A’s been in the army for the past week and has another week to go, so understandably we haven’t really been in the mood (nor had the time) to be very adventurous. So for brunch this morning we decided to head back to Oriole to try their brunch offerings.
Hmmm... if today had been our first visit to Oriole, I’m not sure that we would’ve been quite as exuberant about it as we were two weeks ago. Our food took ages to arrive, and when it did, nothing really blew us away. The chargrilled chicken tikka bites that we shared tasted fine, but they were overcooked and quite chewy. Compared to chicken breast, chicken thigh is quite forgiving and it’s generally quite hard to overcook it, so the fact that these weren’t tender and juicy was a little disappointing.
Tempted as I was to have the scallop risotto again, I decided to order something off the brunch menu instead – the huevas rancheros, which was a Tex-Mex mish mash of crispy tortillas, spicy chorizo, sour cream, cheddar cheese and a fried egg, amidst a tomato sauce. I ordered it thinking it sounded interesting, forgetting that I generally don’t like Tex-Mex food. Needless to say, this didn’t really do anything for me.
A also had a brunch item – the smoked salmon scramble on thick toast. He liked the thick toast element, but I actually thought that a thinner, crispier base would’ve worked better with the creamy eggs. It needed some texture/bite; the soft toast just blended in with the egg and salmon a bit too much, resulting in each forkful being slightly one-dimensional and mushy.
We ordered the famous coffee – the Piccolo Latte, which was a pretty good cup of coffee, but not great. It was pretty complex and had a curiously nutty aftertaste.
Well, this was a slightly subdued repeat visit, but not bad enough to kill our enthusiasm for it completely. Besides the slowish service, I think it’s just a question of what you order. We’ll give it at least one more chance, cos it’s quite a pleasant place for a Sunday brunch.
A says:
Service here is actually very slow. We had to wait almost 25 mins for our food. At least our coffees came very quickly and we got water this time.
I had high expectations of the food considering our last visit here. Sadly, it was only okay. Good, but not great. I guess it depends on what you order. And there’s lots more on the menu I want to try.
Oriole Cafe & Bar
96 Somerset Road
#01-01 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites
Tel: 6238-8348
Mon – Sat: 11.30 am to 11 pm
Sun: 10-30 am to 11 pm
1 comment:
as much as i love oriole, i must agree that the overall experience each visit pretty much depends on what you order, with hits and a little misses here and there on their menu.
my fave at oriole's the chicken casserole, grilled lemon cake and a cuppa mint mocha, you might wanna try that on your next visit! =)
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