Of Reservations and Oily Cake

Thanks to KB for organizing the SWSNG gathering!

Our original plan was to dine at Square2, Pasta de Waraku. I volunteered to make the reservation.

1) Called if ask if they accept reservations. They do, great, so we can fix the venue there!

2) Called to reserve for 11 at 8pm, but the reply was that the latest time for reservations is 7pm. Why wasn't I told the last time? I asked KB to ask around who could come at 7pm and sit down first and order first, but only KB and I could. When only 2/11 has arrived, I felt there was the possibility that PDW wouldn't let us in. I didn't want to ask PDW about my fear lest I gave them ideas, like "wow, ya thanks for reminding, we won't let you in since only 2/11 are here!". Our final decision was to book anyway and play drag with them.

3) Called to reserve for 11 at 7pm. Now, the reply was that they couldn't accommodate 11 as they had to leave some tables for walk-ins. However, if we walked in, it's very likely we can get a table. What bloody logic?? I understand their concern, but if only they had been more upfront with me. But maybe I gave them ideas with my previous 2 phonecalls :\ All these goes to show that PDW doesn't have a clear reservation policy.

On the day itself, even with people arriving before 7pm, they couldn't secure a table for 11. We would have to wait for at least 20min and even then, PDW couldn't guarantee that the tables would be together. So what to do, find an alternative lor.

My sister passed by Secret Recipe just now and found it rather empty. GOOD! It's been long since I was there, 2006 I think.

Speed and pacing of serving the dishes were ok at first. Salad and drinks came before the mains, the way it should be. Unfortunately for M who came late, his Vietnamese noodles took too long. We asked them about it, no reply. Continued waiting long long. Either they truly forgot, or it's coming via MRT from the Bishan branch.

A number of items on the menu were unavailable despite the prime dinner time. The waitress explained that they only ordered limited quantities daily. Come on, we were easily the first round of dinner customers that night, run out so fast? But well, considering that we were also the last round of dinner customers, and in the first place, we were not even supposed to be there, they were forgiven.

No free iced water is served. They charge 50 cents for bottled water with a glass of ice. To maximize your 50 cents, order hot water. You will get a mug of hot water + the bottled water!

My sister and I ordered:
Their new Oxtail Stew. The portion is not big actually, because the bulk of it is bones. Due to the irregular shape of the bone, it's hard to eat cleanly. Gravy is nice, not too salty. Mashed potato is good considering the pricing, unfortunately nowhere comparable to Paulaner Brauhaus.

Picture koped without permission from... somewhere.

Not wanting to pay 50 cents for something that should have been free, we ordered Apple Katsuri, which is green apple with 酸梅. Nice!

Picture koped without permission from... somewhere.

Ok this is my own picture. This is the moist chocolate cake. A huge disappointment. My sister didn't know it would be served warm. I was ok with it being warm, but not ok with oil oozing from it! Walau gross can! I have accepted the fact that cakes are fat-loaded, but no need to show that the cake was so oil-saturated that oil come out! The cake wasn't moist as the name has claimed. Ok lah, it's more moist than your regular pandan cake. It's too 腻 for me; after a few mouthfuls, had to drink my Apple Katsuri. My yardstick for cakes must have crept up unknowingly, no thanks to July's feast. We left much of the chocolate alone.

Somebody ordered pasta. The longest strand was no more than 10cm, mostly around 3cm. Machiam leftover scraps!

My sister commented that the dinner wasn't nice. Ya, when my brother when I have been feeding her exotic food.

I don't know if I'll ever be back there again.