Coffee club had its humble beginning in Holland Village as a 2 storey gourmet coffee house in 1991 and after 17 years in the business, have now grown to having 21 branches throughout Singapore. Its list of accomplishments include excellent food awards for 2001 to 2006 and achieving ISO and super brand awards in 2005/2006. As for myself, i've never tried coffee club because i was stuck in the idea of it being a coffee place, i was wrong however, do read on.
Cosy and homely environments with cushion seats and ergonomically designed chairs. I've been to the place 3 times and after all that, i still found the place inviting. Definitely a plus in terms of atmosphere even though its located in a simple shopping mall. This is the kind of place i will hang out if i need to study and grab a reasonably good bite because the staff never chases you out and the place is just comfortable for discussions or just about anything.
Garlic Prawn Pasta ($12.90) - One of the dishes awarded the excellent food awards, this dish is a must try. It came with tomatos, onions, chili and garlic with a generous dose of crunchy, crispy and sweet prawns. This is a winner hands down. Even the spaghetti was less oily then others i've had before. I couldn't recommend this enough. Do try it!
Pastrami and Cheddar Cheese Sandwich ($9.90) - A sandwich for dinner? Well, yes if you are on a diet and are on tight purse strings. Beef pastrami and caramelized onions in dijon musturd gives this sandwich a rather refreshing bite. Similar to Fre(n)sh chicken, the mustard is pretty strong so be warned. I did find the beef a tad tasteless but i'm just being picky.
Mudpie (Price unknown) - I forgot how much this is but honestly, after all the good food dishes, this turned out a little too simple for my liking. Sure, the mudpie is smooth, sweet and very chocolaty, but i expected a little better for dessert when its main dishes were so good. Tasty nonetheless.
Bill: I did not get the bill for this round as it was a treat from some friends who were in the neighborhood. Thanks people!!
Wasabi Prawn Salad ($10.90) - Another award winning dish. The wasabi prawn salad was our appetiser on the second visit. Tossed salad with prawns and potatoes drenched in wasabi flavored mayonnaise. This was really quite good. I loved the wasabi which gave the dish more bite. The prawns however, were sliced in the middle which resulted in less crunch then i would like. Still, its worthy of its award and healthy to boot.
Smoked Salmon Garlic Cream Linguini ($12.90) - My gf had this and from the few bites i had, i can tell you i liked it. The salmon was fresh though a little salty. I like the fact that it has the smoky taste its name implied unlike others i've had elsewhere. The creamy garlic linguini is very aromatic and fragrant (to me at least, because i love garlic and creamy pastas) but did get overwhelming when taken in large quantities.
Bangers and Mash ($ - Why settle for one sausage when you can have 3? Chicken, bratwurst and cheddar cheese sausages atop a bed of mashed potatoes with a tomato thrown in for further measure. The sausages, unfortunately, fell short apart from the cheddar cheese sausage which tasted a little special. Everything else was just average.
This visit cost me $36.86 for 2 mains and a starter. I wouldn't say it was expensive since most of the food was of a decent quality.
Beef, Bacon and Pistachio terrine Salad ($10.20) - This is a mixed bag. I like the salad because it came with dijon mustard as usual but wasn't quite taken with the beef meatloaf used to wrap the pistachio. The beef was too dry basically and the only thing good about it was the bacon. Thus, my conclusion is, order once, never order again.
Seafood Lasagna ($13.00) - Before i start, let me say this, i don't like lasagna. The only reason i ordered was due to the promise of generous amounts of seafood. And fortunately, they delivered on the promise. Lots of mussels, prawns and squid adorn the dish. I didn't like the tomato sauce or the lasagna in general however, and it really starts getting overwhelming after a few bites. Thank goodness i had the Alfredo to balance things out below.
Alfredo ($10.80) - Ham, cheese, mushrooms and shell shaped pasta. It doesn't get any simpler but its still a perfectly delectable dish (what can i say? I like cream pastas). It served to balance the tomatos taste from the lasagna and definitely was the better of the 2 main dishes.
White Chocolate Parfait With Berry Sorbet ($6.80) - The first service blunder they made was with this dessert, they actually served it while we were having our appetiser. Whereby i promptly told them to serve it later since i'm not about ready to have dessert that early in the meal. The obliged but when it came time to have my dessert, i found that it had pockets of air and was already melting, meaning they served me the same parfait they took out in the beginning. Needless to say, the dessert didn't quite measure up. The berry sorbet was good, sour and sweet at the same time. The chocolate however, was too filled with air and melted to give a good impression. Pity.
