I'm easily persuaded. Yesterday afternoon, within 10 steps of leaving work, hubby had successfully…read moreconvinced me we should eat dinner out.
Little Singapore is tucked into the Albert Lane, er, laneway. If you're heading up from Elizabeth Street, stick to the right, and head in just before Kathmandu. It's on the right, between Sushi Sushi and something akin to General Clothing Co. It's table service (at least it is for dinner), so just plonk down into one of their high backs and start browsing.
Ambience ***
The restaurant is blockaded by glass panelling so you can be sure you're corraled into the correct place. Marble tabletops, dark wood chair legs and cream leather cushions on the seats indicate that when this place first opened, it was immaculate. Now, well, it still has a swish groovy feeling, but you know its starting to wear. The kitchen is open; you can watch your chefs with their funky hats on cook your meal if you're sitting close enough, which would be good, except they need a uniform upgrade, they're looking a bit shabby for an open kitchen.
There's a sauce station near the cashier, where you can help yourself to a multitude of spicy or mild options.
I couldn't hear any music, and no doubt because half the restaurant is open-air, where the other half is a little dark and intimate. I prefer my air fresh and my people watching unobstructed, so we sat 'outside'. This restaurant is group friendly and family friendly, so if you've got rugrats, feel free to bring them in.
Service *****
Our waitress was very welcoming and accommodating. Her english was good enough to understand me when I asked what some of the items were as they were not in English. Also upon asking if I could substitute the seafood in my meal for chicken she was very happy to organise that for me (yay!). The staff, all Asian, work happily around each other judging by their regular smiles.
There are plenty of wait staff on at dinner time; you only need to raise your eyes toward one of them and they'll come straight away to take your order or answer a question. The cashier at the end of the meal was just as nice and smiling as the waitress, and I was happy to tip for our meal (I don't auto-tip).
Food ***
I'm not sure if the menu has changed since I was last here - maybe, maybe not - but it does seem reduced from what I remember (or think I do!). Check it out on their website, under the 'Uptown' menu, but I'm almost 100% there used to be more variety. I ordered the... bugger, I've forgotten... Char Kway Teow, with chicken, and hubby the Beef and Blackbean Chow Mein.
We also ordered frappes ($5 each), him the mango and me the strawberry (see photos). They were MASSIVE. I couldn't find a measurement on the cupware, but good lord, they were huge! I was expecting half of what we received - for the same price you'd get much less at Coffee Club! The flavour was okay, I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but I realised halfway through dinner that mine tasted like (okay, stick with me here) strawberry jelly crystals. If you were ever a jelly crystal eating kid, you will know what I mean. It was definitely strawberry flavoured, with these little bubbles of flavour which burst into your mouth, and there was evidence of some fruit pulp/ seed in the frappe, but I wouldn't hesitate to say there's a good bunch of artificial flavouring in them, too.
The food came out fairly quickly after the frappes, hubby's first, and I kind of cocked my head at the sight of the button mushrooms. Now, I'm no Singaporean cook, and I'm quite likely wrong, but I've never seen mushrooms in a beef and blackbean before. On the other hand, my dish looked and tasted spot on, with bean sprouts, flat noodles, and a GOOD portion of chicken tossed in. My only gripe with my meal was that it was way too big. I brought the doggie bag (yes they do) to work for lunch today. Yum!
Additional notes
VERY IMPORTANT! This venue is CASH ONLY. There are ATMs back out on Albert Street, just turn right and head up to the NAB ATMs (of which there are 3).
Also, Little Singapore's trading hours, according to the sign on the window, says its open til at least 10pm every night. I'm not going to guarantee that, but if you are out late having a good night, might be worth a pop-in for a pre 'sleep-off-the-impending-hangover' meal.
This restaurant could make a better profit by cutting down portions. I might be sounding racist, and if I am, I don't mean to offend, but I can't tell if Asian restaurants have become accustomed to serving larger portions to deal with Western appetites or whether these are normal portion sizes. Almost every Chinese, Thai, Viet eatery I've been to, I haven't been able to finish my meal. And I hate wasting food. Charge more, or serve less. Hubby and I could have easily shared one plate if we'd had an appetiser to share as well.
