Restaurant Review: Five & Dime Eatery at 297 River Valley Rd, Singapore

Things that appear on my blog are usually good eats; recommendations that I must share. If it is mediocre, I don't bother. If its bad, unless really bad in which it gets a thumbs down from me, I don't bother either. That's why you see mostly thumbs up on my posts.

Photo by my colleague [Source]

However, there's this new eatery in town that has taken everyone by storm with its decor, its new age marketing (even their website is unconventional, there's no menu there). So one day after work, on a whim, my colleague suggested we go have dinner someplace I've been meaning to check out. So Five & Dime Eatery came to mind, since it is also relatively accessible (by cab) at River Valley Road.

At about 9pm, it is still relatively full with diners. Last orders at 9.30pm so we just made it!

Quite liked their decor - rather old school, vintage (seems like everyone is going down that route nowadays). The floor tiling is very cute, and those mint legged chairs!

So anyway, here's the Five & Dime menu, which cannot be found on the website. I guess the cuisine is like fusion western with some japanese influence.

They also have fancy cutlery which is very long and thin and heavy in the hand. Quite nice.

We were starving so we made our orders quickly. The food came swiftly too but for some reason the water we asked for never appeared until almost the end of our meal when we had to remind the waitresses.

My mentaiko pasta ($22) was slightly creamy and pink with roe (?). It's slightly grainy, briney, yet also a tad sweet. I don't find however after the initial taste, that there is much of any depth to the dish. The pasta was also not as al dente as I would have liked. The 2 chicken yakitori that came with it was also very interesting - it was so soft and juicy that it felt as if it wasn't cooked on the inside! I thought it was quite strange, and did not like it, but my colleague prefers it to his beef.

This was the gyu pasta ($22) my colleague ordered. Unfortunately it wasn't very good.  The japanese yakiniku sauce was thin and salty but did not give anything else to the pasta. The beef was juicy and soft but there is no marinate to it so it did not taste of anything.

The saving grace of dinner came in the form of their smoked duck salad ($12). The duck meat was very enjoyable, and the sesame dressing too! It was too petite though, for the price!

They look good, sure, but taste.. normal.

Lastly we ordered the very interesting You Tiao Churros ($8) for dessert. Only because it says You Tiao. The salty fried dough sticks were warmed up, a bit too charred actually, but it went well with the strawberry ice cream. The chocolate sauce was however very dubious because it was SOUR! I can't figure out why, perhaps a low quality chocolate was used? It wasn't nice at all.

Sadly this place did almost all the right things except not pay attention to the food as well as the pricing. For a place called Five & Dime, you would think the food would be priced more reasonably. I sure hope the owners will either up the food quality or reduce the prices first because I am sure I won't be back for a visit soon and many others will also be doing the same.

I was tempted to give this a thumbs down, but because I enjoy the decor very much and heard they serve a mean cocktail, that I am putting a neutral rating. Don't go there with expectations of great food - be prepared to be ripped off for mediocre grub served in pretty packaging instead.




Five & Dime Eatery
297 River Valley Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 92365002
Mon–Fri: 12pm – 12am, Sat: 10am – 12am, Sun: 10am – 10pm (Closed on Tue)

Food Review: Everything With Fries at Holland Village

Once in a while, when you chance upon something so unexpected that it feels like lucky find, or a unbelievable stroke of goodness, you might feel so bewildered that you think it is just a fluke.

This is what happened with me at Everything With Fries at Holland Village. It was just a regular weekend and me and my friends were considering where to have dinner at when I suggested EwF because I tried their burgers over at their Orchard Central branch and it was pretty good the first time round (not so good the 2nd time). I also recall they have shoestring fries in plenty of flavours and nutella tart, which are both very good.

So we went! I should have taken a photo of the menu because now I am not too sure of their prices, and their website did not mention! Different from the fast food burgers they serve at OC, in the HV branch they have Western mains. Prices were okay though, and I really liked the decor of the white based restaurant, though it was super noisy and crowded on a Saturday evening during dinner time. Avoid that time if you can.

