La Fondue

Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue

Arguably the most well-known cheese fondue specialty restaurant in Singapore is La Fondue. It is perhaps the 1st restaurant that comes to mind when we talk about cheese fondue in Singapore. Hence, it was quite surprising to find that we were the only customers during the entire lunch service. It just appeared like we had reserved the entire restaurant.

With a wide range of various cheese fondues, we went for the conservative option of the Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue – gruyere, emmentaler swiss cheese, garlic, white wine & kirshwasser, served with sausages, ham, seasonal vegetables and bread. If you are a cheese lover, you would definitely love this. Rich, cheesy, thick, decadent and viscous – we simply adore dipping the accompaniments into the warm bubbling cheese and seeing the strands of cheese twine around our food and forks. You could taste the exquisiteness of the cheese fondue. It wasn’t cheap mediocre cheese. But one of standard quality which was so comforting. Every mouth was full of cheesy goodness.

La Fondue
Dempsey Hill Green
25 Dempsey Road.

The Providore

Lobster Mac & Cheese

1st look at The Providore’s Lobster Mac & Cheese ($22.50) and we immediately knew that it would not be up to our expectations. There was just a serious lack of cheese in the dish. And true enough, The Providore’s version of the American comfort food was on the creamy side and seriously lacked a good punch of cheesiness. The sauce was also too liquid-like. It would have been better if the sauce was thicker and more viscous, with the cheese binding the macaroni pieces together. In this case, it seemed like the macaroni was just mixed into the cream sauce. Macaroni wise, it was cooked al-dente. The best part of the dish were the generous chunks of lobster – fresh, slightly sweet, with a chewy texture.

The Providore
#02-05, Mandarin Gallery
333A Orchard Road

Slappy Cakes

Fancy some Do-It-Yourself pancakes without the hassle of preparing the ingredients or dread the post-cooking cleaning chore? Head down to Slappy Cakes – a newly opened Oregon-originated pancake house, brought in by the folks at TungLok.

Slappy Cakes

Slappy Cakes goes by a DIY concept, where each table is fitted with a griddle and diners are allowed to cook their own pancakes. There are 5 different batter flavours, including buttermilk, peanut butter, zucchini, whole grain and chocolate. The batter is freshly made everyday and comes in a squeeze bottle ($8 per bottle), which makes around 5-8 pancakes, depending on the size of the pancakes. Besides the batter, you can also customize the pancakes from a range of “fixings” and “toppings”:

Fixings (ranged from $1.50 to $3):
Sweet – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, sea coconut, dried pineapple, banana, shredded coconut, toasted almonds, hazelnuts, pecan nuts and granola
Savoury – brie, blue cheese, pork sausage, cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, crispy bacon, honey ham and roasted mushrooms

Toppings (ranged from $1.50 to $3):
100% maple syrup, lavender honey, homemade chocolate hazelnut spread, coconut peanut butter, greek yoghurt, mango jam, pineapple jam, raspberry jam, lemon curd and whipped cream

Griddle + Peanut Butter Batter + Cheddar Cheese + Pork Sausage + Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

There are absolutely no limitations nor constraints to the combinations of batters, fixings and toppings. That’s the beauty of DIY – where you get to customize and create your very own pancake. For us, we chose a peanut butter batter with cheddar cheese, pork sausage and the homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. With the griddle warmed up, it was time for some DIY action.

Squeezing out the batter

The batter comes in a easy to squeeze plastic bottle, which allows both adults and kids to conveniently dispense the batter onto the griddle in whatever shape and size.

Pancakes in the Making

At the same time, you can also add in the fixings or toppings into the pancake during the cooking process. We added the cheddar cheese to allow it to melt into the pancake and also additional black pepper for seasoning. Once little bubbling holes start to appear in the pancake, flipping to the other side is a breeze as the griddle has a non-stick coating. Once both sides turned to a beautiful shade of golden brown, it is time to eat!

Pancakes!

Apart from the DIY fun, the pancakes turned out pretty decent too! The cooking process released a peanut butter fragrance into the air. We could also adequately control the texture and taste of our pancakes! Though the peanut butter aroma was quite evident, the taste was not that strong. But our pancakes did turn out soft, light and fluffy! No difference from any professional chef! We could probably do with a little more cheese for that extra goodness, but the addition of black pepper was a great choice as it enhanced the taste of the pancakes. The homemade chocolate hazelnut spread, after being left on the heat for a while, turned into a viscous, chocolately goodness.

Great concept and great food.

