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I had lunch at The Marmalade Pantry at ION Orchard today with 2 pals and it was truly a memorable dining experience. Firstly, the service was great – the manager (also called ‘Grace’) greeted me the moment I stepped into the space. I call it the ‘space’ as it’s like an extension of the restaurant proper – it’s in the middle of the mall. The staff had also memorized the reservation list so all I needed to do was to state my friend’s name and they could tell me immediately what our table number was. Consider me impressed! I was 30 minutes early but could get seated at once. I was also offered water while I waited for the other 2 to show up. Brilliant!
The Curry Barramundi ($30.16+) you see above was beautifully plated, the fish was very fresh (with a crispy skin) and the curry was delicious (delightfully spicy!) Best of all, they use Japanese rice. Some of the juices and oil from the fish had already coated the rice grains by the time we tucked in, so even the rice was yummy on its own. So clever of them to place the fish on top of the rice instead of by the side.
We’d also ordered Maryland Crab Cakes ($28+) as our appetizer dish. It was served a little overly charred. Kind of expensive too. (@_@)
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The Seared Scallop & Prawn Linguine ($30.16+) was a letdown. It’s a very ‘meh’ dish. Lacking in taste and color, I suppose this dish needs a rework.
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The highlight of the meal was the Impossible Truffle Burger ($31.23+). I would not have guessed that it’s not an actual meat patty! The texture and the sear are great. And it’s SO juicy! I’d shared this burger with the other two, so as I was cutting the burger into three portions, the juices came flowing out. The fries are outstanding too. I have no complaints whatsoever regarding this dish.
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For drinks, we had the Earl Grey Lychee Freeze ($9.15+), Affogato ($8.62+) and Mocha ($7.54+). All 3 were delightful in their own way. And even if you don’t want to order any of the beverages, there’s lemon-infused water that’s on the house. Image may be NSFW.
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For dessert, we’d ordered the Blue Rhapsody Cake ($10.77+, in the background) and The Marmalade Carrot Cake ($10.77+). The carrot cake was impossibly moist and crumbly. It falls apart the minute you stab it (however gently) with a fork. Decent but may be too moist for most people.
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As for the Blue Rhapsody Cake, we ordered it as it seemed promising based on the description in the menu. Apparently, it’s a certain ‘Genevieve Lee’s Cake Creation’. The cake comes with blueberry gel, lavender hazelnut crumble, cream cheese frosting and blackcurrant meringues. I thought it looked a little odd with that dark band in the middle. Safe to say that the looks and taste of the Blue Rhapsody did not strike a chord with me.
However, it DID make me want to find out who this Genevieve is. Genevieve was the Runner-up in the Masterchef Singapore competition. And she was only 20 years old then! (I don’t know how old she is now but I believe we can expect a lot more from her in the near future)
If you’d like to dine at The Marmalade Pantry at ION Orchard too, go ahead and make a reservation.
#04-11a, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801
T: +65 6734 2700
Opening Hours:
Mon–Sun
10am to 10pm
(Last order at 9.30pm)