This restaurant belongs to the new Days Hotel at Balestier. Honestly, if I am a tourist I wouldn’t want to stay there, and if I’m a local going out I wouldn’t want to go there, because it is simply an obscure location. It happened to be near work so I got the opporunity to have lunch there. For weekdays, they offer a 2 course set lunch with coffee or tea for just $20.00++. Desserts come at $4.00++ additional. What’s better is that there are about 4 options for each course, so you get to choose.
The food served here is mediterranean, with some local options (this is a hotel). Mediterranean food isn’t common in singapore, with the only other restaurant I know of being Medz (a Marche concept copycat) which is pretty bad.
The restaurant was very big, since they probably cater to buffet breakfast and brunch on weekends. This is the only restaurant of Days Hotel. I like the big and airy interior and the design of the restaurant was simply but pleasing. Most of the set up was blue and white – reminding me of Greece. All their crockery are matching too, with the sky blue and white theme.
The bread provided was sort of like those from italian restaurants and the tomato dip tasted just like pasta sauce.
Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon Vinaigrette
Shaved Sashimi Grade Tuna, Salmon Roe, Capers, Pearl Onion, Orange Segment, Fresh Salad, Lemon Vinaigrette
The portion of the starter was bigger than I expected from a $20 set lunch and it was refreshing and interesting. I found the pearl onions to be very cute.
Quail Ensalada
Pan Fried Quail on a Bed of Salad, Balsamico Shallot Sauce, Beet Root Consommé, Quail Egg, Truffle Oil
The quail was fried to slight crispiness and the flavours was good. However, the beet root consommé was kind of weird tasting. It tasted like a watered down chicken broth.
Grilled Sirlion Taliata
Grilled Sirloin Taliata Serves With Roasted Potato, Sautéed Vegetables, Tomato Confit and Country Mushroom Sauce
I honestly did not expect much from the steak here, since it was only a $20 set lunch and it’s sirloin – a cut I am not fond of. However, I was wrong. The portion was big and the marination of the beef was good, making it very tasty and tender! Generally the taliata style of cooking beef steak is Italian (since I’ve had them at Italian restaurants) and involves a lot of seasoning if I am not wrong and will give good flavours! The only problem was that the doneness was very off from what I ordered but they were very kind to rectify that. I also liked all the accompanying sides as it was very tasty. I like how every dish has a lot of vegetables.
Roasted Red Snapper with Green Pea Coulis
Pan-Roasted Red Snapper, Root Vegetable & Herb Salad, Raspberries Dressing, Grilled Enoki, Green Pea Coulis
The red snapper was good too. The fish was fresh and the skin was roasted to crispiness. Again there was a lot of vegetables so this is definitely a healthy and balanced dish without compromising on the taste!
Chocolate Fondant
Warm Chocolate Cake with Apple Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream
Even though it was not mentioned in the description, they also served it with blackberries and blueberries, if you look closely at the picture. I like how the marshmallows melt onto the chocolate cake. Generally I always love warm chocolate cake and this was good enough for me. For $4 more, dessert is a steal. There were also other options like chocolate fondue which came in a super big portion, from what I saw.
If you happen to come in a group of 4, one set would be free, and this is sure a good deal! It would make it $15 per pax.
Other than good food and ambiance, the service was very polite too and they will try to serve your dishes at the same time for each course. As with most other hotel restaurants, you can get complimentary parking if you dine there. Overall I am pretty impressed by this place and would recommend everyone who happens to work at Balestier to go try this for lunch.
Moreover, considering this is a restaurant in a hotel (despite the hotel being just 3 stars, but that’s not the point), the prices are pretty wallet friendly with their ala carte mains being around $25.
*****
Ambiance: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Value: 9/10 (lunch)
Overall: If you happen to work nearby or live nearby, you can give it a try.
*****
1 Jalan Rajah Road
Singapore 329133
Tel: 6808 6868
*****
Monday – Friday
Breakfast: 6 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Lunch: 12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m (last orders)
Dinner: 6 p.m. – 10:30 p.m (last orders)
Saturdays & Sundays (Including Eve of and Public Holidays)
Breakfast: 6 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Lunch: 12 p.m. – 3 p.m (last orders)
Dinner: 6 p.m. – 11 p.m (last orders)
Hungry Bird 