A new seafood place is now open at the basement of Tampines Mall which is hardly noticeable because it is situated at one corner behind the escalators. As such, it can be difficult to attract walk-in customers if they do not walk past that corner. In my case, I happened to catch a glimpse of the shop from afar so decided to grab a quick bite before my appointment an hour later. There have been reviews online complaining about the slow service but given that it was a late weekend afternoon where the lunch crowd had dispersed and dinner crowd had yet to arrive, I decided to give this place a chance to convince me into being a regular here.
First up was the citrus refresher which according to the menu was made from apple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, lime and ginger ale. Given that it was a hot afternoon on that day, this proved to be a good choice because it wasn't too sweet and was refreshing on the palate. Then again, after multiple sips, I felt like the taste resembled Orangina quite a bit and wonder if I could replicate the same drink at home by mixing the ingredients as stated on the menu.
Next up was the lobster bisque which had a nice design made from the cream. In most situations, the cream could merely be seen as a drop on the surface of the bisque but for the chef to make an effort to draw something on the surface (though not very elaborate) was much appreciated. At least they bothered to make their version of the bisque look somewhat different. As for the taste, I liked the full-bodied richness of the bisque and and the fact that it wasn't too salty won me over. I've had other versions of this at places where the saltiness was too overpowering and overcame the supposed freshness of the lobster which made me reach for lots of water in the aftermath.
The single portion of mussels in white wine broth turned out to be a mix of hits and misses. I thought that the broth was OK and the taste was sufficiently infused into the mussels unlike the version at Fremantle. However, the freshness of the mussels was not as consistent as I would have expected as some pieces tasted good while the texture of others was too mushy. If I have to compare whether freshness or the immersion of flavours in the mussels matters most, I would choose freshness at any time because even if the mussels haven't absorbed the flavours fully during the cooking process, I can always immerse them into the broth for a while before eating so as to achieve the desired effect. As for the garlic bread, I would have wanted it to be crispier and the taste of the garlic to be less saltier.
Last but not least, the dessert which was the half & half cheesecake. Actually, I didn't really get what is meant by half & half but I noticed a layer which tasted like gelatin in this cheesecake. Nonetheless, I thought that the cake was rich as it claimed but not to the extent of being too overboard which was a saving grace. However, I think this cake must have been in the freezer for too long because it was quite difficult to use the fork to cut through the cake. On a side note, it was slightly disappointing to see that out of the four dessert choices, two were not available. I'm not sure if it was because the stock ran out or they did not prepare the desserts on that day but it would have been best if everything on the menu was available.
As a new restaurant, I thought that the quality of the food was pretty decent. I haven't tried the main dishes yet so my opinion might be reshaped after trying the signature items. As for the service, there were only four tables when I was there so I didn't really experience a long wait. A more accurate measure of service standards would probably be peak meal times. The only worrying thing for this restaurant is the location which doesn't seem to catch the eye of customers passing by so it will probably need to build more awareness so that people can actively look for this place to eat at.
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