Gigantic rubber ducky along Singapore River

Located just outside the GV cinema entrance was Terra Cafe. It isn’t the appealing kind to me on first look, but I was desperate to find a place sit down, and chill from the extensive heat earlier.

Grilled Lamb Rack

We had a roast Lamb Rack and Linguine Mariana for main course. Both cost roughly $20. Which I’d say is very good for that kind of pricing. The lamb was well roasted with lots of flavour. Not too dry as well.

Linguine Mariana with Ginger Apple Smith

The linguine wasn’t soggy and was topped with average sized prawns which were quite fresh and chewy.

Ah finally sweets, my favourate part of the meal. One of the meals we ordered was added to a set meal, we decided on a coffee flavoured ice-cream. Sadly though we waited for eternity before the ice-cream actually came. Think they probably forgot about out order.

Coffee Ice-Cream

Then was the Tiramisu. Now now, here’s the very delicate critic from someone who self-claims can make the best tiramisu in town. (at this point if you interested, feel free email me for recipe heeh..)

Tiramisu with overdose of cocoa powder

I felt that there was too much cocoa powder on top.. seriously… The top of the tiramisu was “flooded” with cocoa. The texture of the mascopone cheese was right for my liking. Not too creamy nor too cheesy. Its a good blend so you won’t feel too “yeek” after a few spoonfuls. The ladyfinger soaked in coffee was pretty ok. Good strong espresso taste, though lacked a little kahlua (coffee liquor)

Next we had apple fritters and ice-cream. In my mind I was thinking of Ba Si Ping Guo. Basically its apple coated with flour and malt sugar, then deep fried. They’ll soak the pieces in ice cold water upon serving so as to have the sugar hardened up. Its a very exquisite chinese dessert originated from the north I think. The only place I know that serves this is at Prima Tower.

What came out though was totally different.

Apple Fritters with Vanilla IceCream

This version is shapped like donuts and the apple (quite freshly sliced) is coated with flour. Not the crispy type, the softer kind. Eating it plain isn’t exactly to my liking, but with the frosted sugar and vanilla ice-cream as compliments, hmm quite yummy.

Last but not least was a dessert I wanted to try. And though I didn’t order it, it was mistakenly served to our table. I can’t remember the exact name of the dessert but it had these few words: “Ice-cream, espresso, vacuum”

Expresso with Vanilla IceCream

Hmm sounds interesting right? We took a shot of it. But the waiter took it away after realizing his mistake. So I guess I can only review that the next time I head down to Terra.

On the whole its a nice place for a group of people to catch up. Decent food (nothing exquisite) with reasonable pricing. Quantity and quality both strike a balance. Ample choices of variety for appetizers, main course, and desserts. Oh ye they have quite a lot of finger food too, so you don’t really have to pop in just for a meal. It can be for drinks and a light bite too.

Update: Terra Cafe has closed down. Heard Soup Spoon is taking over the place.

Terra Cafe
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-43 Vivocity

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise

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To what I know, I heard this is the original Hong Kong Cafe in Singapore. The numero uno, the first one. No exact fact, but maybe someone could confirm this. Anyway though I stay nearby, didn’t really get a chance to step in till that day. Besides, I was never a big fan of these Hong Kong Cafe craze.. Just like how bubble tea was popping out all over Singapore back then.

Located along east coast road, just opposite the Caltex petrol station, parking lots are quite limited. Just some parallel parking by the road-side. However if you are going by bus, there’s a bus-stop conveniently located just outside. Luckily for some peculiar reason, I didn’t drive that day.

Stepping in, the place is quite brightly lit. As mentioned its very packed during meal times so be prepared to queue. If I’m not wrong, there’s also a huge crowd who goes there for supper since it opens till the wee hours in the morning. Tables are spaced quite close to each other, with a few LCD TVs hanging around. Oh ye, I remembered Man Utd was against Bolton that day, and during the meal, Man Utd scored 3 goals in a row! Glory Red Devils! keke..

We were quite hungry hence though only 2 of us, we still ordered quite a fair bit. Then again, maybe its only me being the hungry one. Anyway service was alright, since it was packed, I guess its still nothing to complain about. Our orders and food came out ok, waiting time not too long, but took awhile to get the waiter’s attention at times.

Clockwise from Top: Siew Mai, Deep Fried Silverfish, Guo Tie (Pan Fried Dumplings), Beancurd Skin with Seafood, Pork Rib Chicken

Firstly the Shao Mai was very normal. Nothing special. Tasted a little like those frozen ones, but slightly bigger in size. The pan-fried dumplings, (Guo Tie) was decent. Skin quite crispy and the meat fillings inside was moist. However don’t expect those Ding Tai Feng quality dumplings, where you bite one mouth and the soup oozes out. This one doesn’t. Next was fried beancurd skin wrapped with prawn fillings. Tasted like normal dim sum kind. Again quite normal.

We also ordered a plate of fried white fish with salt and pepper. The white fish is those kind like ikan bilis, small puny fish. For me, I like fried food, and especially those jiao yan type (i.e. fried with salt and pepper) so I quite fancied this dish. But I think can get it as good elsewhere.

Finally the last dish we had was this chicken. I can’t remember the name, but its something interesting. Think it was dancing chicken. Basically the drumlets were de-boned or ratherthe meat was pushed way up to the tip of the bone. I think it was called pork-rib chicken (pai gu ji) or something. Anyway the chicken tasted quite dry and the dipping sauce was kinda sweet. I think we had more fun trying to make the chicken pieces stand up for a nice shot, rather than munching them in the mouth.. hahaha…

Pork Ribs Chicken

Pricing was quite ok. About 15 bucks per person inclusive of drinks. We paid slightly more about $50 for 2 person, probably because of the variety we ordered. But assuming each person orders one main course and a drink, should not exceed 15 bucks, which I think is quite reasonable.

For a quick bite with a HUGE variety to choose from in the menu, you may want to try out the place. Other than that, food connoisseurs may want to give this a miss…

378/380 East Coast Road
(Opposite Caltex Petrol Station)
www.hkcafe.com.sg

Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to heaven is edible.

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