Slappy Cakes
#01-20/21, The Grandstand
200 Turf Club Road

SUR | Nuevo Latino Kitchen

Nuevo Latino is used to describe a new type of cuisine that blends ingredients from Latin America, Europe and the United States to create an exciting and original fusion. Sounds interesting, and off to SUR we went!

Arepitas – Rumbera and Reina Pepiada

For our mini Arepitas, we chose the Rumbera (Pork Loin and Gouda Cheese) and the Reina Pepiada (Avocado and Chicken Salad). The corn arepita wasn’t too dense, was still rather light in terms of texture. Though we suspect that the corn cake had been deep fried, it wasn’t too oily to turn us off. In fact, we enjoyed the slight crisp to it and the taste of corn was well-balanced. The avocado and chicken salad was cold and refreshing with the tender chicken chunks and the mushy avocado. The pork loin was very tender and the semi-melted gouda cheese tied the entire arepita together, providing that additional gooey goodness and cheesiness.

Torta de Maiz

The Torta de Maiz was a mushroom ragout, with twice-baked corn souffle and queso fresco. The corn souffle was very heavy in texture, it was more like a muffin and less of a souffle. The souffle exuded a subtle sweetness and fragrance. There was a generous serving of mushrooms! Earthly, savoury and well-seasoned – we enjoyed the mushroom ragout. The queso fresco, a traditional Mexican cheese, provided that extra kick in saltiness.

SUR|Nuevo Latino Kitchen
#01-01, 13 North Canal Road

Muchachos

Muchachos

New burritos joint Muchachos has opened at Keong Saik Street!

Starting from the extreme right of the counter, customers get to customize and build their burritos, staring from size, carbs, proteins, fats and finally salsa:

Sizes:
Burrito ($12) – Original San Franciscan silver bullet
Burritino ($9) – Beast Jr. for ladies

Carbs:
Rice – Texas long-grain tossed with cilantro and lime
Beans – Black turtle beans simmered with avocado leaves
Refried beans – Mashed pinto beans fried in bacon fat

Proteins:
Pollo Asado – Chicken thigh grilled over an open flame
Carne Asada – Skirt steak seared medium rare with a pink centre
Carnitas – Pork butt slow cooked in its own lard
Barbacoa – Lamb shoulder oven-braised until meltingly tender
Pescado – Whitefish fillet battered

Fats:
Sour cream – Whipped
Cheese – Freshly grated blend of mild cheddar and monterey jack
Guacamole – Made with real Californian Hass avocados

Salsas:
Pico de Gallo – Tomato, white onion, jalapeno chile
Salsa verde – Tomatillo, garlic, serrano chile
Salsa de Pina – Pineapple, red onion, habanero chile

Burrito in the making

Our Burritino consisted of “beans and refried beans”, “pollo asado”, “cheese” and “salsa de pina”. Before topping the salsa de pina, our burrito was steamed again in a customized steamer.

Burritino

Unwrapped Burritino

The Burrito looked like a bigger than usual Chinese popiah. It was generously jam-packed with the 5 different toppings. But probably the biggest downside of this burrito was the lack of seasoning and flavours. Based on the different textures of the mushy mashed pinto beans, the tender chicken cubes, the crunchy turtle beans and the slightly melted gooey cheese, we could differentiate the different toppings. However, the taste of each individual topping didn’t stand out, and was on the whole, rather bland. In fact, the only outstanding taste was that from the pineapples – the sour, tongue prickling tangy characteristic taste of pineapples. What was sorely lacking was a spicy kick with an overall savouriness.

Muchachos
22 Keong Saik Street

Mad for Garlic

First established in Korea, Mad for Garlic is a garlic-specialized Italian restaurant, aimed at infusing garlic into everyday Italian cuisine!

Tutto Mushroom Salad

Tutto Mushroom Salad ($14.90) – Garlic and rosemary marinated mushroom salad served in Teriyaki sauced with grilled red pepper, asparagus and arugula. We adore the mushroom salad – savoury earthy fresh tender mushrooms with sweet caramelized onions soaked in a subtly savoury Teriyaki sauce.

Gorgonzola Pizza

Gorgonzola Pizza ($21.40) – Unique and popular pizza with Italian gorgonzola cheese served with honey dipping sauce. This is a very unique, hit-or-miss kind of pizza. The gorgonzola chunks, with the signature blue veins, exuded the salty cheesy characteristics of blue cheese. On its own, the thin crust pizza was packed with strong savoury flavours. The addition of the sweet and viscous honey dip cut through the pungent flavours of the blue cheese. This pizza could go 2 ways, as while there are those who enjoy this unique combination of a sweet salty pizza, there are also definitely those who find it rather queer. But do give it a go, with an open heart, and you might find this combination rather surprising.

