Island Cafe - Cafe with a Tropical Feel

i love food, and i love shopping. naturally the idea of having restaurants right smack in the middle of retail stores sounds fab to me. the best thing is, most of these places allow shoppers to bring in unpaid merchandise. so you can take a break from shopping, sit down and have a nice lunch, and then continue your retail therapy. there’s the ikea restaurant for example, or the royal copenhagen tea lounge at takashimaya department store. and now, tangs department store has its very own island café and bar.

not many people would have seen this café hidden at the top level of tangs next to the kids’ section. there’s a certain rustic island charm to this whole place, with its indoor dining area decked out tastefully in dark wood and lit by soothing mood lighting. what i personally liked is its small al fresco dining area that is breezy and quiet. a lovely spot for a bright, sunny afternoon!

the service rendered here is great. the waitstaff seem genuine and friendly. besides the fact that it took some time for my soup to be served due to the brisk business, i have no complaints about the service.

the menu is a medley of assorted asian flavors, with items such as tom yam goong, kuala lumpur hokkien fried mee and hainanese chicken rice. to cater to even more diverse palates, there is the occasional western fare thrown in such as crab bisque.

Crab Bisque
Price: $6 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

it came in one big bowl, accompanied by a side serving of man tou (asian bun) that i really liked. how’s that for fusion? it’s a pity though that despite looking quite tantalising, the bisque offered little of the natural sweetness of the crab. made with coconut milk, it was also a tad too heavy for my liking.

Indonesian Fried Rice
Price: $13 + 10% Service Charge + 5% GST
Dish rating:

for my main course i picked the indonesian fried rice. it was one large plate of small delights including chicken satay (meat skewers), curry chicken, egg strips, asian pickles and prawn crackers. the thing is, none of these tasted good! the chicken satay was tender but it was somewhat too sweet for my liking.

the curry chicken, on the other hand, was too salty to be consumed. i gave up after a couple of bites. the nice waiter agreed to change it for me though, so i got a fried chicken instead. (mental note to self: when served food that is of sub-par level, never be afraid to make your voice heard.) fortunately the rice wasn’t too bad. it had been wok-fried with indonesian spices and was quite rich in flavor.

it’s a real shame that the food here just didn’t do it for me. if not for the food, with the laid-back ambience and its team of friendly waitstaff, the island café is one place that would keep diners coming back.

Island Cafe
Tangs Departmental Store
310 & 320 Orchard Road Singapore 238864 [map]
(65) 6311 3424
Service rating:
www.tangs.com

Posted by Veron · Food category · 6,536 views