Monday, June 26, 2006

The Cellar Door

Had a lovely birthday dinner here last year - the food was good, the desserts yummy, and the wines were apparently not bad too (so I was told - I have NO IDEA how to appreciate good wine).

While I had a reasonably enjoyable time this time round, it was definitely not as good as the last time.

First thing I noticed was that they had renovated the place. For some reason they added a huge bar counter that kinda overwhelms the place. But the place is still very cosy and gives you the feeling that you're in a quaint restaurant in the middle of Napa Valley... or something like that :)

Service was great! After the horribly rude waitress at Morton's, I was so happy to get some good service. The waiter who served us was young, enthusiastic and very friendly. Had similarly good service at Corduroy & Finch nearby - am beginning to wonder what these suburban restaurants did to poach these great waiters!

What was slightly disappointing was the food. For a starter, we had 'Delicious Dips Plate with Crispy Bread' $9++. There was a choice of dips and I chose sundried tomato pesto and hummus. The dips tasted ok, but they were not of a spreadable consistency and you had to use a knife to spread it on the bread.

For the main course, I had the Morrocan Lamb Pie $18++ (which was the pie of the day). It was a generous serving of very tender chunks of lamb under a flaky pie crust, accompanied by some steamed asparagus and french beans.

For dessert, we had the Strawberry Kiwi Pavlova $8++. I think not everyone has heard of a Pavlova?... Yes, it's named after the famous ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It's actually an Australian invention - a meringue topped with fruits. A meringue is made by beating egg whites and salt to a stiff consistency before folding in sugar, vanilla and vinegar. After baking, it becomes crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. I love the way it just melts in your mouth... and as you can imagine, it's extremely sweet. Topped with strawberries, kiwis and passionfruit, it was exactly what my sweet tooth was craving :)

All in all it was a pretty good dining experience, so I wouldn't mind coming back here again. And, yes, I still cannot remember to take photos of the food before I eat!

The Cellar Door
619 Bukit Timah Road
Tel : 64635296
www.thecellardoor.com.sg

4 comments:

Alicia said...

I can't believe this. You mean throughout the time we were yakking on passionately about the elections over dinner, you managed to pick up all this detail about the food/place??? Geez woman, full marks for multi-tasking!

Minor detail - the waiter used gravity-defying Gatsby hair gel to get that Unique look.

Esther said...

Just being observant, I guess :)

Joe Yap said...

Bet you're the type that notices the obscure details and solves the CSI and Law and Order cases early.

Then again, it could be just that alicia and co were so boring u needed to occupy your time. ;) *zing*

Now I know why I've never tried a pavlova. It sounds like a cavity waiting to happen :P

Esther said...

Actually we were having a very interesting conversation about Singapore politics... What can I say, I'm just a good multi-tasker :)