Gorgonzola Cream Pasta

Gorgonzola Cream Pasta ($24.60) – Creamy potato gorgonzola cheese pasta served with scallop and grilled king oyster mushroom. We kind of felt that a more appropriate pasta for this gorgonzola cream could be something along the lines of gnocchi, penne or farfelle – a smaller, bite-sized pasta which could better absorbed the white sauce. The sauce wasn’t all that cheesy, more of a creamy and salty sauce, thickened with potatoes. The addition of fish roe provided that extra salty burst. Both scallops and oyster mushrooms were fresh, with a chewy bite.

Garlic Sizzling Rice

Garlic Sizzling Rice ($21.40) – Garlic fried rice with garlic pickles, bacon and fish roe. The fish roe has shone in the garlic rice as well! The fish roe acted as miniature pockets of flavour and texture, bring a surprise kick to every mouthful of rice. The fried rice wasn’t overwhelming with garlic taste, though minced garlic can be easily spotted in every spoonful. It was slightly spicy and very fragrant. The bottom charred portions of the rice added that slight crunch.

Mad for Garlic
Block 3B, River Valley Road
#01-16, The Foundry
Clarke Quay

Necessary Provisions

Necessary Provisions

Hidden in an extremely obscure location along Eng Kong Terrace is Necessary Provisions. The place wasn’t easy to find, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the Toh Yi region. This setting of Necessary Provisions within a row of ship houses, nestled in a private housing estate, resembled the exact same setting of Wimbly Lu.

Summer Pasta

The Summer Pasta ($14) is a concoction of home-made pasta with sundried tomatoes, baby spinach and cheese. The home-made pasta was fresh and cooked al-dente. Taste wise, the pasta was rather non-uniformly seasoned, with some portions tasting very salty, while other parts were bland. The saltiness was pretty one-dimensional, seemingly coming only from the salt. The cheese taste was indiscernible.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

The Flourless Chocolate Cake ($4) was pretty average. Texture was dense, but more brownie than cake like. The chocolately taste was a tinge shy of impressing us.

For us to travel miles and tracking the place using GPS, Necessary Provisions has failed to convince us that the trip was worthwhile.

Necessary Provisions
21 Eng Kong Terrace

Pasar Bella – A Farmers’ Market

Pasar Bella

After months of anticipation, Pasar Bella has finally opened at The Grandstand! Spanning a total indoor area of around 30000 square feet, with more than 30 permanent and weekend traders, Pasar Bella is Singapore’s answer to the concept of farmers’ market found commonly in Europe and USA.

The most important to remember before heading to Pasar Bella is to go with an empty stomach, as 90% of the stalls sells food, drinks or fresh produce.

Le Patio

Le Patio

Nutella Crepe

We were enticed by the enormous tube of Nutella on the counters of Le Patio and promptly ordered the Nutella Crepe ($3.50). We were slightly disappointed with the crepe. The crepe itself was bland and seemingly just a doughy mixture. The Nutella wasn’t sufficient enough to satisfy us. On the whole, the Nutella crepe was pretty amateurish and underwhelming.

Nibbles by Rabbit Carrot Gun

Scone

Our next stop was Nibbles by Rabbit Carrot Gun. Touted to be the stall that sells authentic British snacks, Nibbles sells quiches, pies, cakes and most importantly, scones! Priced at $4.50 each, the scone was pretty expensive. Unfortunately, the standard didn’t match up to the price. The scone was tasteless, floury and lacking in aroma. The inner core was clumpy and a little damp – making the scone pretty heavy and hard to swallow.

Huber’s Deli

Huber’s Deli

Chicken Cheese

Perhaps one of the more popular stalls was Huber’s Deli, evident from the number of people carrying the Huber’s Deli takeaway boxes. Coupled with the fact that Huber Deli’s hotdogs were grilled on the spot, it is no wonder many visitors were enthralled by the aroma and looks of the hotdogs. We ordered the Chicken Cheese ($7.80), with pickles, gruyere cheese, parsley, spices and sauce. The cheese was slightly charred; though the cheese wasn’t particularly salty or strong in flavours, the spices atop the cheese did add some extra flavour to it. We felt that the cheese could have been a little more melted, which would then provide this extra gooeyness. There was also cheese inside the hotdog, which was like the extra burst of surprise. The hotdog was, as usual, of high standards from Huber’s Deli. Authentically meaty and juicy! In addition, the bread had been toasted and hence exuded a fragrance crisp. Thankfully, Huber’s Deli didn’t disappoint!

