a review. Delight 'n' Delicious.

Delight 'n' Delicious
Blk 26 Jalan Membina
#01-10, 29 Food Center
Tel: 65 6238 0382
Website: http://www.delightndelicious.com.sg/index.htm
Opening Hours: 12pm - 9.45pm (last order) daily























Pei had talked about a western food stall set up in a coffee shop just below her block for months. She had told me about how she really liked the food and hoped that I would do a review of it. So last weekend, along with 9 other dining buddies, I finally paid a visit to the humble food stall and met with Moon & Fion, friendly owners of Delight 'n' Delicious.

Moon, with 15 years of industry experience helms the kitchen with 2 other chef helpers in tow. Along with his wife Fion, he striked out on his own after kitchen stints at Senso Ristorante & Bar and the now defunct, Bice Bistro. Delight serves a good variety of dishes for a small outfit like theirs and we got to sample quite a number of them. The first order of the day was Soup.












Left: Clam Chowder
Right: Beef Consomme

To be honest, things did not look too good in the beginning. The Clam Chowder was quite a letdown. The soup was too runny to be called 'chowder' and it had a really milky taste. Pei mentioned that she's tasted a thicker and far more superior version before. I guess it was just my luck that day.

Things then started to look up. While the Clam Chowder failed to impress, the Beef Consomme, the special of the day was a favourite with the group. It was tasty and hearty; just what we needed as it was pouring earlier in the day. I think they should put it on the regular menu!

What were to follow was in my opinion Delight's forte; the pastas.






















Top left: Prosciutto de Parma; tomato-cream base with parma ham, mushrooms & fresh tomatoes
Top right: Seafood Bianco; seafood combination with white wine
Bottom left: Seafood Combo; tomato-based seafood combination
Bottom right: Creamy Mix; creamy base with bacon, mushrooms & onions

Everyone at the table had their own personal favourites.

Some loved the Seafood Combo as the tomato sauce was fresh and of the right tartness. LS gave it a two thumbs up even though she's never liked tomato-based sauces. Some particularly loved the Creamy Mix just because the sauce was tasty, creamy and addictive. The Seafood Bianco was really light tasting and had the fragrance of the white wine when the dish arrived at the table. I personally felt the alcohol should have been left to evaporate a little while longer as the alcohol taste was very apparent. My personal favourite was the pasta that was supposed to come with Parma ham. Due to some problems with the supplier, the ham had to be substituted with bacon. I didn't feel any loss with the substitution and liked the fresh tomatoes. I did feel that there could have been a larger proportion of tomato sauce mixed into the cream as the taste was not very apparent. In general, the pastas were cooked pretty well although they could have been a little bit more al dente and less heavy handed with the creamy sauces. Servings are generous so I personally feel that prices ranging from $5.50 for the classic Bolognaise and $8.90 for the seafood pastas are very reasonable.

The mains that followed were a bit of a hit and miss. The Paprika Chicken was grilled really nicely and had a smoky flavour which made it seem like it was cooked over charcoal although it wasn't after a quick check with Moon.










































The Full Moon Beef Cheese Burger, one of Delight's house specialities was rather delicious. Although the burger bun and condiments were ordinary and nothing to shout about, the success of the dish was in the thick beef patties. The minced beef patties were well marinated unlike some gourmet burger patties which I've tasted recently.




























My personal favourite out of all the mains served that evening was the good ol' Fish & Chips. The fish was fried to perfection. The batter was crispy and of the right thickness. The fish was not overcooked and you could even taste the freshness of the fish. It was definitely one of the better Breaded Fish & Chips that I've had in a long while.













Left: Grilled Salmon
Right: Char-Grilled Rib Eye

Whilst most of the mains impressed, we were pretty disappointed with the Grilled Salmon and the Char-Grilled Rib Eye. I did not have a problem with the cooking of the salmon. My only gripe was that it was rather bland. There was not really any sweetness in the flesh of the salmon and the dish was sorely lacking in salt. The beef from New Zealand was tender but severely undercooked although I have to add that it was probably difficult to gauge the doneness of the beef considering it was a thin cut. I had a bigger problem with sauce. The sauce needed quite a bit of spicing up as the black pepper was almost unnoticeable. I did however, like that there were potatoes chunks deliberately left in the otherwise, smooth potato mash that came with both dishes.

We were stuffed by the time it got to desserts. Of the 3 desserts we had, the most note worthy was the Tiramisu. There was a good balance of the mascarpone cheese, the coffee and the sponge fingers. What could help it further is to increase the liquor that is usual with tiramisus. Of course, the prices will then need to go up so I'm not complaining for the lack of it here.






















I thought that the Chocolate Bread Pudding needed some cinnamon to lift things up a little; give it a bit more depth. Somehow, it just felt like something was missing without it. I liked the Brownie better as it was paired well with the chocolate chip ice cream. However, I did think that it could have done better if the texture was little denser and served a tad warmer.












Left: Chocolate Bread Pudding
Right: Brownie with Ice Cream

Delight 'n' Delicious does not score in every aspect but they definitely try to be different in their dish offerings as compared to your regular Western food stall. The variety is commendable as they try to set themselves apart and a bar higher than their competitors.

Thanks to Moon & Fion for their kind hospitality that evening. Thanks also to Moon's crew for working so hard in the kitchen to feed 10 hungry people.

We had fun.