Lunch in a Church

The White Rabbit opened up in Dempsey just over a year ago to mixed reviews – diners offered differing opinions about the quality of the food, everyone seemed to agree that the service could be improved… but on the plus side nobody denied that the restaurant had found itself a stunning and unique location.

I wasn’t surprised by the negative press this new restaurant was receiving – this seems to be fairly standard in Singapore. In a city where service can be trying at the best of times, new establishments seem to need a few months to bed themselves down.

A year in and the reviews are definitely improving, so I gathered the girls together and suggested we try out the White Rabbit’s good value set-lunch menu ($30 for two courses, $38 for three).

First things first – the setting is fabulous, and definitely unique in Singapore. The beautifully-restored old chapel’s lofty ceilings and stain-glassed windows provide a bright and airy atmosphere perfect for lunch and, I imagine, a cosy and romantic setting for dinner.



The set menu offers a choice of six starters, and six main courses – with diners able to choose from the exceedingly tempting a la carte dessert menu for a mere extra $8.00. I kicked off with the Salad Printemps – a spring salad of asparagus, mangoes and tomatoes which was perfectly acceptable, but nothing to get too excited about.



For mains I chose the Pan Fried Red Snapper, served with shaved fennel and sauce vierge which was beautifully cooked – the fennel providing a contrasting crunch, and the sauce vierge the right amount of sharpness.



But where the White Rabbit really comes into its own is the desserts. Rather predictably I opted for the Molten Chocolate Cake. While the molten chocolate could have been more, well – molten, all was forgiven as it was served with a fabulous passionfruit sorbet (which my 9 month-old lunch partner was rather partial too also). The White Rabbit Crème Brulee, served with summer berries also got the thumbs up.



But the prize had to go to the Crepes Suzette – flambéed with Grand Marnier at your tableside.



These were so good that one mouthful of our friend’s dessert and we ordered an extra one to share amongst the table.



So thankfully the White Rabbit appears to have overcome its supposed teething problems. The service was attentive (although the restaurant was barely half full so it shouldn’t have been too difficult), and whilst the food wasn’t going to get any of us over-excited, it was well cooked and presented and made for an exceedingly enjoyable lunch. Its selling point however still remains its location – whether you’re planning a business lunch, a convivial dinner with friends or a romantic meal for two, it certainly ticks all the boxes.

The White Rabbit – 39C Harding Road
http://www.thewhiterabbit.com.sg/

Girls Lunch

It was time for our last girls’ get-together lunch before we all head off on our separate ways for the festive period, so we decided to go upmarket and made our way to Au Petit Salut at Dempsey Village. Like most Dempsey venues, this restaurant is set back from the road and nestled in amongst the greenery. We took our seats in the timber-decked al fresco area, where we could dine in the breeze and to the sound of the trickling water features.

Au Petit Salut is certainly a popular choice for lunch, particularly with the “Ladies Who Lunch” crowd, I’m guessing because of the high quality of its food and its fantastic value $30++ set lunch. Set menus can often be somewhat restricting, but here it is very extensive, and with six choices for each course it offers as much variety as many a la carte menus do. You are also given the option to supplement any course with one from the Executive Lunch Menu for an additional charge.

I kicked off with the Homemade Duck Rillette with Mesclun Salad and Walnut Dressing, which was rich and creamy and delicious.

Then followed it up with the Oven Baked Sea Bass Fillet with Fresh Mixed Vegetables and Light Herb Butter Emulsion, which was beautifully cooked and perfectly seasoned.

Being French, the cuisine is all very rich, and had we been allowed to choose our desserts after we had eaten our first two courses, I probably would have followed my more sensible friends' lead and opted for the Fresh Fruit Salad infused with mint and served with blackcurrant sorbet.

Having chosen at the beginning however - when I was in greedy-mode - I instead decided on the Choux Buns Filled with Vanilla Ice Cream in Warm Chocolate Sauce, with Sliced Almonds. It wasn’t a bad choice, but the feeling of over-indulgence was certainly starting to kick in around the second mouthful.

So would I recommend Au Petit Salut to my friends? Absolutely - a beautiful setting, fantastic food, knowledgeable and attentive service and great value for money all combine to make this the perfect venue for a girls’ lunch.

