My first visit to Vanilla Bar was a few years ago after a bad encounter of their desserts. But recently I'm glad to have the privilege to try some of their signature dishes from their special dinner menu after so long. Vanilla Bar & Cafe is a Japanese-inspired western cafe that serves a selection of Japanese fusion dishes. It is tucked in a quaint shop house of Boon Tat Street in the CBD area where coffee, desserts and drinks are available.
We started off the meal with 3 sides, here we have is Baked Mentaiko Crab Cakes $10.90. Crab cake is stuffed within the mini crab shell, topped and baked with mentaiko (pollock roe) sauce. I personally like this rendition, it was rich in flavour and moist in the filling. Wish there were either more crab cake stuffed or more than 3 of this. Otherwise, it is still a good eat.
Half Wings $12.90 - These 18 pieces of half cut wings looks pale and has the non-crispy texture. The marination and texture could do better, overall nothing fantastic - like the standard of some western stalls at the coffee shop.
With every main course ordered, complete your mean with an appetizer of Truffled French Duck Rillette Crostini $3.50. The first thing that came into my mind after the first bite was, is this tuna on toast? It was good but the mini portion didn't satisfy me, it's gone after one mouth.
One of the cold beverage that stand out in the menu - Iced Matcha Float $7.90. Cold milk topped with a scoop of matcha ice cream and azuki beans. It tasted really blend even after I mixed well the ice cream.
Vanilla Bar & Cafe launched special menu which is specially cater to dinner, all below $20. Some of the eye-catching items were tom yum seafood risotto, truffled mushroom penne as well as truffled wagyu beef bowl which is a special item for a limited time.
We were introduced to some of Vanilla's signature dishes such as Pork Belly Don with Soft-Boiled Egg $14.90. This was good with the flavourful pork belly as well as onsen egg which the flowy yolk adds on moisture to the rice. The only complain was the small serving of the pork belly.
One of the dish that we actually wanted to try upon looking at the menu, here's Chicken Cordon Bleu stuffed w/ prosciutto & mozzarella served w/ fries $18.90.
The deep-fried chicken was fried to perfection while the cheese within oozed out as we sliced into half. It was divine when you sink your teeth into them as it's packed with flavour. As usual, the only complain was the small portion which didn't much worth the 19 bucks.
Tom Yum Seafood Risotto w/ Tobikko $16.90, it was the last main course and also the most disappointing dish. The rice used doesn't seem to be the kind of rice that most people used for risotto and the whole dish tasted salty. Such a pity as the tom yum flavour was rich but the grains didn't make it up for it.
We capped off the meal with 2 desserts, one of them is Vanilla's signature dessert which is the Vanilla Dirt Cake $9.50. It is a innovative dessert that is presented in a flower pot.
Within was a layer of cream cheese and frozen vanilla ice cream, topped with gummy worms and oreo crumbs to represent the 'soil' in a flower pot. Overall nothing fantastic though the concept was unique. We don't fancy the frozen layer at the bottom though we were told that it is intentional.
And lastly, ended off with Mini Pancakes with french ice cream and maple syrup $10.50. We tried the pancake itself and it felt dry. But the overall zest was good because of the moist from the ice cream and an additional level of sweetness from the maple syrup. For $10.50, do you think it's worth it's value?
// In the evenings, Vanilla Bar & Cafe serves as a cocktail bar, serving a selection of cocktails, beer as well as desserts. The item on the special menu sounded promising, will probably be back for dinner again. Anyway, if the price were to be lower or to serve a bigger portion, I believe more young teens and hipster will flock here.
Vanilla Bar & Cafe
3 Boon Tat Street
#01-01
Singapore 069612
Tel: 6423 0366
Opening Hours: Mon-Thu, 1030am-11pm
Fri: 11am-12 midnight
Sat: 11am-9pm
Closed on Sunday and PH
*This was an invited media tasting.
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