Hit the Road  

Celebrating J's belated birthday.

Decor is very, very attractive. Picked this place because it looked very simple and basic.
The entrance was rather secluded. I liked it the moment i saw it.
And the lift. The lift is a dear. and the interior decor, the tiny ornaments, the interesting hanging TV partition, the lighting, the IKEA furniture...the fact that the waitresses (probably one of the shareholders too) was bustling around like a busy bee. Looking after her business. Taking care of her guests. There is only ONE round of dinner every night.

IMPORTANT:
MUST MAKE RESERVATIONS. They are fully booked almost ALL the time. They start accepting reservations 1 week in advance. So be prudent and make your booking. There aren't many seats - 35-40 (max. maximum). Some of the seats are quite low so you'll have to lean over your food, or better, just sit on the floor! that's what i did.

Service:
I was rather fond of the way our waitress groomed herself. Very homey feeling - and that's what upstairs cafes are supposed to feel like


Decor:
Smart and economical way to decorate a restaurant. As far as I know, they whitewashed the walls, ceiling, and painted all the edges black. I like the detail in the ornaments they displayed here and there.


Food:
Dinner set - from $100 to $110

Cream of Mushroom soup

Delightfully thick and creamy. No cheating - no Campbell soup used here for sure! It clung to the wooden spoon and on the lips. Hot (as in temperature) and quite peppery. I'm sure there was quite a bit of cream in it. Mmm. Not the average upstairs cafe stuff.

2. Honey-grilled chicken with spaghetti (my 2nd recommendation)

Chicken was tender and the honey-roasted skin was heavenly. Despite the fact that I know we're not supposed to eat chicken skin i couldn't help myself - nor could my friends, for that matter. it's not difficult to make a good chicken fillet, but somehow lots of cafes manage to screw it up. Properly seasoned, not too oily, good.

3. Duck breast in mixed berry sauce w/ fried spaghetti

I have all compassion for mediocre duck breast, because you can get it easily from ParkNShop, give your dish a fancy name, and people will take it for real. Mixed-berry sauce is not difficult to make either. It's not worth $100+, seriously. And the duck was tough too. But I love the pasta. Fried spaghetti? you'd think. I'd say it went into the oven for a while. So it was slightly more brittle than usual and had more bite. I quite liked it. Some herbs dumped on top. Might've been basil, not sure.

4. parmesan-crusted fish fillet with chips and salad (my 3rd recommendation)

Mighty yummy. It's exactly how you'd expect it to taste. Mmmm. No they didn't save on the cheese for sure! Not sure if it was really parmesan though. Could've been a cheaper kind of cheese. Dunno. But the fillet was better than I expected - flaky and white. The fries were unexpectedly delicious too - not the fat pale-yellow fries you get sometimes with your burger. These were slightly seasoned and very crisp! Salad on the side - dressing was quite tart. Which complemented the chips well. I had my leaves together with the fillet too

5. New York Cheesecake
Mmmm. This one was pretty with a mulberry perched on top. Usually it would be a blueberry. Best thing about this particular cheesecake is its smoothness. You rarely get a cheesecake as smooth as this - usually it's a bit lumpy, either lumpy, or it's too moist (like tofu cheesecakes). This one was smooth - you could run your fork down the middle, and the cross-section would come out quite clean, not rough. Interesting. Mmhmm. Kind of like a stiff mousse, just that it's much cheesier (hence much more satisfying )

6. Chocolate Lava cake (my 1st recommendation)

I was ambivalent as to which one is better - Le Bons or this? Hmm? I don't know. I must try them contemporaneously to give a fair verdict. But I can tell you that I enjoyed it hugely because it satisfied my sweet tooth without hitting my guilt button. Why? Coz it wasn't outrageously sweet. The chocolate they used - Valrhona probably? (coz i noticed they have Valrhona chocolate drink) Or they cut down on the sugar, which is a smart move, because people are so health-conscious nowdays and ladies are particularly conscious of their waistlines. a MUST TRY. The cakey layer: Crunchy base. Mmmm. And they put a slice of fig on top. Interesting combination - couldn't really taste the fig, quite dispensable, but...oh well.

Conclusion:
Will definitely be back again. For the cakes, mainly, and the atmosphere. I also want to try the specialty drinks. Good job, laobanliang.

p.s. Love the new OpenRice editing functions!