Lunch in a Deli

Back in Singapore after our lovely break in Bali and it was soon time for lunch with the girls again. We managed to somehow end up at another firm tai tai favourite, Jones the Grocer at Dempsey. This is first and foremost a deli, with counters encircling the room brimming with tasty looking treats, an entire room dedicated to cheese, and a very impressive looking cake counter.

I was particularly surprised therefore by their menu – mainly consisting of heavy dishes such as Steaks, Chicken served with Potatoes, Pastas and Sausage with Mash. In my mind, lunch in a deli should consist of platters of cheese and cold meats, with fresh breads, pickles etc. The closest we got to this was the blackboard specials which included soup, sandwiches and salads.

My friends opted for the Chicken Caeser (got the thumbs up)

And the Portobello Mushroom Sandwich with Sun Blush Tomatoes and Pesto (which was “okay”)

I was torn between the Roast Ham and Cheese Sandwich and the Eggplant and Roasted Tomato Quiche… I asked the waiter which he would recommend and was told in a bored voice “They’re both good”, which decided it – the Quiche.

Unfortunately they weren't both good at all, or at least the quiche wasn't - in fact it was verging on tasteless and, not really knowing whether it wanted to be hot or cold, had settled on being lukewarm instead. Topped off with a ridiculously salty side salad (perhaps this was an attempt to give the quiche some flavour), and it was a very disappointing lunch - to put it mildly.

We finally managed to track the waiter down to order a dessert – the main courses certainly weren’t filling enough to leave without one – and whilst he was at the table, we held a little competition amongst the four of us, to see who could get the waiter to crack a smile… alas, we all failed miserably and he continued miserably on with his work.

The desserts however faired a little better than the main courses: The Lemon Tart was sticky and gooey and struck the right balance between tart and sweet, although the crème fraiche was a slightly odd accompaniment, as was the lemon zest ‘syrup’ which was far more vinegary than syrupy.

The Fruit Tartlets sounded and looked promising, but whilst rich and sweet, didn’t really taste of anything in particular.

The highlight of the meal was my little cupcake. It was my birthday week so my friends had snuck a beautiful little marshmallow-covered cupcake out of the counter and arranged for it to be brought to me with a candle. By this stage I was too full of my Lemon Tart, and half of my friend’s Fruit Tartlets (yes, that’s why they call me the Greedy Glutton) to manage it… but they obligingly boxed it up for me and I enjoyed it later on that evening whilst watching the American Idol final… and very tasty it was too…

So it was meal over, and after several attempts to get the waitress' attention and eventual frantic waiving of hands, we finally managed to get the bill… and pay… and no, we couldn’t get the waitress to smile either…

Jones the Grocer - http://www.jonesthegrocer.com/store/singapore