Dropped by Open Door Policy at Tiong Bahru for a quick brunch today, and this is what K and I had! The restaurant was decorated tastefully and has a decent selection of dishes (they have a brunch menu and a full menu), but we both felt a little let down by the quality of food and that the price was too steep for those that we tried.
ODP Pancakes with blackberries & chocolate ($22)
I ordered this from the brunch menu and when it arrived, we were pretty excited because the fragrance of the chocolate was strong and tantalising. The pancakes are not like those you find elsewhere - they were a more moist version of a fusion between buttery flat pancakes and English muffins. It was surprising and the texture was decent.
The chocolate sauce was not as strong as its smell or colour, although the blackberries were cooked well such that they were not as sour as when they are eaten raw. I would say it was a fun new dish to try, but I would not order it again because the chocolate was a letdown and the price seemed unjustified. It would have been nicer with streaks of dark chocolate and some whipped cream on the side instead of just splashing it with milk chocolate - just a few added touches would have been nice.
6/10
Australian Strip Loin with Chips and Bearnaise sauce ($34)
K selected the strip loin from the mains and was not impressed. He asked for it to be done medium-rare but it was served medium. The fries were better than Skirt's garlic fries but still standard fare. The steak was not seared nicely on the outside for a beautiful brown colour (the very important Maillard reaction) that would have brought out the flavour of the beef and the blocks of butter on top were cold. Points can be given for presentation, but overall this was a dish that disappointed, especially taking the price into consideration. Just a bit more effort - browning the beef properly, using a flavoured salt for the fries and letting the butter warm a little - would have saved this.
4/10
Apple Crumble with Vanilla Custard ($15)
This was a deconstructed apple crumble that was basically apple cubes with chunks of crumble sprinkled on top. However, despite the simplicity of this, we both gobbled it down (and possibly could have ordered another serving). It came warm in a hot stone bowl and the apple cubes were delightfully refreshing. The crumble was also a good balance of crusty and buttery. The vanilla custard complemented the apples and crumble just enough without being too sweet or thick. Would come back just for this, that's how good it is. I think we've found the place to get our apple crumble fix.
9/10
Just because this dessert deserves two photos for ending off the brunch on a high note.
Counter seats that allow you to look into the open-plan show kitchen
Service: 6/10
Provided a bag hook which was a nice touch, but were not very friendly or warm, just seemed to be doing their job.
Taste: 6/10
We agreed that we wouldn't come back for the dishes we tried today, but would definitely go back just for the apple crumble. My general impression of the food was that it was lazily put together and most of them could have done with a nice touch of something more - drizzling some dark chocolate, or just searing the beef well. I reckon I could cook a better steak at home for half the price and even the fries were not able to save the dish. I have also tasted better pancakes elsewhere that are more value for money, like the lemon ricotta with blueberry jam ones served at Riders' Cafe a few months back before their menu changed.
Ambience: 7/10
The back of the restaurant where we were seated was flooded with natural sunlight and I like places like that, because I can fully enjoy the experience. Appreciating the aesthetics of the dish is part of the enjoyment for me and the sunlight just makes me happy. However, the tables were too close together and that made getting out awkward when the next table had to get up just to let us out. Thankfully the restaurant was not too crowded today so it was still an enjoyable brunch.
Return?
Maybe. Only for the apple crumble and possibly to try their other desserts since the only one we had was the shining star of our meal.
19 Yong Siak Street,
Singapore 168650
Tel: 65 6221 9307
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