Monday, September 22, 2014

Truffle's at Starhub Green

Ok, it's not exactly a cafe/restaurant/bistro in the building. It's actually a Western food stall inside Jia Wei Foodcourt, at the ground floor of Starhub Green.

Bored with the usual offering, my colleagues and I always while about the lack of food variety in our work area. We wonder if there'll ever be a Halal Western food stall.

Lo and behold, during my maternity leave, my colleague excitedly whatsapp-ed me when she saw a new Western Food stall there. And it has a Halal cert!

Upon my return, I made a visit. It's run by a Malay family in fact. That's how it appear to me, that is. The front is manned by a young girl, presumably the sister, the chef appear to be her brother and the preparation seems to be done by the mum.

…For all I know, they could even be unrelated. Hurhur. 


The stall

The tentalising display pictures really had me drooling.

IMG_0819
The menu stand

On the left is the list of ala carte food items:

Soup - portobello mushroom soup, salad and mains like various pastas, steak & fries, H.S. Wagyu Burger, H.S. Fish & Chips, Chicken Parmigiano etc. They also have truffle fries (whoa!).

On the right is the list of The Daily Specials, the $7 Combo Mix and list of side dishes. Their ice-cream is the New Zealand ice-cream brand.

IMG_0824
Sides - Mushroom soup

The soup has a thick consistency (obviously homemade) and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, prior to serving.

IMG_0823
H.S. Wagyu Burger - $ 8.90

I got really curious about this so I just gotta have it, although the $7 Combo Mix seems like a better option for a first-timer.

Fries aren't freshly fried, presumably because it's the lunch rush hour.

IMG_0825
Inside the burger 01

It looks promising.

IMG_0826
Inside the burger 02

Is that seaweed? Interesting…

I re-read the description:
"Charbroiled chuck & wagyu patty with caramelised grilled onions, avocado, nori & unagi sauce served with aioli & shoestring fries."

Seems like one heck of a combination. Avocado, nori, unagi sauce…? Fusion, eh?

The beef patty looks a tad overdone. And true enough, it does seem a tad dry with the first bite. I love varieties and the description really impress me but the whole experience was a bit underwhelming, somehow. I wonder why.

CHICKEN

Here are some of the chicken mains that we've ordered.

IMG_0982
Chicken chop w/ alio pasta

Ordered something from the $7 combo. I guess Chicken Chop will be a safe option. Seeing I was hungry, I opted for alio pasta as the side.

They sure gave a lot of pasta. I almost seem like it's alio pasta w/ chicken chop, instead of vice versa.

IMG_1399
Chicken cutlet w/ alio pasta

Another item from the $7 combo. It seems that the chicken combo set comes baked beans on the side.

The crispy crumbs of the batter really make the chicken look scrumptious!

IMG_1401
Chicken Parmigiana - $7.90

I was really curious about this grilled chicken breast with chunky tomato sauce, sesame bread crumbs and gratined cheese. Sauce was nice although the chicken tasted a bit gamey.

What I love about this dish was the generous lashings of balsamic vinegar. I LOVE balsamic vinegar!

IMG_0822
H.S. Halibut Fish & Chips - $7.90

Ok, I wonder what that initials, 'H.S.' really means. The halibut fish fillet is battered the 'original' way. Not those breadcrumbs style. This dish comes with sides of fries and garden salad. Love that they used the Mesclun mix as their choice of greens.

The tartar sauce on the side was covered with a bit of vinaigrette from the salad. From far, I thought that they served  a sunny side-up egg with this!

IMG_1400
Grilled Fish

This main dish that comes from the $7 Combo Mix. It seems that the mesclun greens (garden salad)  is a common an accompaniment for fish mains, just like how the baked beans are, for the chicken mains.

The portion for the fish fillet seemed a little puny here, so much so that my hungry colleague felt a little let down. Very dismal, she said.

They also have other specialities like truffle fries, pastas and stuff like steaks and lamb chops; all of which I've yet to try. My colleague have had some of their pastas and she was a tad disappointed, though.

All in all, we're glad to have a little more variety in our lunch menu, food is quite presentable and the pricing here seems quite affordable. Wish that they aren't so lacking in the taste department, though.

Truffles
67 Ubi Ave 1
Starhub Green
Jia Wei Foodhub