Au Petit Salut - http://www.aupetitsalut.com/index.html

Revenge of the Curry

There’s a group of us that meet fairly regularly, usually on a Wednesday night, for a slap-up Indian meal. Our place of choice is invariably Khansama where the quality of food never disappoints, and neither does the low figure at the bottom of the bill. Well this week we decided to be a little crazy and venture out of the confines of Little India and made our way up to that old famous favourite, Samy’s.

Firstly of note here was the lack of Indian people in the restaurant (apart from those in our group) – that’s right, it was all Ang Mohs – tourists and expats, perhaps because of its prolific appearances in the guidebooks… not the best sign of a good curry house, but we weren’t going to let that deter us.

There is no menu here – just a display cabinet of curries sitting in bain-maries just waiting for you to come along and choose them. We were there quite late (by late I mean around 9pm) and unfortunately you could tell that the majority of dishes had been sitting there for some time. For this reason we skipped the seafood which was looking really rather sad by this stage and opted instead for the lamb, chicken and vegetable dishes.

Once again we were slightly rather over-zealous with our ordering, not realizing that every dish we ordered would be slopped onto each banana leaf in abundance – but at least nobody went hungry and we were able to sample most dishes on offer (apart from the crusty seafood of course).

We kicked off with two types of Chicken and some Cauliflower, served on central plates with toothpicks to help ourselves with – which, apart from our concerns regarding the obviously high levels of food colouring, were a pretty tasty beginning.

Then came the main courses – two types of chicken, two types of lamb, some dahl and some raita. These again was all perfectly palatable (although not a patch on Khansama) and satisfyingly spicy. The bottom line on the bill was also fair, especially considering the vast amounts of food ordered.

We left fairly satisfied and happy to consider Samy’s as an occasional alternative for Wednesday night get-togethers. Until the next day that is… when between the 7 of us we managed to notch up bathroom visits well into the 30s… and so now (unlike our bathroom visits) we certainly won’t be running back here in a rush… You have been warned!

Samy’s - http://www.samyscurry.com/
Dempsey Road

Fondue Night

I love skiing – the adrenaline rush of hurling yourself down a mogul run, the wind in your hair, the fresh crisp mountain air, vin chaud in the mountain restaurants… and of course, fondue! Well there aren’t any snow-covered slopes in Singapore that’s for sure, but I have discovered a fantastic little fondue restaurant.

Tucked away behind its rather more popular neighbours Long Beach and Samy’s at Dempsey Hill Green, is La Fondue. Keeping up with the European theme, the people at La Fondue have tried to recreate a ‘medieval castle’ atmosphere in which to enjoy your fondue. In fairness the restaurant is rather too contemporary to achieve this aim, but the stone walls, exposed beams and subdued lighting do make for a cozy environment for a fun dinner with friends.

In fact so modern is the set up here that each table is equipped with its own fully controllable electric hot plates – no naked flames and lighter fluid here thank you very much.

As there were four of us, we opted for two of the 4 course ‘Fondue Feasts for Two’, which enabled us to sample a good proportion of the menu between us. This kicked off with a choice of 3 salads - we chose the Caesar which was surprisingly good.

Next up was the first of the fondues – the Cheese course. Out of a choice of four different cheese fondues, we went for the Swiss Traditional Cheese (Gruyere, Swiss Emmenthal, Kirsch and White Wine) and the Black Pepper Cheese (Smoked Black Pepper, Stilton Cheese, Coarse Pepper, White Wine). Not only did two enormous pots of fondue appear fairly swiftly, but they were accompanied by a mound of bread cubes and trays of cooked crunchy vegetables.

These were pretty good – although a small complaint would be that the Swiss Traditional Cheese was perhaps to strong on the Kirsch flavour, and the Black Pepper Cheese perhaps not stilton-y enough (although this suited me fine).

Next up was the Meat & Seafood Course. Here, we opted for the Bourguignonne European Style Soup and the Chicken Broth (the other choice was a Flat Pan Grill which didn’t sound half as fun as dipping into the fondue).

With the soups we were served an amazing array of meat and seafood to dip in and cook - Garlic Herb Chicken, Marinated Sirloin, Shrimps, Teriyaki Chicken, Venison, Black Pepper Pork, Honey Pork, Sausages, Cajun Fish, Marinated Salmon, Spicy Fish, Beef Tenderloin – phew!

