Notice something wrong here? Edit Business Info
3.0
from 1 to 5
59 Anchorvale Road #01-06 Anchorvale Community Centre
Telephone: (65) 6886-1811Website: www.brewbakers.com.sg/
Category:
Restaurants » American
May we also recommend these Restaurants outlets:
Write A Review
May we also recommend these Restaurants outlets:
1=SGD 0.058799 Yebbers Online!
Double Yebber Dollar Category for December:
Food & Beverage
Click here for future month
Overall Rating:
264
Was recommended this place by a good friend and this was the 1st time I've heard of it despite living in the neighbouring estate. I don't have a good impression of Jack's Place and knowing this is under the same management made me hesitate for a bit, but you'll never know until you try right?
I have to warn that the older versions of the street directory (2007 and before) printed the location of Anchorvale CC wrongly. It is shown as located opposite Compass Point at Sengkang MRT (NE line) but it is actually 2 LRT stops away from that, at Farmway LRT (a short walk away from the station). If driving, please use the Sengkang Sports Complex as a landmark as it is next to the CC, or just use the road name. Parking can be a problem as the parking in the CC is limited but there are also public lots along the CC itself.
Once you reach the CC, you are on the ground level, which is level 2, so you have to take the stairs down to level 1 and walk straight. You'll see a banner on level 2 but no arrow of direction signs that you need to go down 1 level.
It was a sparsely populated Tuesday night, and outdoor seats seem to be more popular despite the heat. Service staff was a young team which explains the lacklustre service but the food first:
Crispy Sampler Platter (for two) ($13.00) - Combination of chicken pockets, oriental chicken wings, spring rolls, onion and calamari rings - the calamari had a very light batter and chicken wings nicely marinated. Spring rolls were disappointingly soft and the onion rings too let down by a thick tasteless batter. Didnt try the chicken pockets which looked like the chinese coin bags you see in some restaurants.
Lobster and Crab stuffed Mushrooms ($10.80) - Mixture of slipper lobster and crab meat, baked with Chef’s seasoning and stuffed into button mushrooms. Topped with cheese. - The presentation made it look like escargots and I liked it being served in a hot pan. While the button mushrooms were good, the combination of crab meat and slipper lobster made it impossible to taste the freshness of either (if any) which I thought was a waste. The melted cheese did made the dish more palatable though.
Slipper Lobster & Chicken ($18.00) - Slipper lobster & boneless chicken topped with fried garlic - this was my main course which I thought was not too bad! The boneless chicken was chicken-chop like and came nicely browned and a good layer of skin which I took out. The fries and carrots that came on the side was a good touch. The lobster could have been fresher though. And I have no idea what was the accompanying sauce that came with it and did not bother to find out as it was not good.
Grilled Cod Fish Fillet ($19.80) - Boneless fillet of cod fish grilled to perfection and served with potato and seasonal vegetables - didnt try this but looked good.
Silver Fern Farm N.Z. Tenderloin ($24.50) - The most tender and lean cut of beef, char broiled to your liking - didnt try this but the request for medium looked like it was done well.
American Black Coffee ($2.50) - A light black coffee with percolated creamer on the side - didnt try this as well but it looked like it was done properly with the coffee creamer evident in the cup.
Australian Long Black ($2.90) - A serving of espresso, lengthened to produce a regular cuppa. Boasts of a silky smoothness with a wonderful elegant aroma. - the staff couldnt tell me the difference between this and the american black coffee except that it was a bigger cup, and it was. Much bigger. Taste wise was not bad coffee but probably too diluted.
Some may just settle for the set meal instead of ala carte but I decided against it when I realised the 'soup of the day' was watercress and 'day's dessert' was just a scoop of ice cream. Hiring a young staff team does make the place more 'vibrant' but there is a need to really train them well, which Brewbaker's unfortunately does not.
The young chaps gather around to chat when they think there is no need for service. So they missed a few of our attempts for attention even though we were only the 4th or 5th indoor table occupied.
Then they got 1 order wrong, after they've repeated the correct order.
And for a place which has a rather impressive list of wines, they really do need to to train staff on how to serve them. We ordered a bottle of house red, which never came. And when we asked to check on it, a young girl brought a glass to our table, and asked "did you all order 1 glass or 1 bottle"? My friend gave up and told her to just give him that glass. If unsure, ask BEFORE you bring the one glass over. And it makes me wonder if we had still insisted on 1 bottle, would she have put the glass down and told us she'll bring the remaining of our bottle over?
