After a month of anticipation I’m finally here at Dazzling! I know there has been some not so good reviews (saying it’s normal yada..) but I kind of expected it because it’s the trend to naysay any hype in Singapore so I decided to try with an open mind.
I did not come here expecting authentic Italian pasta (because this is not an Italian restaurant) or something out of this world. I came here with the expectations I would have of say, Antoinette – a decent girly restaurant with comfortable ambiance and decent food. I must say it pretty much met my expectations!
On the other hand, I noticed that neighbouring restaurant Angelina (from France, similar to Ladurée) was pretty empty despite being freshly opened. I guess this is due lack of publicity since I’ve not seen anyone talking about it on social media. Publicity on social media is so important for a craze to begin.
Anyway, there was a wait to be seated (expected this) which took about 50mins. However, the wait for the honey toast after ordering turned out to be longer than what I expected. So now I know – the long waiting time is not due to having too many diners, it’s because the kitchen is slow and they can’t serve up the food fast enough for a faster turnover. I hope this can be improved after their official opening.
Even though this place is known for their honey toast, their mains are surprisingly good too.
Mentaiko Spaghetti in Cream Sauce – $18.90++
I’ve been looking for decent mentaiko spaghetti in Singapore and this one is pretty good! It’s a typical Japanese style pasta but good Japanese-western food is hard to find in Singapore. If mentaiko is your thing, go for this.
Truffle Mushroom Risotto with Freshly Shaved Truffle – $24.90++
I actually thought this was really good, to my surprise (well you see I came here with very low expectations). If you typically like truffle you can get this or the spaghetti version.
With these 2 mains faring well, I am actually looking forward to try all their other spaghetti dishes next time!
For dessert, I decided to skip the waffles and try only their honey toasts, which is what this café was originally about. The variety served here is significantly smaller than Taiwan’s.
Matcha and Red Bean Honey Toast – $19.90++
For the toast you can select between original or crispy. For variety sake, we ordered crispy for this one since the cream was overwhelming and could help soften the bread if necessary – I thought. I personally found the difference in bread to be subtle. Anyway, this one was filled with azuki, topped with Hagen Dazs Green Tea ice cream (unmistakably) and whipped cream.
The server demonstrated how we should eat this. The center has been cut into cubes so we can conveniently pick up a piece and spread some ice cream, cream or any anything we like over it.
Mango & Coconut Gelato Honey Toast – $18.90++
Seeing the world COCONUT I obviously had to get this. Not photographed here is a small pitcher of honey to be drizzled over. I am not fruity dessert person at all but I really liked this one! The mangoes were sweet enough and matched the coconut gelato well. The presentation was pretty with strawberry and arbutus on the side.
The above items were shared among 4 and it was satiating. The honey toasts are meant to be shared unless you are a toast monster. It’s really big! The portion size for the mains are of regular size though, not super big, but if you are saving space for dessert it’s logical to share.
I’m satisfied with the food here taste wise and it’s a good casual dining option around this area, although it would amount up to around $30/pax.
*****
*****
*****
12pm – 12am (starting 7th June 2015)
Hungry Bird 