PS CAFE, Harding Road

I have always been intrigued by Dempsey Road but never had the chance to go there, so I decided to choose a restaurant from that area. PS Cafe (not exactly Dempsey Road but just beside Dempsey Hill) was recommended by my friend Ross, and since their website looked very inviting, I rightfully chose the resto as the lucky winner for my first ever food blog :D

Making reservations for 4 people was easy. I just phoned them and requested for an outside table at 8.15pm. For my debut food review, I invited my cousin Aileen and my friends Zach & Ross. They will be my guest food critics for tonight.

As soon as we got to PS we were immediately whisked to our reserved seats at the outside area. I must say I was really impressed with the layout and interior of the resto. The ambience & atmosphere of the Dempsey Hill area, coupled with the tasteful decor of the resto, made it very relaxing & invigorating.

Since Aileen was just on her way, we decided to have appetizer first. We had "Crisp & Dip" ($16) which was an array of turkish bread, crispy baguette, ciabata thins & housemade dips (humus, capsicum w/ pine nuts & mushroom). My fave of all the dips was the mushroom dip as it went very well with the crispy bread. Not bad for starters I must say.

Let me start with the main course of my guest food critics -

Aileen ordered "BBQ Ribs" ($25) - baby back pork ribs & celeriac-black currant slaw w/ frito misto citrus & onions. Sorry to say but the delectable description of the food did not make up for its lack in taste. The ribs were a bit dry and the glaze was not the usual glaze you would have on baby back ribs. We can honestly say we have tasted way better ribs in other places at 1/4 the price. The slaw was equally unappetizing and overall this dish was very disappointing.

Ross ordered "Chicken Rossa Penne" ($22) - grilled chicken with penne pasta, smoked bacon, spinach & mixed mushrooms in garlic tomato light cream sauce. I hate to be such a prick but this was equally, if not more, disappointing than the ribs. I did not taste a hint of the garlic in the sauce and it was too sweet for a supposedly savoury cream-based pasta dish. I almost thought the spinach was mint because of the sweet taste. Nevertheless, it was a consolation that the pasta was at least cooked "al dente".

Zach ordered the "Rosemary Kofta Curry" ($24) - Lamb & Pinenut meatballs simmered in aromatic rosemary curry w/ coconut scented basmati rice, tomato cumin raita & crispy papadum. The meatballs were quite huge, I must say, and very tender. To be honest, Im not a fair judge for such dishes as I'm not really a fan of lamb, but I would say this dish was quite good. Zach thinks otherwise as he said the dish was "just ok". Although, the meat in the balls were too ground up that you couldn't taste the texture of the meat. Well, at least this dish was better than the first two.

I ordered "Beef, Mushroom & Bacon Ragout" ($26) - a hearty stew of beef, bacon & mushroom with glazed baby veggies & homemade toasted walnut brioche. Im glad to say that this dish was the best of all the main courses. We all agreed that the beef was very tender, tasty and flavorful. The slightly toasted walnut slice was also very good - the perfect piece to wipe the sauce off the dish. The serving was also big, good enough for 2 people, but just enough for me, haha :)

And now for the most anticipated dish of the night.. DESSERT!!

I was really rooting for the dessert to save the day, or shall i say, the night. The "Double Dark Chocolate Cake" ($16) was indeed a lifesaver. Whatever disappointment we had in the main courses were all cast aside after that first bite of the cake. It was moist and UBER delicious. The dark chocolate was rich and divine. MMM mmmm. The sweetness was just right, enough for you to finish the cake and ask for more :P In short, it was better than sex. Ok ok, almost. haha!

So, here is our rating for PS Cafe (out of 5 stars):

.................................Shan / Ross / Aileen / Zach
Ambiance..................... 5........ 5......... 5........ 5
Service........................ 3....... 3.5....... 3........ 4
Food........................... 3.1..... 2.8...... 2.8..... 3.5
Presentation.................. 5......... 5....... 4.5...... 4
Value for money............. 3.5...... 3.5....... 3........ 3
OVERALL..................... 3.9...... 4.0...... 3.6.....4.0
*Rating for food has decimals because I took the average for the ratings of all the dishes.

If you notice, we gave Service a rating of around 3.5 because we had to ask twice for a glass of ice and twice for the dessert menu.

All in all, I would say it was a successful "first" for my food blog. What PS cafe lacks in food, the DESSERT, ambiance and atmosphere definitely makes up for. Our verdict is that PS cafe is more of a dessert place for a chill-out feel-good place for friends or lovers. I wouldn't recommend it for serious gustatory indulgence but I would definitely go back for another slice or two of that cake.

Now, didn't I say my food blog would feature the healthiest food on the menu.. Let me take that back! haha.

28B HARDING ROAD . SINGAPORE

DINNER & LUNCH :~ PLEASE TELEPHONE (+65) 9070 8782
BRUNCH :~ SORRY, NO RESERVATIONS
GENERAL RESERVATION INFORMATION :~ PLEASE TELEPHONE(+65) 6479 3343

LIVE, LOVE & EAT!