Dutch Colony Coffee Co.

Seasalt Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

Our final conquer of the day was the Seasalt Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake ($5.50) from Frootkeyk, which is sold at the Dutch Colony Coffee Co. We especially enjoyed the peanut butter as it provided that salty, nutty fragrance to the cake. The peanut butter also increased the moistness of the cake. The combination of peanut butter and chocolate can never go wrong.

Pasar Bella
200 Turf Club Road
Bukit Timah

Trattoria SolePomodoro

A trip to Quayside Isle saw us trying out Trattoria SolePomodoro’s traditional wood-fired pizza.

SPECIALE

SPECIALE ($25.50) – Tomato sauce, mozzarella, prawns, ham, gorgonzola cheese. The 12-inch pizza arrived at our table, looking pretty appetizing with its charred edges and plentiful chunks of gorgonzola cheese. Unfortunately, the taste wasn’t comparable to the looks. The pizza was generally quite bland and tasteless. The tangy tomato taste was barely evident and the gorgonzola cheese was a tasteless chewy chunk. The small cubes of prawns were miserably scattered across the pizza. Though the crust was very thin, the lackluster toppings and the lack of strong flavours was a major turn-off.

SolePomodoro
#01-14 Quayside Isle
Sentosa Cove

Park

A new steel and glass structure has popped out near the Holland Village MRT station. And this structure, equipped with solar panels, houses a new Western alfresco cafe – Park.

Truffle Mac n Cheese

The Truffle Mac and Cheese was pretty impressive. The cheesy sauce was rich and was generously coating every piece of macaroni. It wasn’t artificially salted, it was just hard core cheesiness. The macaroni was cooked al dente and had thoroughly absorbed the flavours of the cheese. However, we couldn’t tell the presence of truffles. But regardless of that, this Mac and Cheese was still a decent rendition of the American classic.

Park
#01-01, 281 Holland Avenue

Al Borgo

Al Borgo is a quaint Italian restaurant situated along the lower end of Bukit Timah Road. We have always been impressed with Al Borgo’s unique cakes, but sadly their cake offerings this time round were unimpressive and we had to settle for a no desserts meal instead.

Melanzane alla Parmigiana

Though there wasn’t any desserts attracting us, Al Borgo does serve decent renditions of classic Italian dishes. The Melanzane alla Parmigiana ($16.50) had a sufficiently thick and rich tomato sauce. There wasn’t a whole lot of cheese, but thankfully Al Borgo provided us with additional freshly shaved cheese. The eggplants had also adequately soaked up the tomato sauces and on the whole, this was a flavourful dish.

Orecchiette con Formaggi e Salsiccia

The Orecchiette con Formaggi e Salsiccia was recommended by the staff to be the most cheesy dish in Al Borgo. The mix cheese sauce was creamy and flavourful, not too overwhelmingly salty and rich such that it made us sick. The orecchiette was cooked al dente, retaining a bit of bite. The homemade sausage was quite fresh, didn’t taste like processed meat. On the whole, this was a simple yet comforting dish.

Al Borgo
#01-02, Alocassia Service Apartments
383 Bukit Timah Road

Eighteen Chefs

Eighteen Chefs

Walking past Eighteen Chefs, we were attracted by the huge wallpaper of the Double Cheese Baked Rice. The advertisement was certainly effective as almost every table had ordered a cheese baked pasta/rice.

Double Cheese Baked Pasta, in red and white sauce, with mushrooms

Our Double Cheese Baked Pasta, in red and white sauce, with mushrooms didn’t look all that attractive and appetizing compared to the advertisement. It looked pretty amateurish, perhaps almost reflective of the affordable price we were paying. The Double Cheese Baked Pasta was supposed to consist of a dual layer of nacho cheese and mozzarella cheese, but we couldn’t tell any difference. The cheese topping was just a thin, soft and mushy mash of cheese. There wasn’t any charred fragrance or crisp on the top layer. Beneath the thin and almost non-existent dual layer cheese was spaghetti in a rather soupy red and white sauce. We were expecting and hoping for penne like pasta fused together by thick, viscous and rich cheesy sauce. Instead, the long spaghetti strands were swimming around in a soupy and milky sauce. The mushrooms were common button mushrooms.

