The Bravery Cafe @ Horne Road - Now Opens For Dinner On Friday & Saturday

Recently I went back to The Bravery Cafe with Nobelle and Wilson to check out the newly introduced dinner menu. It actually has been more than 3 years since I last visited the cafe. With the white clothes laid over the wooden tables, it transformed the cafe into a different ambiance for dining in the night.

Garlic Crieam Mussel Stew 4/5

We started our dinner with the Garlic Cream Mussel Stew ($9.80). The New Zealand half shell mussels were fresh, plump and juicy, swimming in a garlic infused creamy soup which was really comforting. Glad that it is served with a slice of toasted bread to soak up the delightful soup.

Mini Crab Cakes 3/5

I heard from my friends that the bravery cafe serves awesome crab cakes for lunch so I was eager to try their Mini Crab Cakes ($7.5) made using real crab meat, shaped into a ball, deep fried and dressed in herbed hollandaise sauce. Unfortunately the seasoning of the crab meat was on the heavy side. It was too peppery, masking the flavour of the crab meat.

Maryland Chicken 3.5/5

Moving to the mains, we started with the Maryland Chicken ($16) which comes with a whole chicken leg with BBQ sauce. The chicken was perfectly cooked to a nice tender texture and the BBQ sauce was also good. My slight disappointment is that it felt the sauce was just brushed over the chicken leg, it did not manage to gel together with the chicken. On top of that it lacked that smokey BBQ aroma. While the plating is elegant, the few pieces of red radish, edamame, pomegranate and edible flowers over balsamic reduction is quite pathetic.

Pan Seared Seabass 3.8/5

The favourite dish among us is the Pan Seared Seabass ($18) which comes with pesto cream, citrus sauce and white asparagus. The execution was quite spot on, with a good peppery crust on top of the moist fillet complement by the fragrant peso sauce. A slight disappointment is the white asparagus which was overcooked and soaky.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb 3/5

Rounding up our dinner, we had the Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb ($26.50) which is served with grilled brussel sprout, carrot puree, roasted garlic confit and mint veal sauce. We felt that the meat was slight over cooked and tomatoes somehow very salty.

Sirloin Steak 200 grams 3.5/5

Next we tried the Sirloin Steak ($24.90) which is about 200 gram, served with potato puree, brown sauce, sauteed mushroom and balsamic reduction. The doneness and flavour of the steak was there however once again we felt that it lacked the char aroma for that smokey finish. We realized later the cooking is done in a open kitchen just behind the counter. Probably the grilling was not done over high heat to avoid smoking the whole cafe.

I think the new dinner menu is on the right direction however it needed more refinement, especially on the char part. It can also be more generous with the sides. I personally prefer the dishes to be less elegant but more generous in portion and present in a more casual way, since the focus is on grilled items. This probably will fit the cafe's style and ambiance more.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


The Bravery Cafe
66 Horne Road
Singapore 209073
Tel: +65 94524785
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Lavender (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon, Wed-Thu: 9am - 6pm
Fri: 9am - 10pm
Sat: 830am - 10pm
Sun: 830am - 7pm
(Closed on Tue)

Direction:
1) Alight at Lavender MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to V Hotel Lavender. Walk down Horne Road until you reach Jalan Besar stadium. The destination is just opposite Jalan Besar statium, along the row of shophouses. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

Chicken Up @ Jurong East - Voted The Best Korean Fried Chicken

I actually did not know that Chicken Up has been around since 2010. What surprises me more is that there is a Chicken Up outlet at Jurong East MRT station itself. It is actually located on the ground floor of the station.

Watermelon Soju 4.5/5

Something that I have always wanted to try at Chicken Up after seeing numerous photo of it on social media platforms is their Watermelon Soju. The cocktail blend of soju and watermelon juice makes it a very easy and happy drink to enjoy with friends and families.

Ganjang (Soya) Chicken Wings 4.5/5

One of Chicken Up's bestseller is their Ganjang Chicken Wings ($12). It was even declared as the best korean fried chicken conducted in a blind taste with 8 different brands. This is my first time having it and I can understand why. The freshly deep fried chicken wings which are dipped in Chicken Up's special soya sauce blend, is very crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside.

Bulgogi Fries 3.5/5

I was told that the Bulgogi Fries ($18) is very popular with the diners. The shoestring fries is topped with thin slices of beef marinated in soy sauce and drizzled over with white garlic sauce and garnished with springs of coriander.

UFO Toppoki 4.2/5

New on the menu is the UFO Toppoki ($35.10) which comprises of rice cake, fish cake and deep fried breaded squid in a spicy chilli paste sauce (gochujang). I have tried many gochujang before but this version is really spicy, it sets my tongue burning. The dish got its name because it is served in an UFO pan. On the side includes other stuff such as caramelized kimchi, cheese, corn cheese, kimchi fried rice, steamed egg and some grinded padano cheese as garnish.

For those that has a big appetite, Chicken Up has a All Day Ala Carte Buffet for both lunch and dinner. It comes with unlimited serving of mega half chicken (spicy, crispy, yangnyum, spicy yangnyum, ganjang), wings/popcorn (ganjang, yangnyum, spicy yangnyum) and side dishes such as fries (kimchi, bulgogi, truffle), topoki, jabchae and fried dumpling.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Chicken Up
Jurong East MRT Station
10 Jurong East Street 12
#01-01
Singaopore 609690
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Jurong East (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 11am - 10pm
Fri-Sun: 11am - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Jurong East MRT station. Take Exit A. Take the escalator to level 1. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]