Monday, September 10, 2007

Sunset Review

Pictures to follow - has been raining!

Since its soft launch, I have covered 3 outlets in the revamped Sunset Way. Technically it's two as Absolutely New Zealand does not serve food, just coffee and cakes. I have fallen in love with the deli products at the store. 2 rounds of Prime Steer tenderloin have been cooked and digested, tried 2 types of dips and spreads. Glad to declare that the merchandise is a winner. You have to try the onion marmalade - great on steak as well as a spread for sandwiches.
(Fast forward: 29 Oct: They now serve NEW ZEALAND Natural Ice Cream! HOKEY POKEY ICE CREAM YAY!)

Now to the food - we tried Cafe D'Orient, the Hong Kong tai pai tong eatery and Grilled Out on 2 consecutive evenings. Cafe D'Orient has an extensive menu but I personally found the fried kway teow with pork which I had, a tad oily. Huge portion though. Draks tried the pork kidney porridge and declared that it was way too watery. Not in the least bit appetizing. I had already been disappointed when the item I ordered was not available. The service is so-so, nonetheless, when we returned the next night for Grilled Out, Cafe D'Orient was quiet packed.

We tried Grilled Out as a last resort the next night. The buffet seemed to much, Megumi Japanese did not have space for 3 persons, the Thai place was packed too. Even for Grilled Out - we had to wait for some time before we got our table. Draks had the Yellow Tail, while I chose the Kurobuta pork collar - again to be told it was sold out! So I ended up with the Kurobuta pork patty, same as our friend. The meal came with complimentary bread and salad as starters. It was fun to watch people walking around, checking out the new eating places. We were told D's yellow tail would take 15 minutes but that turned out to be an eternity. After close to 45 minutes of waiting, watching people who came later finish their meals, we kicked up a gentle fuss. That was when they realised that the kitchen did not prepare our order. When we finally did get our patties, it was undercooked...so they took it back. In between that, came 3 complimentary glasses of red wine. Pity I am allergic to alcohol, though the occasional riesling, proseco or Moet is much appreciated. The patty had not thawed properly so they gave us the pork collar, which I had wanted in the first place. My friend's collar turned out to be a lil undercooked; to which the waiter said 'but kurobuta is supposed to be like that'.

Finally the meal ended, with complimentary chocolate cake. I have to admit the service recovery was great. But until they iron out the hiccups, I won't be bakc there so soon.