Oriole Café & Bar
Pan Pacific Serviced Suites
96 Somerset Road #01-01
Tel: 6238 8348
Website: http://www.oriole.com.sg/
It's always nice to hang out with the p.schoolers. Whilst it may not be often, we always find new things to talk about and pick up from where we last left off. Meet ups almost always involve food; whether it's a cookout or barbeque at someone's place or sussing out a new place in town. We found ourselves at a relatively quieter outfit in the Orchard Road area last weekend for a belated birthday get-together.
Oriole, alongside with Bedrock Bar & Grill is Whitebait & Kale's newest venture. The whole vibe of the place is rather casual and is excellent for an afternoon chat session with the girls.
Oriole has a rather extensive salad and sandwich menu which makes it a good place for light meals. The sandwiches are served on its own without any sides. I liked Wen's Cubano sandwich as I really found the combination of pickles, ham, bacon & cheese rather enticing. My only gripe was that the bread was slightly soggy. The quesadillas were not too bad with all the generous amount of gooey cheese but I felt that it needed a bit more flavour; a bit more punch if you know what I mean. The Mushroooms on Toast was unimpressive as the bread was too thick and too dry.
While Oriole doesn't exactly impress with its food, it excels in the beverage department. Oriole is home to Singapore's Number 1 and 3 baristas so one would expect a good cup of coffee there. To be honest, I'm no coffee expert but the coffee was to my liking; aromatic and not too acidic. It was also pretty, to boot.
I did learn something interesting from Liz who had taken a barista course previously. Apparently, you could tell the skill of a barista from the foam of the coffee. If the teaspoon rests on top of the foam without sinking immediately, it's good foam. No points for guessing that the foam at Oriole passed the test with flying colours. We even made sure by trying it on a 2nd cup of coffee. I guess the Number 1 barista in town, John Ting does live up to his name.
Prices are reasonable and I would be returning for the coffee and the laid back ambience. Oriole could be on to something with its boast of excellent coffee. If only they could do better with their food.
Basilico
The Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Road
Tel: 6725 3232
Email: basilico.rsn@fourseasons.com
I love having long lunches. There's just something about the sunlight and the whole casual feel that puts me in the mood to have a nice leisurely meal. Thus, when it came down to choosing a place for my birthday meal, I decided to put a 'check' next to the place I've wanted to try since reading about it weeks back.
Basilico runs an Italian lunch buffet on Sundays with a free flow Mumm champagne ($99) or Billecart Salmon Rose option ($175). If you're not an alcohol lover like me, go for the alcohol-free option ($49). This is one of the buffets in town with the best value in my opinion as I find a lot of a buffets ridiculously priced for the quality of food served these days. Most buffets try to throw a whole lot of food out but let's face it, how many of us actually get round to tasting everything? So while I'd say that it's not a whole lot of variety one gets at Basilico, I find that it's more than adequate and I guess that partially explains why prices can be kept at a reasonable level.
At the antipasti table centred in the restaurant, you'd find a good variety of Italian meats, carpaccios, olives, salads such as Caprese and fresh seafood. I especially loved the freshly sliced prosciutto with rock melon, mortadella and salami. There is also a good selection of breads and crisps. Having said that, there was a tomato dip which tasted great when spread over some ciabatta. I have to learn to make that!
The mains section had fresh pizzas made on the spot. There was also a pasta station where you could customise your own pasta dish. The meat and seafood section had a good selection of roasts and grills. I thought the grilled lamb and beef medallions were cooked really well and were simply delicious. The roast wagyu beef was nice but paled in comparison to the grilled meats in terms of flavour. Hearty Italian fare such as Eggplant Parmigiana, Spinach Cannelloni were also available but I didn't spend too much time with them since I thought they were too filling.
There's also a cheese room located at another part of the restaurant where you can find foie gras terraine, pan fried foie gras, freshly shaved black truffles and of course, a good selection of cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Taleggio. The foie gras was rich and fantastic with a bit of herb salt sprinkled over the top. This was probably my favourite section at the buffet!
The desserts table had a variety of familiar Italian favourites such as Tiramisu and gelatos. There was even Hot Chocolate which was a treat to have out of a little chocolate mug. I personally loved the Ameretti cake and the Bread & Butter Pudding.
In addition to the items available at the buffet table, there were some items that were served to our table. There was a Foccacia stuffed with mascarpone, Parma ham and rocket leaves which I thought was delicious, a squid ink pasta with prawns and Cannoli rolls filled with ricotta, dried fruit and chocolate chips. There was also a dish which resembled risotto topped with truffle oil but I didn't find it memorable.
I personally thought that service was impeccable. The service staff were really prompt in topping up the champagne and clearing the plates. They even went to the extent to remind us about the cheese room and even suggested we have black truffles shaved over our pasta. In fact, I saw one of the chefs shave a generous amount of black truffles over a plate of mushroom ravioli at the table next to ours.
Although the food isn't all of the finest quality, I'd highly recommend Basilico for it's good value and decent food if one's out looking for an Italian buffet. This is definitely one place that should be added to your Sunday lunch list.
Yet another year has come and gone.
It's scary how time flies.
Today, I turn a year older and hopefully a year wiser.
Thanks for all your well wishes.
I'm thankful that you guys are a part of my life.
2 weeks on and this is how my project is turning out so far.
The only thing growing well now is basil and that's dill growing out at the back so I'm rather happy. I am wondering where the parsley and fennel went though.
