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Review: Cafe Oliv
By daniel | June 26, 2007
Some many weeks ago Esther and I had read in TODAY that entrepreneurial young chef and SHATEC graduate Kevin Heng bravely set up a new eatery along the famous Katong and East Coast Road food stretch. Recently, we finally found the time to pop by at Cafe Oliv for a visit.
The cafe’s exterior was white and nondescript, blending easily into the surroundings but may be hard-to-spot especialy if you’re driving by in that extremely busy stretch of road. Inside, its interior was nothing spectacular - whitewashed walls, and egalitarian dining furniture.
Iced water and menus were promptly provided. The mostly Western menu - with the exception of Thai cream sauce used in some dishes - was familiar and comforting, laced generously with traditional favourites like pork ribs, steak and salmon. I picked the char-grilled Pork Ribs with BBQ Sauce ($14.90) while Esther chose the char-grilled Ribeye with Thyme Sauce ($15.90). We also decided on a salad with a tongue-twister for a name: the Smoked Duck Breast Mesclun Frisee Sage Oil and Vinaigrette ($9.90). *pant*
We took some time out observing the surroundings and what struck me most was that the wait staff were genuinely happy at their jobs and it showed through the service. The young staff were cheery and polite (many whom I suspect were family members and friends), the greetings were warm and smiles startling genuine, certainly a nice surprise in our country’s traditionally gruff and grudging service. It gave the place a sense of energy and life that was alluring. I liked it. But what about the food?
The duck salad (for brevity’s sake), when it arrived, looked appetising. The smoked duck slices were cocooned in a veritable forest of salad leaves, with red cabbage, onions, cherry tomatoes, olives, and yes, frisee and mesclun, drizzled in sage oil and vinaigrette dressing. The smoked duck was lightly charred and tasted somewhat like bacon - bizarre but it worked. We felt that it could do with a lot more vinaigrette, or a squeeze of lemon, for some added tartness to counter the richness of the smoked duck.
We drew the attention of fellow foodie Martin Goh, who was seated nearby, when we started taking pictures of the food. The self-confessed makan fanatic, who often follows Leslie Tay of the ieatishootipost food blog fame on food hunts, heartily recommended Cafe Oliv’s signature starter, the Battered Soft Shell Crab with Salted Egg ($4.90). Too bad we already ordered. Never mind, there’s always another visit if the food’s good.
I was suitably impressed when my pork ribs arrived. The pork ribs, almost scarlet with the homemade BBQ sauce, sat on a bed of mashed potatoes and seasonal greens, and granished with shredded fried sweet potato crisps. The ribs were well seasoned, and while it didn’t fall off the bone the ribs it was tender and juicy. I would have preferred if the sauce was a bit less sweet, and more smoky like traditional BBQ sauce. All-in-all, it was good.
Esther’s ribeye steak was also pretty to behold - we think Kevin’s food presentation was top-notch, and testimony to his attitude towards food preparation. This was a little bit of hit-and-miss: unlike typical Asians we’re quite partial to Western herbs, but the the beef was literally drowned in the thyme sauce which was simply too overpowering. The beef itself was excellently grilled and tender to the bite (despite Esther asking for it to be done medium well), but you could hardly taste past the slight bitterness of the thyme. Needless to say, the potato mash tasted wholly of the herb and nothing else. Both entrees came with a green vegetable more common in Chinese cooking - I can’t remember the name - which we first mistook for baby asparagus. It was fine, but it felt and tasted a little out of place in a steak and potatoes environment. The mash itself tasted fine, and well seasoned enough that no sauce was needed.
It’s rare that we order dessert after a heavy meal, but Esther wanted to try the Creme Brulee (usually $5.90 but was $3.00 if we ordered a main). It was the only thing that was homemade in the desserts list, but OK we weren’t too impressed. Too much egg and too little cream, so it tasted more like the filling of a Chinese custard egg tart than a traditional creme brulee. The layer of burnt sugar that coats the top of the brulee wasn’t done to perfection either, so we’ll pass on this in the future. It looks good though.
The cafe was quite packed on the day we went, attracting many families who probably live in the area. We watched the dishes go by, delivered to the other diners, and decided that Kevin had a reasonably good formula for success. The service is top-notch, and all that is needed is some tweaking to make the good food even greater.
We’ll have to come back for the soft shell crab sometime soon.
You can find Cafe Oliv at Unit 220, East Coast Road Singapore 428917. Tel: 6344-3114. You can also read Leslie Tay’s review on Cafe Oliv in AsiaOne here.
Topics: Restaurant, Reviews, Western |
June 26th, 2007 at 8:03 am
A fair and honest rewiew of Cafe Oliv. Your next trip pls try the Lamb Shank beside the soft shell crab.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Hi Martin,
I saw the lamb shank… the lady seated at the next table was eating it (happily, I might add). The serving was HUGE. ^^