And it was all fantastic – each meat really carried its own flavour, and also differed depending on which soup they were cooked in. This led to several comments such as “Ooh, ooh, you have to try the Shrimps in the Bourguignonne” “Oh my God, have you tried the Honey Pork in the Chicken Broth yet?”… Ah, endless hours of fun!

Thankfully the fun didn’t end there, and the best was yet to come – yes, every girl's wet dream come true – the Chocolate Fondue. Again we were presented with a choice and after much deliberation we decided on the Original Chocolate (straight up Milk Chocolate) and Orange Chocolate (Dark Chocolate, Liquor, Orange Peel). To be honest, looking back at the menu now it is beyond me why we didn’t order the Cookie & Cream Marshmallow (Dark Chocolate, Marshmallows and Cookies), but anyway what we did end up with was certainly worth coming back for. Served with a selection of fruit, marshmallows, pieces of chocolate brownie, pieces of donut and ice cream, this was a heavenly end to a fantastically indulgent meal.

I will definitely be returning here – on top of the fantastic food, the serving staff were some of the most welcoming and attentive I have come across in Singapore. The only thing lacking was a buzz – there was only one other table in when we were there, so I hope it doesn’t suddenly disappear like so many other places in Singapore.

And if you happen to venture to La Fondue yourself… I can recommend the chocolate brownie dipped in the chocolate fondue, with ice cream on the side… sounds like chocolate overload… tastes like heaven…

La Fondue - http://www.lafondue.com.sg/

25 Dempsey Road, Dempsey Hill Green. Phone: 6474 0204

Disappointment at Dempsey

A few of our friends had been to Barracks and said how much they had enjoyed it so myself and Mr Greedy Glutton decided to give it a whirl for a Friday night ‘date’.

First impressions weren’t great as we started off in ‘Camp’, the bar area. The restaurant and bar are housed in the former mess of the British army barracks up at Dempsey, hence the name and the rather over-the-top theming of the establishment. Whilst the location of the bar with views over the rainforest should have been perfect for an alfresco pre-dinner tipple, the desire to carry the army theme throughout meant utilitarian furnishings which are just uncomfortable.

We tried to take one of the canvas covered sofas made from tent poles which suggested they might be slightly more comfortable than the steel upright chairs, but were told that they were fully booked (nobody sat in any of them in the hour that we were there – in fact there were only 2 other tables full). Despite there being next to nobody in the bar, flagging down a waiter wasn’t the easiest task, but we did finally manage to order some cocktails.

Camp boasts that its cocktail menu has been put together by a group of global mixologists and claim to be ‘here to help you discover a better standard of drinking’, so we thought perhaps things were about to look up. They also claim that their Madagascan Mojito (“a vanilla twist on the classic Cuban refresher”) was voted Best Mojito by I-S magazine.

Well I’m guessing the people at I-S magazine didn’t try any others, because this was the worst mojito I have ever had the misfortune to try. I’m all for a good serving of mint, but this was taking it to extremes – between the mint and the ice, there was no room left for any liquid and after two sips it was gone – at $17.00 ++ that’s two expensive sips of cocktail! Thankfully the Latin Fling was more successful – with Freshly Muddle.d Pineapple and Lime, Brown Sugar, Cachaca 51, Havana Club Anejo Reserva Rum, this was refreshing and unique.

Unfortunately the service in the restaurant, Barracks, wasn’t much better – there was much confusion over our booking despite them phoning me earlier that afternoon to confirm, and us confirming with them on our way to the bar an hour earlier. We sat for ages waiting for the menu and wine list; the water we asked for on sitting down didn’t appear until half way through the meal and even then only because we had to ask again; when we ordered a bottle of wine the waiter walked off without even acknowledging our order only to return ten minutes later to tell us it was out of stock; when we eventually ordered the wine it appeared about 20 minutes later, just before our starters…

I could go on, but writing this is depressing me as much as sitting there did on the night. Focusing on the positives – the wine list was fun and quirky (even if half the bottles were out of stock!) presented like a Pantone reference guide

and, thankfully and most importantly, the food was good. We started off with the Sweet Corn Soft Shell Crab, which were lovely and crisp, served with baby herb salad, a creamy sweet corn puree and ‘Mojo’ sauce, and topped with a novel addition - curry popcorn.