The bill this time came up to $43.22. There has been a change of menu and an increase in price of about 50 cents for each dish.
Service has been consistently good at this branch and my questions were usually met with good answers. The food is definitely of a certain standard but as usual, there are hits and misses in the menu. Some of the hits have been removed from the menu unfortunately and the new menu is definitely pricier. Still a good place to chill out and have a reasonable meal though.
The name literally means 'home town' which should be referring to Kuching in general. Pardon my ignorance but i've never been to Kuching and personally, have not heard anything from that particular part of the world, so i don't know if these noodles are indeed a local delicacy.
I can't quite decide if the place is a food court or a restaurant since the ordering was done at counters and service is given when you are served the food. Either way, service was pleasant and you are not charged for it so no complaints here.
Fish Soup ($8) - Now why did i order a fish soup here? Hmm...most probably because there were only 2 people eating and i'm trying to put more stuff in my blog. Oh! The sacrifices ones makes for blogging. Tsk tsk. The soup is salty but good. Fish slices aplenty and we managed to gulp down half a bowl even after the noodles so its a good thing. For $8 though, i would rather get another bowl of noodles.
Abalone and Wanton - Kolo Mee Gold Set ($8.90) - The prized kolo mee and the aforementioned hometown noodles. My take is that its normal at best. the noodles were reminiscent of instant noodles and as such, tasted springy and soft. $8.90 gives you fake abalone and wanton with some char siew, minced meat and fried wanton thrown into the mix for added variety. The first time i had it, it was a refreshing experience, subsequent visits didn't yield as much satisfaction though.
The bill sealed the deal at $27.60 for 2 bowl of noodles, 1 fish soup and 1 hot milo. Too expensive given the rather lackluster quality.
I like the idea of getting abalone at $8 but the quality of abalone is definitely suspect (try one and you'll know what i mean). The cost of producing a bowl of noodles is also definitely not what we paid for so i'm probably not returning. Good for a first try, bad for the wallet and repeats.
Hidden in a little corner in big ole Vivocity is this little gem of a restaurant. "Fresh and French" is the tagline and i'm most inclined to agree with it because in retrospect, that is exactly what you get.
The interior is small and probably sits about 16 people max. Color palette is more or less sombre white with plastic and wooden chairs. The important thing i believe is that it is clean and that is more important than all the decorations a restaurant can pile up.
They look nice of course but i wouldn't bet on how comfortable it will be to be sitting on top one of these chairs trying to enjoy my meal, needless to say, i was sitting somewhere else for my lunch.
Drinks! Apple Juice and Lime Juice - For the tartine set, you get a drink, a tartine and a dessert. No gst and no service charge is a definite plus point and honestly, the service was pretty good.
Salmon and Avocado Tartine ($16) - My gf ordered the salmon and avocado tartine which is basically, toasted bread with avocado and smoked salmon and some salad. Do not let the picture fool you, this is not a small piece of bread at all. The serving size is huge and as you can see, ingredients are generous as well. Salad wasn't anything special but the tartine itself is plain good. Warm toasted bread with cool and slightly salty smoked salmon atop a bed of creamy avocado. I feel like going back for more right about now actually.
Fre(n)sh Chicken Tartine ($16) - Judging by its namesake, this is probably a signature item. And apart from the same qualities of freshness and warm toasted bread, it came with roasted chicken and sliced potatoes atop a bed of mustard and rosemary. What can i say? Its spicy and very different from what i've had before. You can liken it to having chicken and potatoes with Japanese wasabi as a base. My only complaint is that the chicken is a little too dry, otherwise, i like this quite a bit.
Opera - Presentation is a definite plus for this with its eiffel tower chocolate and snowy sugar sprinklyed for added effect. The opera is supposed to be 2 repeated layers of chocolate, coffee and cake but i couldn't taste the coffee at all. It was also dry which doesn't win it many points unfortunately. Could have been loads better.
Original Cheese Cake - I wondered what 'original' meant in this rendition but it basically means generic. Its not bad tasting mind you. Its just that it tastes pretty much like every other cheesecake out there.
The bill came to only $32 for 2 people! Imagine my surprise at the fact that there were no additional charges. This place is a must try for the fact that its value for money.
