Five & Dime Eatery
What better
way to kill time on a Friday without lessons than hunt down some good food!
Today’s destination: Five & Dime!
Situated along River Valley Road, this neat little café which originally was a
two story shop house, is a popular spot amongst foodies for breakfast/brunch.
Be prepared to queue up and wait for seats if you did not make a reservation as
the café is often fully packed during lunch hours!
The interior of the cafe is beautiful!
So why exactly
is this eatery so popular amongst Singaporeans such that it is able to draw
crowds from all over the island? Online reviews will attribute that to the
splendid food served or the soothing ambiance the café provides but what
actually sets this eatery apart is its unique concept. The eatery prides itself
on its fusion food, bringing a lease of new life to existing well known dishes
by infusing different cuisines together. Two of the dishes we tried that day,
perfectly exemplifies this concept.
Banger & Mash ($18)
Bangers &
Mash ($18), a traditional dish comprising of sausages and mash potatoes that
originated from the UK (United Kingdom), is given a slight twist by infusing
elements of Japanese cuisine within the dish. Instead of the usual thick brown
onion gravy, Five & Dime pairs
the mash potatoes with Japanese curry. Unlike Indian curry, Japanese curry is
much thicker and on the sweet side. Yes I was surprised by how well the curry
complemented the smooth and creamy mash potatoes! And how can we forget about
the sausages when we are talking about Bangers & Mash?! Five & Dime
offers two types of sausages: chicken herb or Italian garlic and thyme pork.
You can choose either or have a combination of both.
Mentaiko Pasta ($18)
Likewise
for the Mentaiko pasta ($18), a dish born from the collision of Italian and
Japanese cuisine. Yes Five & Dime certainly did not invent this dish but
does a pretty decent job with the pasta. Springy yet firm pasta that is tossed
with creamy Mentaiko (Mentaiko is basically marinated Pollock roe, roe of a
type of Cod fish), this dish perfectly captures the flavour of the sea. Every
mouthful of the pasta is filled with the strong distinctive flavour of fish
roe. As you chew on the pasta, the beads of fish roe pop and burst like tiny
bubbles and upon swallowing, you will able to taste the marinated fish roe’s
mild spiciness. And it is precisely this spiciness keeps the pasta refreshing
and so addictive!
Beef Tataki Rice ($20)
If you are
a beef lover then be sure to try their Beef Tataki Rice. A rice bowl with
lightly-seared Black Angus beef sashimi and an onsen egg as toppings, this has
to be my favourite dish among the three. The beef is soft and raw in the middle
which makes the meat chewy. Not to mention that the steaming hot rice that is
drizzled with delicious yakiniku sauce, I could probably eat three bowls of
this any day!
Salted Egg Lava Cake ($12)
Wrap up the
meal with another fusion dish, dessert in this case, the eatery’s famed Salted Egg
Lava Cake ($12). Served on a steamer basket that is usually used to serve Tim
Sum, one would have difficulty in imagining how it would taste like. The salty
flavour and sandy texture of the salted egg sync well with the warm melted hot
chocolate held within the lava cake.
Overall I
was very satisfied with the food and I believe that Five & Dime is indeed worthy
of the title "Cosmopolitan Cafe". Do head down and enjoy a sumptuous
meal!
Five &
Dime Eatery
Address:
297 River Valley Road, Singapore 238338
Phone:
92365002
