Oriole

Oriole's this nice little restaurant/pub hidden in Pan Pacific apartments, just a stones throw away from Cineleisure/Youth Park (aka Scape). I came here once in July last year, but I wasn't very impressed with their food. Furthermore, my photos were incredibly lousy because of the very dim lighting and I was using my handphone camera. So I came prepared this time, and brought a better camera for my dinner. (Though I did have many many blurred photos, here's the few that are blog-worthy). 

I tried their daily risotto special, which had seared hokkaido scallops, and came with a gorgonzola cheese sauce and kenyan beans (the green stuff).

However, I was rather disappointed with the sauce because other than the very faint smell of cheese, the sauce tasted more like thickened cream rather than a cheese.

The scallops were tender, but rather small, and I could detect a hint of lemon - perhaps they weren't that fresh hence the lemon? I particularly dislike lemon in my food, more so if it's seafood, because it can only mean that the seafood's not fresh as lemon is used to mask the fishiness. Fishy seafood isn't worth eating since it's not fresh anyway.

The beans tasted like a crispier version of french beans, were sweet and the crunchy texture went really well with the risotto and scallops. For $25++, I think I'd pass on this, and have a sandwich or pasta instead.

One of Oriole's best sellers - the Fish and Chips came with 3 battered fish fillets and thick cut fries. Yesterday's fish and chips were good - which is a pleasant surprise since the last time I came, I really disliked this as I found the batter overwhelmingly salty, and could barely taste the herbs. For around $15, the portion was really good and it makes a satisfying meal.

The Spaghetti with Prawns (around $15++), aglio olio style was rather spicy, and came with quite a few prawns. 

The beef cheek tagliatelle is also another of Oriole's signature dishes. For $15++, there seems to be quite a generous portion of beef cheeks, though I can't comment much on this dish since I don't take beef. The Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich (around $15?)My favorite dessert, which I also had the last time is the Affogato with Honeycomb ($7.50++). 2 large scoops of vanilla ice cream, with shards of honeycomb and chocolate doused with a shot of coffee. Oriole's coffee is supposed to be very good. But since it was evening time, I didn't want to spend the rest of the night an insomniac, so I didn't get myself a coffee. Eyeing the iced coffee the next time I'm here for lunch.  
Giant banana eclair with peanut butter and honeycomb fudge ($14++ for 2 people)

The giant banana eclair was pretty good, considering I don't particularly like whipped cream based desserts. The eclair base was passable, but I really liked how the top was coated with sticky, dark chocolate and speckled with honeycomb bits. 

Inside, there's a thick layer of freshly whipped cream (unsweetened!) and some more dark chocolate. A layer of sliced bananas. And another layer of sticky, sweet and crunchy peanut butter and honeycomb. Totally delicious when eaten all together. Hope they'll keep this on their menu since it's rather original (haven't seen it anywhere else, yet!)

Size wise, it's slightly bigger than a 6 inch sandwich from subway. This dessert is definitely for sharing.

The Chocolate Cake ($6) was rather disappointing because although it was extremely chocolaty, it didn't completely blow me away. They did  attempt to frost it, but taste wise, it wasn't very spectacular though the good points were that it was moist and had an intense chocolaty flavor. 

The cake's a birthday cake cos it was Jessie Tan's 24th bday - happy 24th birthday Jessie!

My conclusion? Oriole's just not for everyone, but the desserts here are great, perhaps the next time I'm here, I'll just get a coffee and try more of their desserts. And stick to their cheaper dishes...

3.5/5 stars (till I find the time to transfer my star pictures to my newer comp :/

Oriole Cafe and Bar

#01-10 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites

62388348

They provide a valet service, though I'm not sure how much it is. Didn't know they had valet till yesterday.