Pump Room 2

The desserts at Pump room are probably the most worth-it items on the menu. Actually, it's probably one of their best things on the menu. I've tried 2 so far - the Honey Yoghurt Panna Cotta and the Sticky Date Pudding.I don't have the pict of the sticky date pudding, but the last time I tried it, it was good enough to rival Marmalade Pantry's. (Marmalade Pantry is somehow always my gold standard when it comes to comparing sticky date pudding).
My fave dessert there is the Honey Yoghurt Panna Cotta, which comes decorated with lots of berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) and garnished with a mint leaf and a sprinkling of icing sugar. The panna cotta is extremely creamy, with the slightly sourish yoghurt taste, and a honey aftertaste. The bottom is filled with some berry puree. The texture of the panna cotta is pretty firm, more like a firm custard than a jelly. For $10++, I thought that the serving was really generous and big. This is an extremely satisfying dessert and I'm sure to come back for more. Pity I can't say the same for their main courses.Spicy Squid Rings ($12, found on their drinks menu, not the main menu) I quite like this finger food cos the squid is soft and chewy, the batter is light and crispy, and best of all they're very generous with their chilli powder and black pepper and whatever other marinade they use for it. It goes very well with the thousand island (?) sauce.
Sadly, the genre of music that night was terrible - it must have been some oldies night - cos I've never heard 9 out of 10 of the songs:( Super sad. The music did get a bit better in the second set, but haiz the songs were still a bit too old...

The Pump Room
3B River Valley Road
#01-09/10 The Foundry
Clarke Quay
Tel: 6334 2628

The Pump Room

I consider Clarke Quay (Clarke Quay itself, not like those places around it like Liang Court or Central or Mohamed Sultan) a crappy place to get a good meal. The motto of the restaurants there seem to be exorbitant prices for average food.
We went there at about 8 plus on a Sat night, hoping that we could get a table inside (not just because of the aircon...) but then they were packed. We did get a hugeeeee table outside (which could seat 10).

We were super hungry, and I asked the waiter which dish was 'the most filling and the biggest' - which sort of stunned him, but he very professionally said that he'll check with someone - and came back with a list of things that were huge - like the stewed lamb, some fisherman's basket/platter (all the fried stuff) and hmm I can't really remember cos I had already decided to buy something cheaper and to scuttle off to get more food from other sources (was thinking of the kebab place whiched smelt delicious... but nv went there^_^)

Owing to my brilliant plan I was feeling rather stingy and settled for a $16++ Chicken Sandwich. This is one of the cheaper dishes on the menu, but it doesn't make it anymore value for money than the rest - it's a normal chicken sandwich (chicken breast, quite a small portion but it's tasty and not too hard) with avocado (yum!) and brie cheese (double yum!) with beetroot on a toasted foccacia bread. Taste wise, it's ok but totally not worth the $18.72. The bread is really thick compared to the filling. The salad on the side was pretty good - it's a sour balsamic vinegar dressing with lots of different kind of leaves. Stewed Lamb Shank with couscous ($28++)Ribs ($28++)Duck Confit ($28++) which the eater said wasn't very good (compared to Gourmet Plus, which I shall blog about in a while)Lemon Tart ($10++) which apparenlty wasn't fantastic either. But then again, I had a really good impression of the Sticky Date Pudding ($10++) and the Honey Yoghurt Panna Cotta with berries ($10++) the last time I went there. The Soft Centered Pavalova also looks yummy! But I've yet to try it...

Well, the conclusion is that everyone said it was unworth-it to eat here, cos the food standard leaves much to be desired.
Anyway, the whole aim of torturing ourselves with the dinner was so that certain people could watch the band - Jive Talking. The manager there, Jamie Hawkes was really kind too! Jive Talking plays on Sat nights and their music is really good - Got a huge repertoire , can play saxaphone and trumpet! :D And they always start of with this very nice song called Africa (by Toto).

Their target audience is older people (oh no I think I'm classified as 'older people' already!!! Horrors!! ) so they tend to play the music which was popular before like 2000?? The age limit for Saturdays is 21 for girls and 23 for guys.Anyway, apparently the sunday brunch here's really good... I should come back some time to try it (But I'm usually not even awake for lunch =\)

So much for the 'food' review... But it's one of my fave bands :D Mother's Day post coming up soon!

The Pump Room
3B River Valley Road

#01-09/10 The Foundry

Clarke Quay

Tel: 6334 2628