If they can survive with charging service and gst charges and they are located at Vivocity, i really don't see why other restaurants can't. And otherwise, in all regards, this place serves good, healthy food which will have me returning for more whenever i'm in the vicinity. Must try.
Cosy and homely environments with cushion seats and ergonomically designed chairs. I've been to the place 3 times and after all that, i still found the place inviting. Definitely a plus in terms of atmosphere even though its located in a simple shopping mall. This is the kind of place i will hang out if i need to study and grab a reasonably good bite because the staff never chases you out and the place is just comfortable for discussions or just about anything.
Garlic Prawn Pasta ($12.90) - One of the dishes awarded the excellent food awards, this dish is a must try. It came with tomatos, onions, chili and garlic with a generous dose of crunchy, crispy and sweet prawns. This is a winner hands down. Even the spaghetti was less oily then others i've had before. I couldn't recommend this enough. Do try it!
Pastrami and Cheddar Cheese Sandwich ($9.90) - A sandwich for dinner? Well, yes if you are on a diet and are on tight purse strings. Beef pastrami and caramelized onions in dijon musturd gives this sandwich a rather refreshing bite. Similar to Fre(n)sh chicken, the mustard is pretty strong so be warned. I did find the beef a tad tasteless but i'm just being picky.
Mudpie (Price unknown) - I forgot how much this is but honestly, after all the good food dishes, this turned out a little too simple for my liking. Sure, the mudpie is smooth, sweet and very chocolaty, but i expected a little better for dessert when its main dishes were so good. Tasty nonetheless.
Bill: I did not get the bill for this round as it was a treat from some friends who were in the neighborhood. Thanks people!!
Wasabi Prawn Salad ($10.90) - Another award winning dish. The wasabi prawn salad was our appetiser on the second visit. Tossed salad with prawns and potatoes drenched in wasabi flavored mayonnaise. This was really quite good. I loved the wasabi which gave the dish more bite. The prawns however, were sliced in the middle which resulted in less crunch then i would like. Still, its worthy of its award and healthy to boot.
Smoked Salmon Garlic Cream Linguini ($12.90) - My gf had this and from the few bites i had, i can tell you i liked it. The salmon was fresh though a little salty. I like the fact that it has the smoky taste its name implied unlike others i've had elsewhere. The creamy garlic linguini is very aromatic and fragrant (to me at least, because i love garlic and creamy pastas) but did get overwhelming when taken in large quantities.
Bangers and Mash ($ - Why settle for one sausage when you can have 3? Chicken, bratwurst and cheddar cheese sausages atop a bed of mashed potatoes with a tomato thrown in for further measure. The sausages, unfortunately, fell short apart from the cheddar cheese sausage which tasted a little special. Everything else was just average.
This visit cost me $36.86 for 2 mains and a starter. I wouldn't say it was expensive since most of the food was of a decent quality.
Beef, Bacon and Pistachio terrine Salad ($10.20) - This is a mixed bag. I like the salad because it came with dijon mustard as usual but wasn't quite taken with the beef meatloaf used to wrap the pistachio. The beef was too dry basically and the only thing good about it was the bacon. Thus, my conclusion is, order once, never order again.
Seafood Lasagna ($13.00) - Before i start, let me say this, i don't like lasagna. The only reason i ordered was due to the promise of generous amounts of seafood. And fortunately, they delivered on the promise. Lots of mussels, prawns and squid adorn the dish. I didn't like the tomato sauce or the lasagna in general however, and it really starts getting overwhelming after a few bites. Thank goodness i had the Alfredo to balance things out below.
Alfredo ($10.80) - Ham, cheese, mushrooms and shell shaped pasta. It doesn't get any simpler but its still a perfectly delectable dish (what can i say? I like cream pastas). It served to balance the tomatos taste from the lasagna and definitely was the better of the 2 main dishes.
White Chocolate Parfait With Berry Sorbet ($6.80) - The first service blunder they made was with this dessert, they actually served it while we were having our appetiser. Whereby i promptly told them to serve it later since i'm not about ready to have dessert that early in the meal. The obliged but when it came time to have my dessert, i found that it had pockets of air and was already melting, meaning they served me the same parfait they took out in the beginning. Needless to say, the dessert didn't quite measure up. The berry sorbet was good, sour and sweet at the same time. The chocolate however, was too filled with air and melted to give a good impression. Pity.