Having tried baked pasta/rice from many eateries, this Double Cheese Baked Pasta from Eighteen Chefs has got to rank right at the bottom of our list.

Eighteen Chefs
#02-K1/K6, Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road

Mellben Seafood

Mellben Seafood

Talk about crabs and one of the 1st few places that come to mind has got to be Mellben Seafood. Even on a random weekday evening, Mellben Seafood was packed to the brim.

Claypot Crab Beehoon

Mellben Seafood’s signature Claypot Crab Beehoon was a soup based thick beehoon. The soup was rather creamy and milky. To top it off, it was very overwhelmingly rich in the taste of crab. You could literally just taste the sea in this soup. For those who can’t take the slightest fishy taste, this is definitely not the crab to go for. Noodles aside, the crab was fresh and succulent. In fact, the crab itself wasn’t even as fishy as the soup.

Salted Egg Yolk and Cheese Crab

The Salted Egg Yolk and Cheese Crab was more flavourful and savoury. There wasn’t much of a cheese flavour, more of the saltiness from the salted egg. We enjoyed licking the sauce off the crab pieces. On the down side, this version of crab meat was rather dry and not as juicy as the claypot crab.

Cereal Prawns

The Cereal Prawns weren’t too impressive. They were rather bland and not fragrant enough. It seems like the prawns weren’t thoroughly and adequately fried and infused with the cereal bits. The prawns were huge, but the meat tended towards the drier and less succulent side.

Claypot Tofu

Claypot Tofu has got to be one of the more popular dishes for patrons of tze char stalls. Mellben Seafood’s version was pretty decent, with a slight tinge of spiciness. In fact, the prawns in the Claypot Tofu seems crunchier and juicier than the Cereal Prawns.

Mellben Seafood
#01-11 to #01-15, Blk 211
Toa Payoh Lorong 8

Communal : Diner.Bar.New American Restaurant

Communal

Communal

Touted to offer the best authentic American cuisine, Communal is the new American diner, bar and restaurant situated within walking distance to Boat Quay. The restaurant is pretty small, where most of the seats are along the bar. Communal adopts the open kitchen concept, but while you can enjoy watching the live preparation of your food orders, do be prepared leaving the place smelling exactly like your dinner.

Cornbread with Honey Butter

Complimentary from the chef, we got to enjoy a small tasting portion of the Cornbread with Honey Butter. The exterior of the cornbread had a slightly harder crunch, while the inside was dense and chewy. There was a mild corn fragrance and taste, but not overpowering. The cornbread was a tad too oily, which was its biggest downside. The honey butter was rather bland though, and while paired with the cornbread, the taste of corn stood out more.

B&G – Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

B&G Biscuits and Sausage Gravy ($6) – Biscuits to Americans are like scones to the English. Communal’s biscuits were rather heavy, dense and sticky. The sausage gravy exuded a strong spices and herbs taste and fragrance, adding dimensions to the monotonously salty biscuits. The chunks of minced meat provided the extra bite and texture. B&G – America’s savoury answer to the English scones and jam.

Lobster Mac and Cheese Gratin

The Lobster Mac and Cheese Gratin ($20) consisted of macaroni with parmesan, mascarpone and white cheddar cheese, and topped with toasted bread crumbs. The Lobster Mac and Cheese Gratin was a slight disappointment for us as we were expecting a baked mac n cheese, with a semi-melted charred cheese layer and thick cheesy sauce. What welcomed us were segregated pieces of macaroni, mixed with toasted bread crumbs. The macaroni pieces weren’t tied together with a thick cheesy sauce. The cheese taste and aroma were pretty mild. Somehow, the main lead seemed to be the toasted bread crumbs. The lobster pieces were rather soft and mushy, didn’t carry the crunchiness that was expected of fresh seafood. There was also a queer lingering seafood taste in the sauce. On the whole, we were rather let down by the Lobster Mac and Cheese Gratin.

Communal
#01-01, 12 North Canal Road

The Lawn Grill and Salad Cafe – Meat your Greens!

Riding on the notion of healthier eating habits, salad cafes and bars have been popping out all over Singapore, particularly in the region with the highest density of office workers – with the aim of targeting the busy lunch crowd where office workers are more than happy to grab a simple quick lunch, not to mention a healthier and less palate-heavy alternative.

