China Square, Far East Square and Samsung Hub congregate in sizable numbers in Peking Street in the evening.

Even so, when I decided to drop by at Shin Kushiya for a quick dinner, the place was busy, but not crowded, and there were still a few tables available. This might have to do with the fact that, price wise, Shin Kushiya is one of a very few restaurants that are higher priced than the other bars and eateries surrounding it. Most of the tables at the restaurant seat 6 people, so when it's full I reckon it's packed and quite noisy. As in many Japanese restaurants in Singapore, the atmosphere is busy, and not exactly very cozy or romantic, so I would recommend the place rather for a night out with friends than for a romantic dinner.

Shin Kushiya's menu is extensive to say the least, and we took quite some time in ordering. There is always staff around, and as long as you can attract their attention, they are quite friendly and helpful, if sometimes a bit young and inexperienced. For two people, we ordered Cha Soba (thin, cold buckwheat noddles flavored with green tea powder), Garlic Rice, Sake Butteryaki (pan butter grilled salmon), the Sushi Favorites and Sashimi Moriwase. To drink, we only ordered green tea and water. 

First off, the Shushi and Sashimi were very decent, both in terms freshness and taste. I'm not a big fan of of soba, but I reckon they were ok as well, though nothing that would make me order this dish again. Unfortunately, Shin Kushiya's Sake Butteryaki and Garlic Rice were both sub par and lacking in flavor. In contrast to the Sushi and Sahimi, the Sake Butteryaki did not taste very much of Salmon, and as butter in itself does not exactly have a very intense flavor, the whole affair was rather bland. what surprised me is how they managed to get the Garlic Rice wrong. I mean, this dish is so simply and would require nothing more than a bit of fresh garlic, rice and maybe some herbs and seasoning to round it all off, but Shin Kushiya instead delivered a bowl of rice that was nearly devoid of taste.

Overall, I'd say the more expensive dishes, such as the sushi and sashimi were worth their money, whereas the cheaper dishes all disappointed. At the end of our meal, we were sated, but our bellies were not bursting, and the bill was slightly north of SGD 100. I might go back to Shin Kushiya in a pinch, but it certainly wont make it to the top of my review list of favorite restaurants anytime soon. 

3/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review: Wild Honey (Orchard Branch)

Restaurant Review: Wild Honey (Orchard Branch)

6 Scotts Square #03-01
Scotts Road
Singapore 228209

+65 6636 1816

Wild Honey created an instant hype when it opened its first outlet in Mandarin Galary and managed to replicated the concept with a second outlet on Scotts Road. Interior design firm Distillery created the atmosphere in Wild Honey based on their motto of "no place like home". And indeed, even though the restaurant is not small and mainly features one open space, one cannot help but feel cozy and comfortable in this environment, which reminded me more of a library setting or an English club.

Wild Honey apparently does not take reservations for peak hours, and during these times the places gets quite busy (like all decent restaurants in Singapore), so you might have to either queue or come by at off-peak hours if you don't want to wait.

For an all-day breakfast place, Wild Honey's menu is quite extensive, and the food is organized by regions. Ordering for three people, we went for the Californian Breakfast (softly scrambled eggs, tofu, fresh herbs, red, green and yellow peppers, mushrooms and scallions on roasted ciabatta bread) and a Wild Honey signature dish, the Tunisian Breakfast (comes in a pan and comprises a shakshouka, i.e. fried eggs on top of a sauce of tomato, red peppers, chili and chorizo sausage, with brioche and Israeli salad). As all this sounded too healthy for me and as I do love a hearty breakfast, I ordered a side dish of breakfast bacon.     

Wild Honey really does have the art of presenting their food down to the t, and all dishes looked absolutely mouth-watering. The California breakfast did not only look appetizing but also tasted very decently, with flavorful seasoning and the eggs just right, on top of nicely toasted bread. In contrast, and despite the nice look, the Tunisian dish was rather disappointing. Proper Spanish chorizo is either quite spicy or quite sweet, and should have stood out when tasting the shakshouka. Alas, the dish mainly tasted like a pomodoro sauce, with little Middle-Eastern touch to it. Wild Honey also advertises this dish as "spicy", which I found somewhat misleading, as it is neither hot nor does it have a lot of spices. That said, I was very pleasantly surprised by the bacon side dish. For S$ 6 the portion was quite sizeable, and more than I could have asked for, with the bacon fried to a nice crisp without being overdone.

The main gripe I had with Wild Honey was the service. At a hawker centre I know what to expect and can do with dispassionate staff, but at an all-day, cozy breakfast place I would expect the waiters and waitresses to be more attentive. As it was, more than once we had to wait for quite a while and eventually wave and flag down someone to refill our empty water glasses or to ask for the bill. This is definitely an area Wild Honey can improve on.

Overall, I think Wild Honey is very much worth a visit, for decent to excellent all-day breakfast. While prices are not cheap, they are not particularly steep either, especially considering that you are on Orchard Road. For our two mains, one side dish and drinks we paid slightly above SGD 70.

