Friday, December 23, 2005

The Tapas Tree, Clarke Quay

Paella Valenciana

Sangria, Chorizos Fritos, and GazpachoThis was a bit of a letdown. I had heard about this for a while, and I finally made it there tonight (Clarke Quay #01-08, 6837-2938). It was consistent, but it still fell short of Via Mar. It mainly came down to the quality of the ingredients and preparation: the chorizo, while greasy, lacked bite and just seemed like plain old sausages. The ham used on the tostadas was a bore, and the shrimp in the gambas al ajillo were not as fresh as they could have been. The paella was a bit mushier than I would have liked, and I prefer my gazpacho with more breadcrumbs - this was more tomato-ey.


ChurrosIn the end, it was all still very edible (and it's always fun to eat churros in chocolate), and the service was better than average. But next time, I'll definitely be hitting Via Mar instead. Even though I haven't had their paella yet, at least the tapas have proven themselves worthy.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey man,
what would you recommend to eat at clarke quay/boat quay after midnight? anything good around there?

bma said...

By saying "after midnight" in those areas, I presume that you mean post-drinking food? There's always the all time classic kebab from Dharma's as well as maybe vindaloo from some random Indian place. They're not exactly stellar in quality, but when you just need to satiate those post-drinking cravings, I suppose that they will do.

Banoo is open late on weekends if you are down in the Robertson Quay area. Then again, so is Torisho Taka, but that's more of an elegant (not to mention expensive) place rather than anything for post-drinking food.

Anonymous said...

nice tips, dude!
how about some nice, casual french/italian places to eat lunch/dinner around clarke quay/boat quay?
i like places with a view.
any tips?

bma said...

Pasta Fresca has a shop on the far end of Boat Quay, complete with casual riverside tables if you want. The quality of the food is debatable, but it generally works for me.

Unfortunately, I'm the wrong guy to ask about French food though, as honestly I'm not a big fan of it. For that matter, I'm the wrong person to ask about nice views and ambience too. Well, I hope that Pasta Brava helps nonetheless.

sweetpea said...

One of my faves for French/modern cusine is Le Pont de Vie at 26 Kandahar Street just behind Sultan mosque. They have lunch specials that are very reasonably priced. Nearest MRT is Bugis.

Dinners are also great there - a must try is their black trouffle cheese souffle.