Would You Prefer A Bumbling Waitstaff or A Rude One, Ma'am?

I went to this place which has students working as waitstaff. They are all very green. But they are polite.

For example, I asked for balsamic vinaigrette. The waiter brought me a little bowl and poured the vinaigrette in before me. Then he disappeared and came with the olive oil. So he mixed it in front of me.

While he was doing that, a more senior member of the waitstaff was standing behind him and watching what he was doing. She was on her way to the other end of the room but overheard my request and stayed to see how the guy was going to serve me. Then she starts scolding the guy for the way he served me a few paces away from me. He should have mixed my vinaigrette in the kitchen and not in front of me.

Well, she shoulda scolded him away from my earshot. Kinda tiring to deal with all that when all you want to do is enjoy your meal at the end of a long work day.

But I definitely have more tolerance for a bumbling waiter than a rude one. As long as the bumblings don't result in seriously unpardonable things like picking food that have fallen onto floors and placing them back onto plates!!!

Anyway, like I said, this place employs students - local and foreign. Before I left, I checked the bill. No service charge. So, no cause for complaint them. And I thought the waitstaff were very polite when dealing with me. I could see they made the effort.

Enter...Wiener Kaffeehaus

You would think that Singapore could do with one less coffeehouse. With all the Starbucks, Spinellis and kopitiams littering our island, what difference would 1 more make?

If it's fashioned after 300 years of Viennese coffeehouse culture and serves authentic Viennese cuisine just the way it would taste back there, then it would, literally, make a world of difference. Enter Wiener Kaffeehaus, 148 Neil Road.

Owned by an Austrian chef turned IT professional turned restaurateur, the origins of this coffeehouse lie in the deep longings for fine Viennese coffee and food among some Austrians residing in Singapore.

The owner, Anton, embarked on a project to bring a little bit of Vienna to Singapore, and even enlisted his mother's help to plan the menu and train the chefs on the artful way of making authentic, Viennese food! In fact, on this visit there, she served me my chicken schnitzel.

The decor of this place, resembles that of a typical Viennese coffeehouse found in Austria - dark wood panels all around and marble top tables (reminds you of our dear old school kopitiam??)

Well, and your cuppa coffee will come to you placed on a silver tray, with cubes of sugar, and water. You can see the pic on their website (I didn't order coffee on this visit). The silver tray, according to the lady owner, prevents the coffee from staining the marble tops, and the water is to wash the bitter aftertaste of coffee down.

Unfortunately, I am not a coffee connoisseur and can't school you in the delicate differences between Austrian coffee and others. Though I was briefed, I did not retain - hell, I'll drink anything I can!! And this attitude led me to bravely try the Marie Thereisa once - that is one evil drink that will keep you awake till you have to get ready for work the next day (not what the waiter told me!!!!). Deadly combination is espresso, orange liquer and brandy.....good luck swallowing it.

Like any respectable coffee joint, this place has it's own boutique where you can purchase powder, beans, and yes, even your own press and other fancy equipment. According to Anton, he is able to keep prices of coffee reasonable because he imports them directly.

The next 2 posts contain pics of our food!!

Sigh. Since it's Austrian food, I found my choices of food very limited because I only eat fish, chicken and vegetables. But they are revamping the menu and giving chicken as an option for some traditionally beef and porky dishes.

So Yan had her beef goulasche(jealous!!)


And Gladys had her pork filled buns, with some sauce and cabbage on the side. It's something like Austrian "pau", fondly called by Anton's wife. Pardon the memory lapse of name cause this is a dated post.

And this is my chicken schnitzel, lovingly served by Anton's mum! And specially cooked too! Because the menu only offers pork but they made a special effort for me!

And we had white Austrian white wine with it too - easy to drink and light and lovely! Sweet.

On the right, cordon bleu!

And finally, our deep fried brie cheese with mayo dip. It's hot, crispy batter on the outside, and cold brie cheese inside. I ordered it cause it sounded so yummy. Then I took a bite and remembered my traumatic experience in France where all I had for dinner was 16 types of cheese and bread........

Ivory - Fine Dining Indian Restaurant

Last night was at Clarke Quay, looking forward to some hubba hubba Turkish food at Marrakech, Moroccan lounge and bar. Unfortunately, there was a private event and we could not eat there.

So we just walked about because there are TONNES of places to eat at in Clarke Quay. In the end, W suggested we try Ivory - The Indian Kitchen (take the lift to the 2nd floor in the building of Gotham).

The concept of Ivory is to bring together different Indian cooking styles under one roof. It's a fine dining restaurant. The decor didn't look Indian at all - more Western than anything.

For the 1st time, I even ate my naan bread with fork and knife because I just felt it would not be in harmony with the whole ambience and spirit of the place to whack my good ole roti (bread) with hands. Was a bit stressful!! Thank God was with good, old friends and not some hot date or guy!

Service staff are very, very attentive. They pull out your chair, place your napkins on your lap, place the food on your plate. At intervals during the meal they regularly check on you and the food. Even when you are reaching out for second helpings, they step forward and offer to serve it to you on your plate. This was a bit embarrassing for me, crass lass that I am - too much attention and pampering! The manager even made a visit to our table to ensure all was in order.

At the end of your meal, you get hot towels (the sorts you get on flights). Well, I have absolutely NO complaints for service. And for that price, it had better be fantastic. Let me give you an idea :

We ordered 3 dishes - grilled fish with fenugreek and karampudi + chettinad chicken curry + mixed vegetable platter in mangalorean base - each of them above $15.

Chicken briyani cost $18 and naans $6 onwards. Cappucino $8. Glass of wine $12.

The food was deeeeeeeelicious. I realised 1 thing about Indian food yesterday.

A pet peeve of mine is complaining about the portions of food in North Indian restaurants and charging so much. Well, there's a reason. The food is too rich so you really can only handle so much of it. And one must take into consideration the strength of the spices and flavours.

One more point - there was an interesting dish I didn't get to eat yesterday. It was baked brinjals layered in lasagne sauce and stuffed with paneer (Indian cottage cheese). Please try for me if you can!

So, anyway, if you are looking for exceptional service, and great tasting food do consider this place. It's not the sort of cheap Indian place where you go, eat, come home and feel like drinking tonnes of water. Warning - spicy food (not hot) though! I like.

PS : pardon the lack of photos. 1stly, it looked like such an atas (high class) place that I didn't want to embarrass myself my snapping photos. Secondly, though I had my camera, I had not the batteries.