The Lawn

Nestled in the research town of Singapore aka Biopolis, is 15-months-old The Lawn. The Lawn prides itself on its unique and home-made from scratch using fresh ingredients dressings. In addition, to cater to the meat lovers while still advocating a green diet, The Lawn combines their fresh mesclun with tantalizing premium grills!

The Lawn

The Lawn currently offers only 1 serving size at $9.90, consisting of the basic mesclun salad (Romaine lettuce, arugula, cabbage and spinach), 5 toppings, 1 grill item and salad dressing of your choice.

Toppings

The selection of 20+ toppings included nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, crushed peanuts), cheese (parmesan and cheddar), raisins, corns, olives, fusilli pasta and other vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, celery and alfafa sprouts. Once you have made your 5 choices, you move on to the grill!

The Grill!

At the grill, you can choose your protein selection – prawns, chicken, fish, duck, beef or mushrooms, marinated in different ways. And finally, you get to decide on your salad dressing!

Salad Dressings (left to right, from top left corner: wasahonie, beachy peachy, manly mango, red island, me so spicy, citrus, maple peanut, honey ball and sesame ginger)

9 different salad dressings! All concocted from scratch using fresh ingredients! Unique flavours for everyone! And finally, we have our customized salad bowl!

Customized Salad Bowl!

Our 5 toppings consisted of almonds, cashews, cheddar, raisins and croutons. The nuts and croutons provided the extra crunch and fragrance. The raisins were pockets of sweetness and the cheddar cheese added that lingering savouriness to the salad. As this was an invited food review, we had the opportunity to try all 9 different sauces.

Our top favourites were the me so spicy, wasahonie, maple peanut, honey ball and citrus. Our number one choice was the me so spicy. The dressing won us over with its spicy and sour tom-yum like flavour. It was also comparatively more viscous than the rest of the dressings. Thick, rich and savoury – it added considerable flavours to the otherwise bland mesclun. The wasahonie was a fusion between wasabi, honey and a tinge of mayo. The honey brought down the pungent spiciness from the wasabi, making it more acceptable to the palate. We enjoyed that little swing between sweetness and the characteristic spicy kick from wasabi. The maple peanut and honey ball were suitable for those with the sweet tooth. The maple peanut, in particular, exuded the fragrance and saltiness evident of peanut butter – a definite hit for nut lovers. On the other hand, the citrus was a lighter and more refreshing dressing, with a sour and mouth watering flavour.

Typically, each salad bowl came with 1 grill serving. But we had the lucky opportunity to try 5 of their grill offerings!

MOJO Chicken

Portobello Mushroom

Grilled Chicken breast with Maple infusion

Char-grilled Garlic Prawns

Butter Seared Pacific Dory with Parsley Rub

*Note: As this was an invited food review, the portions of the grilled items may differ slightly from typical orders.

The MOJO Chicken was marinated with Italian herbs and cumin powder, exuding a faint herb fragrance. The chicken meat was tender and succulent, nicely grilled. The Grilled Chicken breast with Maple infusion was slightly sweeter. Both grilled chicken items weren’t overly impressive, but were still decently prepared to satisfaction.

The Char-grilled Garlic Prawns was the one that won us over! The prawns were fresh, juicy, crunchy and very thoroughly seasoned. It was the most flavourful and savoury grilled item that we tried. The strong tasting prawns were simply addictive.

The Butter Seared Pacific Dory with Parsley Rub was very fresh and flaky. The grilling created the slightly charred and crispy outer crust on the fish, which was a good contrast to the inner soft and flaky fillet. Nicely rubbed with black pepper and parsley, this fillet was also another of our favourites.

Finally, the non-meat grilled item was the Portobello Mushrooms. The juicy mushrooms were stuffed with minced garlic, which kinda covered up the earthly taste of the mushrooms. This would definitely hit a sweet spot with garlic lovers as the taste of garlic was quite overwhelmingly rich.

Cream of Mushroom

Besides salads, The Lawn offers soups as well. And the Friday soup of the day was the Cream of Mushroom. The Cream of Mushroom was very rich, thick and had a grainy texture that we enjoyed. It was a slight downside as we felt that the milky taste was a tad too much. But it was still a decent Cream of Mushroom – fresh and not from the can!

On the whole, we were quite impressed with The Lawn’s offerings, in particular the freshly made dressings and the grilled items. The serving size was also very value for money. Who says salads are only for herbivores? The Lawn’s unique pairing of grill and salad is just the right thing for the carnivore in you.

*Note this is an invited food review.

The Lawn Grill and Salad Cafe
#01-07, Nanos
31 Biopolis Way