Out with O and mum for dinner and i suggested Botak Jones near Clementi MRT. On hindsight, what a great decision that turned out to be!
We arrived to a nearly filled coffeeshop which kinda sucked cause i knew most of the people there was there for BJ.
To my surprise, i saw a new Italian place (iL Piccolo) and Japanese place (D Genki).
Could i not try?
We tried...
[D Genki]
Pork Katsu Curry - $6.90
After Japan, i've been thinking of C&C Curry day and night. Tried Bishamon Express but even though piping hot and the pork katsu fried on the spot, the curry lacked the depth and richness leaving one unsatisfied. I'm no food connoisseur but even i have standards, albeit rather low ones.
Am happy to announce this was good enough to bring back memories of Japan. The curry is rich, somewhat thick and a little on the sweet side. O thinks it's too sweet for her and i agree that there is this sweet tangy trace which i suspect to be ketchup ( i do hope not ). Sweetness aside, it is probably the closest budget substitute i'll find in Singapore.
Grilled Chicken Curry - $6.90
The grilled chicken was great! The chicken was abnormally tender to the extent of being suspect but was well worth the order of a second curry set. Now if only we didn't order...
...
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Teppan Salmon - $7.90
I rarely, if ever, bitch about food. I don't bitch, normally, period. If i HAD to, i would about this. Dry tasteless salmon that cost more than my curry set! Ok i'm biased but aren't we all?
This came with miso soup and a bowl of rice. The grilled vegetables on the side weren't bad though.
[Botak Jones]
Rosemary Lamb Chops - $19.00 (300 grams)
We took the upsized for this as we were sharing. They also have a 200g version @ $14. The order was for medium rare but parts of it was rare and the other parts medium. Honestly have no idea how they did it...
The herbs taste present wasn't really my thing though O said it was hers but Baaahhhhhh the whole rare/medium but not medium rare thing already put me off.
For the sides, the corn was nice and comforting but the asparagus came cold... rather unappetizing.
Noted that they were rather busy with the dinner crowd and all but still...
Spicy Fries (regular) - $3.80
I felt this was overpriced. At almost 4 bucks a pop and for the smallest size to boot, it wasn't really value for money in any way. Noteworthy though is that in the past they used really large crinkle fries but now they've changed to smaller ones. A good call in my opinion as there is to me more surface area for seasoning and i really tasted the difference.
Mum prefers old school though.
[iL Piccolo]
We did note this place coming in but was only half interested to try at first. We then saw quite a few people trying the clam vongole which had a HUGE amount of clams which got O all starry eyed. Unfortunately we were a little too late as they ran out. I thought it looked kinda bland anyway so instead i ordered the...
Puttanesca Pasta - $6
Topped with rather generous servings of anchovies, black olives, capers mushroom, chilli in tomato sauce & cream sauce, it was waaaaaayyy better than we thought it would be. I inherited my taste for tomato cream pasta from O and i'm proud to call this my new favourite pasta! Much better than Pasta Mania (though i'm ok with PM) and even rivaling that of Pasta Fresca (saw previous post), this was a absolute STEAL at its price. I read reviews on HungryGoWhere on their Toa Payoh branch and realize there's also a Botak Jones there near iL Piccolo. Sister Co or major competitor? Hmmm.
Panna Cotta - $2.50 ($2 back in '08)
The uncle there worked there was new and gave me a Tiramisu ($3) instead but i didn't even know it.
Shows how much i know my desserts huh?
Back to the dessert, O gave it a try and said i would like it... and i did! Smooth, milky and not overly sweet, i was impressed with the panna cotta (in particular how much it cost) for its quality. I'm sure in many other places they would charge twice as much or more for something similar. Maybe this just suited my palate more.
There you have it.
Once a coffeeshop with only Botak Jones reelin in the crowds, now a much larger selection of interesting stuff spoiling diners for choice. There's even an interesting self proclaimed Hong Kong tze char store tucked in one corner.
We're already planning the next trip back. Yumz.
325 Clementi Avenue 5
#01- 129
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