Big O Cafe Restaurant, Wheelock Place

So I was craving for Pasta with meatballs on a Friday night. We were thinking of going to CPK or Svensen's but settled for Big O Cafe at Wheelock Place.

I think it's always a genius idea to entice the customers by displaying the cakes at the entrance - especially in a place like Wheelock where foot traffic is heavy and a lot of hungry mallrats abound.


For starters, we had their "Soup of the Day -Clam Chowder" ($6.00). I was very careless to delete the picture of the soup when I was browsing thru the photos. Now I don't remember how it tastes like. Sometimes by seeing what I ate, it helps me remind of how it tastes. Anyhow, I remember it was quite good. Not too salty and rich.


For appetizer, we had the "Crispy Fried Calamari" ($9.90) - menu described it as "calamari with tartar dip and yellow lemon". Aren't all lemons yellow?? because when it's green its called lime, right?

Anyway, as you can see in the pic, the calamari is too bloated. In short, too much flour. I prefer breadcrumbs for calamari. If there's any flour, probably a thin batter just like the one at Fish & Co. Plus the tartar sauce was too sour and the calamari was rubbery. Not quite appetizing.

For main course, I had the "Spaghetti with Meatballs" - ($18.50) - described as "delicious beef meatballs in Big O's fragrant signature sauce".

For the price of the pasta, I did get a hefty serving. There was a lot of beef and the meatballs were quite big. Unfortunately, it was indeed big in serving but not big on taste. The sauce was bland. I did see a lot of herbs in the sauce and inside the meatballs but for some reason couldn't taste it. And I'm sure I didn't have a cold. I'd rather have less meat but more flavour.

For dessert, we had "Spike D" ($4.95) - described as "durian cake made with fresh durian topped with chocolate fudge. Voted favorite dessert by Life Eats".

Honestly, I'm netural when it comes to durian. I don't really despise it but I also don't love it. I must say though, this durian cake saved the day. You couldn't smell the pungent aroma but you could definitely taste the durian. Very moist and delightful. The chocolate was a good contrast to the durian. A very unique "must-try" especially to durian lovers.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with Big O. I learned thru the website Big O is the newest sister restaurant of NYDC. And in my previous blog I was disappointed with NYDC. Oh well..

Here is my rating for Big O:
Ambiance - 3.5
Service - 3.5
Food - 2
Presentation - 3
Value For Money - 3
OVERALL - 3

ADDRESS #02-04/05, 501 Orchard Road, Wheelock Place Singapore 238880
RESERVATIONS 67378472

"Live, Love & Eat!"