n.y.d.c. @ Holland Village

Like any other second in life, I inhaled another dose of harmful gases and like any other minute that goes passing by, I asked myself, "what the hell are you thinking?!". And not unlike any other of my Big day, I was late...for work.

Life is beautiful, ain't it?

n.y.d.c. , I said, when a kind soul offered a B-day treat. I had no freaking idea why I uttered those four letters. I've come to know their gorgeous cheesecakes through an equally gorgeous ex-colleague whom has since became the wife of another ex-colleague of mine. That was three freaking years ago. I even forgot her name. Was it Felicity or Chastity?

Apparently, this is da joint for the young crowd to hangout. Teenage girls with their Junbug-like vocabulary and boys with their way-cool new toys. Even the blaring music was a mix of neo-emo-gothic-punk-rock noises kids worship these days. Awesome! or Awesome??

The menu was equally funky and diverse. Somehow, I ended up with Tears In Heaven at S$15.50. Rather inauspicious, I'd say but with a description that included words like spaghetti, caramelised onions, bacon and cream sauce, I reclaimed my sensibility. The verdict? Tears in my eyes, I had. The sauce was bland and reminded me of a thicker version of fresh milk, nothing more. The onions, caramelised? Definitely, and I'm suddenly Chico Latino. On the other hand, the spaghetti was done al dente and the ensemble was served warm. Not solid, man, definitely not solid.

A pizza-lover, the kind soul decided to order The Picasso, a 7-inch personal pizza which consisted of a basic tomato sauce and mozzarella. As the name suggested, the idea was to personalise a pizza with toppings listed on the menu. The Kind Soul Pizza included toppings like Italian ham and fresh mushrooms (S$2.25 each) with vegetables such as bell pepper and pineapple (S$1.50 each). The crust was slightly thick but crispy. The ensemble tasted generic but I must say the Italian ham was rather tender and flavourful.

My B-cake came in form of a Mochamisu (S$6.95 per slice). Though tad too sweet, the texture was well-refined and dense. The strong mocha flavour encapsulated the rich, milky tiramisu in a rather subtle way, which was interesting. Think of what a few drops of brandy or kahlua can do wonders for this dessert. Then again, there are plenty of minors here.

I couldn't even sway my fingers, let alone my body as I took a bite of the Mango Tango Cheesecake (S$10.50). What was supposedly a signature dessert, the Ally's New York Cheesecake tasted rather bland while the texture was powdery. The side mango ice-cream was equally bland. As for the colourful sugary rice and cream, well, served no purpose, I thought. As irrelevant as Abba's Fernando to Evanescence's My Immortal.

Was it me who has wrinkled up and turned cynical?
Or was the food really average at best?

Awesome! or Awesome??

Thanks, kind soul, for the dinner!

n.y.d.c.
30, Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: (+65) 6469 2998
Website: http://www.nydc.com.sg/index.htm

Check out kind soul's review here and her wonderful elder sister's take here.