Did you know that The Flame Cafe at Tai Seng is famous for its 4-tier pagoda steamboat? Well, I found out only after getting there and spotting the folks at another table and their legendary steamboat setup (really WOW). Meanwhile, we tried the mains and dessert at Flame and here’s a quick review so you know what to order when you’re there.
In the first picture above, you see the Salmon I ordered. It’s about 2cm thick with miso slathered on top. Quite nice. Would be better if the flavors had been infused into the fish as it tastes a little bland if you remove the salmon skin first. The roast potatoes were good, as they should be.
As for the Chili Crab Pasta, I think it looked a little sad…
Using the same ingredients, a different presentation would have wow-ed. Maybe serve it on a platter, like a deconstructed version of this dish. Pasta twirled in one corner, poached egg in the middle and chili crab sauce in a little jug. And IF one whole crab claw (deshelled or otherwise) is served together with the dish, I guess I’d be willing to pay more. This costs $13.90 before service charge.
We also tried the Sambal Escargots. Nice mix of portobello mushrooms and escargots – the colors turned out rather similar so it was hard to tell which was which. I would order it again.
Sneaked a pic of the folks with their pagoda steamboats:
I need to round up some friends before coming here again for steamboat.
Love the decor, especially those industrial style chairs and interesting feature walls that must be a pain to dust. The cafe is big and airy. I also like how thoughtful the staff are. As much as possible, they leave alternate tables empty so you get all the privacy you need, until more customers stream in.
As for the dessert, I felt it was a letdown both in presentation and taste. Here’s the Waffle For One…
It looked like someone had torn a whole waffle into 4 quarters, using his/her bare hands. Yikes! Quite shocking, I have to say. I’ve seen mini waffles before, and those were served whole (at other establishments), and not torn apart like this one. The taste left more to be desired as well, but for $4.90 I guess I shouldn’t complain.
The Chocolate Lava Cake ($8.90) was a little flat – half the height of usual lava cakes. But since the chocolate flows out, nothing else matters.
There are a couple of promotions you might want to take note of if you’re heading over to The Flame Cafe. We used a Groupon voucher for this meal so we had the ala carte items.
Here’s the address and opening hours:
