Persimmon

C says:

My aunt gave us a dining voucher at Persimmon as an ang pow for Chinese New Year. My brother tried it before I had a chance to and highly recommended it, so on that basis I suggested it to L when she wanted ideas for her team dinner. Her feedback was lukewarm, so we decided to use up our voucher and try it for ourselves on Friday night.

Argh. My sincere apologies to L. This is the last time I recommend a place without atetoomuch’s stamp of approval first. Granted, it’s pretty good value, but the quality... well, let’s just say you get what you pay for.

Persimmon is located at The Link Hotel at Tiong Bahru, and is a division of Epicurious. They serve modern Singaporean food (think a lower end version of Wild Rocket), and until recently were a typical casual bistro. However, they’ve recently responded to the recession by offering a value-for-money a la carte buffet instead. Prices range from $20 for weekday lunches, to $30 for weekend dinners. Considering that those prices are nett, and you can order unlimited servings of all starters and pastas (main courses are limited to one dish per person), it’s definitely a very good deal.


Be warned though – this buffet is an Atkins diet nightmare, because you end up having loads of pasta and not much else. Even though the portions are tasting portion sized, A and I shared about 6 plates and were ready to explode by the end of the night. The pastas themselves are food court standard, nothing to complain about but nothing great either. The highlights were the chilli crab fusilli, the pork belly fusilli (which was both sweet and savoury) and the mushroom and miso spaghetti. What downright sucked was the vongole – A said the clams had been on a South Beach diet, and they hadn’t cooked off the alcohol in the white wine sauce either.


Amongst the starters, the only thing that stood out was the mini pork and beef burgers. The patty tasted just like an old fashioned Ramly burger, with a hint of curry powder. The rest of the starters paled in comparison.


A ordered the ribeye with satay sauce as his main, and I had the braised pork rib soto. A’s was heaps better than mine. The beef itself was pretty nicely done, albeit a rather small portion. My soto, on the other hand, was hot in some places and lukewarm in others. Definitely dished out from a pre-made pot and not heated through properly.

Overall, I can’t say that we won’t recommend it, cos I can imagine that this will appeal to some diners. Try it if you’re up for a value-for-money carb fest, and if you’re more inclined towards quantity rather than quality.

A says:

Don’t expect to be wowed by the standard of the food. It ranges from tasteless to just above average.

My worst dish was the vongole. All I got were clam shells with almost no meat in them.

Best dish is probably the mini-burger. This is closely followed by the steak (although my impression of the steak may have been tainted by my expectations being lowered substantially by the time we reached the main course).

The ambience and service aren’t exactly stellar either.

On a more positive note, you do get pretty good value for money if you’re a big eater looking for just a bit of variety.

Persimmon
#01-07 The Link Hotel
50 Tiong Bahru Road
Tel: 6227-2271
www.persimmon.com.sg