I then moved on to the Slow-cooked Crispy Pork Belly, which they claim is slow-cooked for 7-9 hours. Of course I don’t know if this is true but it was fantastic, with delicately crispy crackling and the crunchy sweet pickled vegetables complemented it perfectly.

Mr Greedy Glutton’s option of Cod Fish and Chips a la Indian was slightly less successful. Despite being described as being ‘curry and coriander cod fish’ it just tasted like, well – fish and chips… they weren’t bad fish and chips, but certainly not as interesting as the menu suggested.

I have to say that their desserts sounded fantastic – Mango Marshmallow Melt anyone? Or how about Hazelnut & Raspberry Chocolate Cake Crunch? Sounds tempting… but to be honest we had just had enough by then (bad service can be terribly exhausting!)… and we decided instead just to get the rock out of there…

Camp/Barracks - http://www.dempseyhouse.com/

(be careful, the website keeps crashing my internet browser!)

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

Lunch at Dempsey

My mother-in-law was visiting so I took her to meet ‘the girls’ for lunch. We’d been trying to take her to all the different eating emporiums throughout Singapore but hadn’t managed Dempsey yet, so we opted for P.S Café, where we could lunch amongst the foliage.

The first thing I love about the P.S menu is the juices – a range of fresh juices and other, more interesting concoctions, which you know are going to make you healthy just by looking at them, such as freshly squeezed lemon juice with fresh ginger.

We were running a little late, so by the time we arrived my hungry friends had ordered some ‘chips and dips’ to tide them over. A huge plateful of bread (eventually) arrived, laden with fresh crusty bread, and with a choice of three dips – Hummous, Spinach and Ricotta, and Red Pepper. The hummous was better than a lot of places in Singapore (I have yet to find one that would entice me back though), but the dips in general were a tad lacking in flavour, I felt.

The main courses (of course) arrived before we were through with our dips, and we had ordered a fairly eclectic mix. First up was the Pumpkin Salad, which was sensationally presented, although I didn’t get to sample it.

The Zucchini Pancakes from the Brunch menu, which came served with Roasted Tomatoes, Crispy Bacon and a Balsamic -dressed Salad – this being a major hit with those that ordered it.

I, rather boringly, but on trusted advice, went for the Club Sandwich.

Immediately noticeable was the lack of layers of bread normally associated with the club sandwich, and in its place a toasted Ciabatta bun. I am guessing the decision for this was brought about by the sheer enormity of the sandwich with all its fillings… this bad boy came rammed full with Roast Chicken, Crispy Bacon, Fried Egg, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato and Cranberry, a true whopper of a sandwich.

Now I have been ridiculed by my friends for this complaint – but you know, I just felt that this sandwich just had too much in it… There were so many flavours competing for attention in the same mouthful, that you just didn’t really end up tasting any of them… just a kind of mixed up mish-mash. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for experimental sandwiches, and also for large portions, but a) I didn’t feel particularly satisfied despite being completely stuffed full and b) I couldn’t even finish half my meal – completely shameful for a Greedy Glutton (did I mention in came with a side order of Fries also?!)

My greedy friends, who I admit hadn’t ordered such monstrous main courses as yours truly, decided on a cake to share for dessert. After much perusal of the menu, detailed discussion, and an excursion to the cake counter, the decision finally fell on the Carrot Cake. This was a hugely generous portion (lucky we asked for four spoons!) and was suitably sticky and moist and flavoursome, although it was generally agreed that the frosting could have been laid on a bit thicker.

So what’s the verdict? Well, the food wasn’t the best around, and the service definitely left something to be desired (the starter took an age to come, the main courses arrived 10mins apart of each other, two out of the four lattes arrived once the others and the carrot cake were all but finished…), but I enjoyed the meal enough to come back at a later date and the atmosphere definitely warrants a return visit… the location amongst the trees, the high ceilings, airy dining area and floor-to-ceiling windows all make this the perfect hangout for a relaxing tai tai lunch…

P.S Café - http://www.pscafe.sg/

Mexican and Margaritas

We tried coming to Margaritas at Demspey a couple of months back, but it was closed for refurbishment. My friend has been raving about the food here for so long, that we finally booked a table (we had to practically beg to be squeezed in as they were fully booked) and headed up here on Friday night.