The bill this time came up to $43.22. There has been a change of menu and an increase in price of about 50 cents for each dish.
Service has been consistently good at this branch and my questions were usually met with good answers. The food is definitely of a certain standard but as usual, there are hits and misses in the menu. Some of the hits have been removed from the menu unfortunately and the new menu is definitely pricier. Still a good place to chill out and have a reasonable meal though.
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I can't quite decide if the place is a food court or a restaurant since the ordering was done at counters and service is given when you are served the food. Either way, service was pleasant and you are not charged for it so no complaints here.
Fish Soup ($8) - Now why did i order a fish soup here? Hmm...most probably because there were only 2 people eating and i'm trying to put more stuff in my blog. Oh! The sacrifices ones makes for blogging. Tsk tsk. The soup is salty but good. Fish slices aplenty and we managed to gulp down half a bowl even after the noodles so its a good thing. For $8 though, i would rather get another bowl of noodles.
Abalone and Wanton - Kolo Mee Gold Set ($8.90) - The prized kolo mee and the aforementioned hometown noodles. My take is that its normal at best. the noodles were reminiscent of instant noodles and as such, tasted springy and soft. $8.90 gives you fake abalone and wanton with some char siew, minced meat and fried wanton thrown into the mix for added variety. The first time i had it, it was a refreshing experience, subsequent visits didn't yield as much satisfaction though.
The bill sealed the deal at $27.60 for 2 bowl of noodles, 1 fish soup and 1 hot milo. Too expensive given the rather lackluster quality.
I like the idea of getting abalone at $8 but the quality of abalone is definitely suspect (try one and you'll know what i mean). The cost of producing a bowl of noodles is also definitely not what we paid for so i'm probably not returning. Good for a first try, bad for the wallet and repeats.
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The interior is small and probably sits about 16 people max. Color palette is more or less sombre white with plastic and wooden chairs. The important thing i believe is that it is clean and that is more important than all the decorations a restaurant can pile up.
They look nice of course but i wouldn't bet on how comfortable it will be to be sitting on top one of these chairs trying to enjoy my meal, needless to say, i was sitting somewhere else for my lunch.
Drinks! Apple Juice and Lime Juice - For the tartine set, you get a drink, a tartine and a dessert. No gst and no service charge is a definite plus point and honestly, the service was pretty good.
Salmon and Avocado Tartine ($16) - My gf ordered the salmon and avocado tartine which is basically, toasted bread with avocado and smoked salmon and some salad. Do not let the picture fool you, this is not a small piece of bread at all. The serving size is huge and as you can see, ingredients are generous as well. Salad wasn't anything special but the tartine itself is plain good. Warm toasted bread with cool and slightly salty smoked salmon atop a bed of creamy avocado. I feel like going back for more right about now actually.
Fre(n)sh Chicken Tartine ($16) - Judging by its namesake, this is probably a signature item. And apart from the same qualities of freshness and warm toasted bread, it came with roasted chicken and sliced potatoes atop a bed of mustard and rosemary. What can i say? Its spicy and very different from what i've had before. You can liken it to having chicken and potatoes with Japanese wasabi as a base. My only complaint is that the chicken is a little too dry, otherwise, i like this quite a bit.
Opera - Presentation is a definite plus for this with its eiffel tower chocolate and snowy sugar sprinklyed for added effect. The opera is supposed to be 2 repeated layers of chocolate, coffee and cake but i couldn't taste the coffee at all. It was also dry which doesn't win it many points unfortunately. Could have been loads better.
Original Cheese Cake - I wondered what 'original' meant in this rendition but it basically means generic. Its not bad tasting mind you. Its just that it tastes pretty much like every other cheesecake out there.
The bill came to only $32 for 2 people! Imagine my surprise at the fact that there were no additional charges. This place is a must try for the fact that its value for money.
If they can survive with charging service and gst charges and they are located at Vivocity, i really don't see why other restaurants can't. And otherwise, in all regards, this place serves good, healthy food which will have me returning for more whenever i'm in the vicinity. Must try.
- 1 more comment »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Wow think I will go and try. Think they will be packed since they are in the papers recently!
12 Feb 2008 at 1:20 pm
Whoa.... sounds very good. haha Will try too!!!
12 Feb 2008 at 2:13 pm
They appeared in the papers ah? They used my photos for a magazine!
12 Feb 2008 at 3:30 pm
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