The bill came up to $100 for 3 pax which was average i think. I'll still grade this higher than Jack's Place~
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
234
Brewbaker's is part of Jack's Place holdings but is an offshoot in the sense that unlike Jack's place, its not halal certified. Its concept is one of escapism and relaxation which is reflected in its rather decent bar selection but holds many similarities to its parent company in regards to areas like its interior design and overall service level. Me and my gf patronized this venue on Valentine's day this year because i found it in a rather decent and new community centre near my house. It took about 35 minutes for us to walk the distance but honestly, we needed the exercise. Was it worth our effort though?
Thoughts on the location and surroundings: Being in a community centre doesn't necessarily mean its a slipshod location. The restaurant had a rather laidback atmosphere and relaxing buzz as its next to an excellently under utilized yet beautiful public pool and is next to a canal/river which actually is rather pleasing. The interior is spacious but the design reminds me too much of Jack's place to be a good thing.
Its Valentines day, so what better way to celebrate then to have a decent meal with my girl? And there's even a menu that promises a "gift for the ladies" to every couple. Perfect. More on the gift at the end of the post.
Archipelago Travellers Wheat - Self brewed gourmet beer seems to be appearing everywhere these days. Not that its a bad thing. I ordered a complimentary sampler from their menu and honestly, it wasn't too bad. Travellers Wheat tastes like....golden ale from Brewerkz and i simply adore beer with that taste so this is good for me.
Mango Drink - This is definitely not made in house since it tastes just like something you can get from a concentrate with water added. Need some work here.
Terrine of Seafood - This was weird. It tastes like it has milk concentrate in it but dissipates in each taste. There's actual crab and fishcake-like taste in the pasty center as well. Its not a bad dish per se, its just weird.
Garlic Bread and Homemade Clam Chowder - This was a surprise. At first glance, i was thinking: "how dare they serve campbells soup when its stated as homemade clam chowder?" My fears were put to rest once i taste it though. There's actually a generous amount of seafood tucked beneath the surface and it provided a balanced palate for the meal to come. Helps that its not flooded with salt and other such nonsensical tastes as well.
True Love Platter - The "True Love Platter" for 2 feels more like "true fat platter" to me. However, it wasn't bad at all. The grilled salmon steak with dill sauce was a little salty and had a rather strong "fishy" taste which didn't sit well with me. The Sirloin steak did not come with black pepper sauce as per the menu and was well done, which means it was rather tough to eat. The grilled vegetable skewers were pretty good as is the chicken drumlets and potato salad. My gf didn't like the calamari rings due to the thick batter. The potato salad was supposed to be potato wedges but was switched without informing us and the steak was well done without asking the doneness we wanted it in. I attribute this to a service issue though.
Sweet Temptations - The dessert was basically strawberry and chocolate mousse cake with fruits. The white chocolate sticks and fruits were pretty good. Refreshing and sweet while the cake itself....is a little too creamy for our tastes. Otherwise, it was an ok ending to the meal. Coffee was served after this which helped as well.
The final bill for a simple valentine's lunch came up to $70.62. Rather steep for the quality of food served.
Cons: The "gift" mentioned in the menu was never given. We had to ask for it 3 times before being given something and it was not a valentines gift for the lady at all. It was a leftover scratch and win card from Chinese New Year which held no significance whatsoever. Needless to say, i was disappointed. At the very least, if there was no gift, i would have appreciated being warned beforehand and replaced with either an additional dish or a drink would suffice. Not this lame attempt at redeeming themselves with a useless item. The management needs to look into this. Not to mention, the lack of initiative to inform on the change of items and the courtesy to ask about the doneness of my steak.
Final Score: 6/10 (minus 1 due to the service lapses and problems with the "gift" that never was.)
Last word: I was disappointed with the gift problem and service but the food was actually decent and so was the beer. Actually, the beer and location is probably the only reason i'll consider returning to this place. 50% off beer and 1 for 1 offers for the beer is something i could live with. Otherwise, i'd say try the food sparingly and they really need to buck up on their service training. Oh, its still better then Jack's Place as far as i'm concerned. Just thought i'd end it with that.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!