We obviously went straight for a round of margaritas – strawberry and frozen, of course – which were tasty, although the tequila wasn’t very evident (although some would say that’s a good thing!) and the glasses came rimmed with salt which led to a heated discussion about whether fruit margaritas should have salt round the rim or not… I noticed that everyone without exception wiped it off, regardless of their opinion…

We also later sampled the Mango version, but it rather paled in comparison to its Strawberry cousin.

We were all so hungry we ordered up some nibbles while we looked at the menu – some fantastic Nachos which disappeared in about three seconds flat (hence the half empty plate in the picture, I barely got in there in time!)

and some Jalapeno Poppers - not on the menu, you have to be in the know! These were tasty but we all agreed were disappointingly lacking in heat (of the spicy variety)

We then ordered up our own choice of main courses – the Kitchen Sink Burrito for myself and Mr Greedy Glutton, which as its name suggests, has a little bit of everything – chicken, beef, vegetables and rice all wrapped up and topped with Salsa, Sour Cream, Jalapenos and Guacamole.

I was however a little envious of the rice side order that came served with others’ Beef Burritos and Vegetable Enchiladas, which was buttery and scrumptious.

All in all we had a great meal, the food (and obviously the company) was great – I do think they could perhaps crank up the salsa tunes a tad… get a party atmosphere going… and perhaps encourage a few more margaritas and tequilas to flow in the process… now that’s my kind of Mexican meal…

Margaritas - http://www.dempseyhill.com/tenants_Margarita.htm

Dempsey Disappoinment

My friend has been waxing lyrical about Margarita’s at Dempsey Hill for a while, so we substituted our usual Little India mid-week feast for a trip to Dempsey to enjoy some Mexican magic… except when we got there, Margarita’s was closed for refurbishment.

Slightly disappointed, we took a short hop across the road and settled ourselves at a table outside La Forketta. The first thing that annoyed me with this restaurant that they refused to bring us iced water, despite the fact that we were ordering glasses of wine and beers all round – they would only serve us vastly overpriced bottled water (and yes, this really is a pet hate of mine).

Putting that annoyance behind us, we ordered up some food. After much deliberation, I settled on the Aubergine Cannelloni. You know La Forketta is really pretty expensive by Singapore standards and I was expecting a lot more from my main course here – all I got in the end was this:

It wasn’t even served with a side salad or anything, and it was unfortunately really pretty bland.

Those who ordered a pizza I think got the better half of the deal – Mr Greedy Glutton being one of them, ordering a Pepperoni and Pineapple Pizza.

The pizzas were really good – light, crisp base and generous toppings… but they come at a price, and I doubt very much if we will be back to enjoy them again… and definitely not for as long as they refuse to serve iced water along with your meal.

So unfortunately our mid-week cheap and cheerful get-together turned out to be rather less cheap… and rather less cheerful than usual… but at least the company was as good as ever…


La Forketta - #01-09 Dempsey Hill

Steak on a Rainy Day

On Sunday it rained. All Day. So what do you do in Singapore when it rains? Well, you either shop, or you eat... and there's no prizes for guessing which one the Greedy Gluttons chose to do.

We grabbed our umbrellas and took a cab up to Dempsey Hill (and no we weren’t there for the teak shops). It was a little early for dinner when we arrived so we stopped off to kill some time over a couple of beers in the fab Hacienda bar before heading on to the meat-tastic The Prime Society.

We started off with some Lemon Salt & Pepper Calamari, which was a little disappointing (bland and slightly too chewy),

but really we should have known - the only thing to eat in Prime Society is steak. We naturally obliged and ordered up a Sirloin each - a 160g with herb butter for me, and a 220g with blue cheese butter for my greedier other half.

I'm pleased to say they were a 100% improvement on the calamari starter. Served on oak plank boards, they had been cooked to specification and the butter accompaniment enhanced the flavour without overpowering. The accompanying vegetables had also been cooked perfectly, and were a worthy companion.

A word of praise too is due to the waiting staff, who have obviously been well trained and were attentive, smiling and polite.

Ah yes, a juicy rare steak and a few glasses of red wine... the perfect antidote to a miserable Sunday afternoon... and certainly beats walking round a shopping mall any day....

The Prime Society - www.theprimesociety.com