We were starving and ordered food quickly, though some items were out (wanted to try their chargrilled char siew!) All mains are served with a side of fries and caesar salad, which makes this whole thing super value for money. I believe this is about $12-$14. My friend had a lamb burger and picked the curry fries. The lamb burger was like in their Orchard Central branch, it had a fried bun and the lamb patty was juicy and packed with flavour. Must be quite satisfying if you are a lamb lover like Mary. The curry fries were awesome.

Next up, my other friend ordered the Pork Chop, also around the $12-$14 range. She picked the salt and vinegar fries and the pork was really good as well, because it wasn't too fatty. In fact it was quite a solid chunk of lean pork meat that stayed away from being rubbery like some steaks. The sauce was also so delicious, it made eating the dish a non-stop event.

Lastly.. the grand finale of what made the meal go from above average to simply OUT of this world amazing frickin fantabulous and unbelievable was the NZ King Salmon ($19). WOW. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say this must be the best cooked salmon I've ever had in my life.

No seriously. It completely melted in my mouth in a combination of salmon fats and oils. It was so succulent, so fresh, so heavenly..Coupled with the hollandaise/lemon butter sauce and the crumbly skin, our eyes all lit up when we tried it. This fish did not die in vain because it was so good, the enjoyment tipped over the 100% scale, also because we did not expect to be taste bombed by this innocent looking piece of fish in a pop art/almost fast food kind of restaurant famous for their fries and desserts. Not fish.

I had raved about this to my colleague and they went to try it last night and told me it was awesome too. So it wasn't just a fluke!

I also had it with the sour cream and onion shoestring fries. It tasted like Pringles but in fries format and it was so good. Can't. stop. eating. it. In my opinion, the best flavor among the bunch.

Also try their Nutella tart if you have space. I didn't but on a separate occasion had it and its really gooood.

If there is ONE thing you have order at this place, make it the King Salmon with the Sour Cream and Onion fries. This little well-designed restaurant started by the folks from Awfully Chocolate are cooking up the best salmon you can have on this side of the city.


Everything With Fries
40 Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, Singapore 277695
+65 64633741
Sun–Thu: 12pm – 11pm, Fri–Sat: 12pm – 1am
Website

Hidden Find: Swee Choon Back Alley Dim Sum at 185 Jalan Besar, Singapore

This must be the definition of a open secret. I first heard about this place from Steph, but I thought it was a restaurant. Turned out I was half right, when my friends mentioned that we are going for a dim sum dinner at a back alley in Jalan Besar. The moment I described that to someone else, the person was like, "oh.. Swee Choon!" So.. this must be quite famous, but only if you know where it is.

However, because it is located in a back alley near Desker Road, I shall still call it a hidden find. Also because they start service at 6pm instead of in the mornings like most respectable dim sum places. Haha.

There was a healthy crowd on a Friday night at 7.30pm. We had to sit under the trees, which gave us leaves, a spider, a worm.. but onwards to dim sum regardless of nature!

They have HK dim sums, but on the other page of this, there is Shanghai foods as well. Yum!

Note the opening hours. 

Man did we over order. Since we were all famished, that tends to happen. Apparently the mee sua kueh is a famous item there. Its also something I've never tried before. I really liked it, but Tim says its like fried starch for him. More for me then!

Another dish that I never really tried much is the Fried eggplant with floss. Its really good! Much like chinese style popcorn...

Some of the spread. Their char siew soh is good too, and the xiao long baos comparable to Crystal Jade or Din Tai Fung! The lor mai kai is also delicious. The only thing not that great were the zhu chang fen, as well as the beancurd skin wrapped prawns.

