Sorry for the slow updates. School has started for both of us and we are starting to feel the heat of this rat race. Tutorials, readings, essays and projects, it’s a one-way spiral staircase up.
Anyway, we still want (and love) to eat despite all that madness going on, so we managed to squeeze in a few updates today! This post will be on House, Barracks and Camp, which we visited 3 days ago for our 9th month celebration. Yes, another excuse to eat.
Located at the atas Dempsey area, we drove there on a weekday night and there wasn’t much of a crowd. Barely any cars in the car-park located near Dempsey 6&7, there were plenty of lots to choose from. Similarly, we needn’t wait long for our seat at the restaurant, which was good since we were starving.
The service was rather prompt and this Filipino waitress serving us was helpful, and I reckon she had worked in Singapore for a couple of years as she managed to hold a relatively long conversation with us. When we asked about the “Vintage Tea Party high tea buffet”, she was rather helpful and could tell us what was served. We also asked for recommendations and she rattled off immediately. Thumbs up for that!
An array of cake choices was also on display in the middle of the restaurant, and not in the typical refrigerated glass display at the counter in most other cafes. Meaning, these cakes aren’t served cold! That kind of piqued my interest so we ordered cakes as well for dessert.
In all, we had a Wild Truffles Mushroom Skinny pizza, squid ink paella, truffle fries, flourless chocolate cake and strawberry shortcake. Food took about 10 minutes to arrive, and we soaked in the ambience as we waited. The décor reminded me of the one in The Plain, typical Melbourne style with lightbulbs hanging off wires draped across the ceiling. Nestled among lush greenery, the ambience was absolutely laidback and chilled out.
Wild Truffles Mushroom pizza ($25): this was a total gastronomical delight. We love our mushrooms, and especially if they came with cheese. What could go wrong with good old parmesan cheese sprinkled atop roasted mushrooms and eaten with thin, crispy pizza crust made moutheringly fragrant with garlic and truffle oil? This is a pizza that I could eat on and on and not feel guilty, or at least since it was not the usual thick flour dough some pizzerias serve.
Squid Ink Paella ($29): We jumped on this since there was a “red heart” signifying a "chef’s recommendation" beside it on the menu, and our helpful waitstaff recommended this dish when we asked. Since we love our squid ink, we ordered it without second thoughts. It was honestly, our first time eating paella so we are not sure what to compare this against, but one thing for sure was, the seafood was extremely fresh. Crunchy and brimming with flavor in every bite, we enjoyed the squid and prawns tossed into this hearty dish.
Truffle fries ($11): this was a really addictive side that we had. When it was just served and piping hot, the flavor just wasn’t strong enough. Maybe it was just the heat these fries were still encased in, but they just tasted like normal Macdees with an extra tinge of flavor, that’s all. But when cooled, the flavor seemed to jump out at us, and we were so hooked we busily fed ourselves one stick after another of this.
Desserts: I don’t know about you, but we love our cakes served cold. Desserts are meant to be cold right? All those cakes, pastries, ice kachang and chendol, they are served icy cold, supposedly to douse the flames of a hearty meal. When I saw the cakes displayed out in the middle of the walkway, I was rather surprised. A look at the menu, and we realized the strawberry shortcake ($9.50) is even served warm.
When it arrived, it came with vanilla bean cream to be poured over it. It gave me that little cheap thrill of “designing” my own cake. The topmost layer had a sugar coating that provided a little crunch, but what was disappointing, to me at least, was the strong taste of strawberry jam. That typical strawberry jam taste that is not exceedingly sweet but rather muted. It reminded me of some old-school bread with jam breakfast. The strawberries were kind of sour too, but of course to no fault of the baker.
I preferred the flourless chocolate cake ($9.50) though. It was like a mini giant: small slice, but really tall. The layer of chocolate was visibly thick, enveloping the two layers of sponge cake in between. This was a delight to look at and I could imagine how luxurious it tasted without even tucking in.
Flourless means… I don’t know what’s the difference exactly, but although the chocolate was good, it was kind of heavy on the palate and we left a small bit of it untouched.
Flourless means… I don’t know what’s the difference exactly, but although the chocolate was good, it was kind of heavy on the palate and we left a small bit of it untouched.
Total bill came up to about $99, the most expensive one Paul and I had thus far. We love the ambience, the service of the lady serving us, and the availability of parking lots, but we might not come back for dinner again. I could get skinny pizza from Raffles City too, but I must say that the brunch menu looks promising.
If we would make a revisit, it would be for a lazy Sunday brunch with pretty teacups, scones and blueberry jam. Oh the joy.
If we would make a revisit, it would be for a lazy Sunday brunch with pretty teacups, scones and blueberry jam. Oh the joy.
Total bill was $99 (incl. GST & Scv Charge)]
In conclusion,
Food: B
Service: B+
Ambience: A
Value-for-$: B-
Overall grade: B+
Apples given:
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