4/5 Stars 

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Restaurant Review: The Marmalade Pantry (Saddle Club)

Restaurant Review: The Marmalade Pantry (Saddle Club)

55 Fairways Drive
Singapore 286846

+65 6467 9328

Recently, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I went to The Marmalade Pantry at the Singapore's historical Saddle Club on Fairways Drive. As the name indicates, the Bukit Timah Saddle Club comprises a sizeable estate with stables, training grounds and also a few restaurants. The ambiance at Fairways Drive reminds of the 1950s when the Saddle Club was founded.

Initially, we had intended to go to Ryder's Cafe, located between the Marmalade Pantry and the Saddle Club, but unfortunately when we arrived around 3pm they were no longer serving lunch and their snack/tea time menu is rather scarce if you are looking for a proper meal. Instead, we decided to give the Marmalade pantry a try.

Marmalade Pantry has a relatively big outdoor seating area with fans, but we decided to sit indoors, where besides us only one couple and a family of four were having a late lunch. The interior is comfortable, yet a bit too dark for my taste. As in many Singaporean restaurants, there were quite a few staff around and after being shown to our table, iced water was served (an topped up occasionally during the meal).

We ordered the Crabmeat Linguini, Steak and Eggs, as well as a Strawberries and Cream Cupcake, Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake, together with a Summer Smoothy and a white wine. I was quite pleased to see that the waitress taking our order didn't write anything down but seemed to memorize it instead (if I had known what was to come, I'd have made her write it down). After a short wait, the Summer Smoothy arrived, but a first sip revealed that it was quite thin for a smoothie and also lacking in flavor, so we we sent it back and told them to make it thicker. Usually, I'm not the type to let food/drinks go back, but in this case it was quite merited. A while later, the smoothie came back, apparently with some more banana in it, but the flavor was still not there. I settled for it anyways.

When the food arrived, it was decent. Neither the linguini nor the steak would win a price anywhere, in fact the meat was quite average. Having heard some quite positive reviews about the Marmalade Pantry (about the Orchard branch), this was rather disappointing.

After the plates were cleared, we started waiting for our dessert. This should really not have taken long, as the cupcakes were all exhibited close to the entrance (you can see them in the pic above) and so we were rather surprised when the minutes just ticked by and no one came to bring us our desert or asked whether we were lacking anything. Again, this was not due to the fact they were flooded with customers, as by now we were only one of four tables (indoors and outdoors) that was occupied. Finally, after at least 20 min I called over the waiter and asked him where our deserts were, he then asked his colleague, who told us they'd be coming shortly. Indeed, someone went and picked a cupcake from the exhibit and brought it over to us, by then it was quite clear that they had totally forgotten about our desert. The cheesecake arrived 10 minutes later.

Again the desert was rather average, the cupcake being on the dry side (no surprise, as God alone knows how long it had been sitting out there) and the cheesecake with little sea-salt caramel was also just okay.

The Marmalade Pantry is not a cheap eatery, and definitely disappointed my elevated expectations. To get back, we tried getting a cab for ages, but as it was close to 6pm by then we were out of luck. Therefore, we decided to have a drink at Ryder's Cafe during the wait. I must say, I regretted not having eaten there instead: the food they served was ample and looked very appetizing on the other tables, pricing is very reasonable and the iced mocha I had was very good.

I'll be definitely back at the Saddle Club to try Ryder's Cafe, however, if I try the Marmalade Pantry again, it certainly will be at the Orchard branch and not the one at Fairways Drive.

3/5 Stars

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Restaurant Review: Garuda Padang Cuisine at Far East Square

Restaurant Review: Garuda Padang Cuisine at Far East Square

Far East Square #01-01
7-8 Amoy Street
Singapore 049949

+65 6536 4111

As the name indicates, Garuda Padang Cuisine is an Indonesian restaurant located in the arcades of Far East Square. Established nearly forty years ago, Garuda Padang is spread throughout Indonesia, with outlets in Lampung, Medan and Jakarta, and finally opened their first outlet outside Indonesia in Singapore, offering Halal Minangkabau cuisine. At present, Garuda Padang has three outlets in Singapore, in Orchard Central, Vivo City, and Far East Square.

The restaurant at Far East Square targets the business crowds from the nearby CBD and China Square, and accordingly the restaurant’s atmosphere is of elegant casualness. Guests have the option to choose a set lunch (starting from S$ 7) or to order a la carte.

  Garuda Padang Indonesian Cuisine

The staff is friendly and helpful, explaining each different food item for those of us who are not too familiar with Indonesian cuisine. Eventually, we went a la carte and ordered Beef Rendang with Sayur Lodeh (mixed vegetables in light curry sauce) and the chef’s recommendation of Gulai Singkong (tapioca leaves and banana blossoms in coconut sauce). The dish comes with as much rice as you’d like, which smelled delicious. In my view, the Beef Rendang was the best of the three, with the meat tender and slightly spicy and very flavourful. The tapioca leaves and banana blossoms were also very nice, and quite exotic for my ang-mo palate. The mixed vegetables however were a bit of a disappointment, being somewhat tough to chew and lacking in flavour.

To conclude this review, I think overall it was an enjoyable meal for S$ 32 for two persons, but nothing out of the ordinary.

3/5 Stars  

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