Not pictured here, but we also had the salted egg yolk custard bun (SO GOOD) and red bean pancake. Wow, we totally killed ourselves with the food. It worked out to be around $18 per pax, which is still super worth it considering we over ordered. However, after leaving the place, my mouth felt rather dry and I was really thirsty. Sign of too much MSG!

Despite the MSG, i would still go back to the place for dim sum because it is not every day that I get to whack so much of it. The ambience of late night dim sum at a back alley near a red light districts also adds another layer of "flavor" to the food. Enjoyment level 100%!





Swee Choon Dim Sum Cafe
187/191 Jalan Besar, Singapore
+65 6294 5292
Mon–Sat: 6pm – 10am, Sun & PH: 6pm – 12pm (Closed on Tue)
www.sweechoon.com

Brunch Hangout: Riders Cafe at 51 Fairways Drive, Singapore

Completely forgot about blogging about the visit to Riders Cafe last year on 19 June 2011 until I was arranging my photo collection when I saw I missed it out. I shouldn't because it is one of the best brunch places in Singapore and I have to get it out! Situated beside the Bukit Timah Saddle Club, it is aptly named and has a really unique view because you get to see horses!

Their coasters.

The place itself is very popular on weekends, with good reason. Better make a reservation if you want to get a place, or be prepared to wait up to 45 mins for a table! You could go take a stroll around and see the horses while waiting though.

The decor is very European styled, white brick walls and black spinning fans.

Can't exactly remember what I had, but this was it. It was really really good, up till now I think it's one of the best brunches I've had.

Seriously. I think I need to go back there.

The smoked salmon was good too but not as fabulous as Choupinette's. 

Once again, an iced latte for a hot hot day.

Here's the balcony sitting, with a direct view of the field where they ride the horses. Pleasant.

This was me, about a year ago. 

"I would give it 2 thumbs up if possible! If you are wondering where to go for brunch next weekend, be sure to bump this up to the top of your list! I shall also make plans to return there soon :)"



Riders Cafe

51 Fairways Drive, Bukit Timah Saddle Club, Singapore 286965
+65 64669819
Tue–Sun: 8am – 10pm (Closed on Mon)

Cafe Hangout: Jimmy Monkey Cafe at One-North Residences

Checked out Jimmy Monkey Cafe recently and struck it off my cafe list. Finally! With it being at One-North, its really kinda difficult to get to, but actually it was quite convenient via the Circle Line and it is actually just one stop away from Holland Village!

Heard some good things about this place, but was also warned that it gets really stuffy and smelly inside because they cook food inside without proper ventilation! So I approached the door with trepidation, because I really don't like greasy smells on me after I leave a food place.

Luckily that didn't happen! It was actually quite empty, with a few patrons, perhaps that's why there was not much cooking. The aircon perched on the high ceiling was on a full blast.

I was taking photos of the place upon walking in when the chefs and barista gamely posed for a photo (w/o me asking!). That's so cute, and funny. I really like this photo.

I love the decor! It has a little bit of an abandoned warehouse industrial feel, yet they made it rather New York lofty as well.

I was expecting a much smaller place as well, but the size was actually quite spacious.

That's a toilet bowl. With toilet paper. On the "second" floor.

Plenty of beers and beverages, along with coffee apparatuses.

The chefs were preparing food.

Large coffee roaster/grinder?

Here's their drinks menu. Prices are ok! $4-6 for coffees, and they have alcoholic drinks too.

They also do the Lazy Weekend menu. Looks quite awesome, might have to go back and try!

They roast and sell their own coffees. 

I had an iced latte. Which tasted really good. (but I say that for all coffees anyway).

So anyone up to visiting this place today?

"Perhaps I was lucky, but the cafe was a very good experience for me. Venture forth with the warning on the smell, and hope you enjoy it as much as I do!"

Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar
9 One-North Gateway, #01-51 One-North Residences, Singapore 138643
+65 67778470
Sun–Thu: 8.30am – 8.30pm, Fri–Sat: 8.30am – 10.30pm (Closed on Mon)
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