Roof Terrace Café

Impetuosity got the better of me. After placing our orders, I hurriedly excused myself and headed for the garden. Elaborated with colourful flowers, Asian-influenced ornaments and music from the streaming fountains, it was obvious why patrons preferred to dine al fresco. For me, it was a time to flex my toy, after a stressful week at work. A little piece of haven, if I should be more exaggerative as this garden is literally, located meters above the ground. Bring your date there for a nice, romantic meal and I’m sure you’ll score, big time. With the ambience, at least.

I chose to sit inside as I believe romanticism is long dead. Somewhere between dial-ups and broadbands. Forget sense and long live sensibility. Orgasm too, of course. Ok, the truth is, I was with friends (not dates), the lovely Js pair, and it was a hot evening. The interior, though minimal, was cozy. And that’s good enough for young, old adolescents like us.

Remember Duplo? Those Lego blocks for children between 1 to 2 years old? That’s how I would describe my Caesar Salad (S$9.80). The chunks of dressed crouton and bacon were unrefined, in my humble opinion. As much as I appreciate the generous size of things, there should be a standard for accessibility and munchability. No complain on the shaved romano cheese though.

I turned to the Spaghetti Marinara (S$17.50) with anticipation. The colour red was created for a reason, to turn on our tastebuds in more ways than one. Alas, the tomato-base sauce was rather bland despite the generous amount of mussels, squids and prawns thrown in. Is it just me or has the marinara pergi sana (go somewherelse, in Malay)? I can’t remember the last time I had a really good, luscious bowl of this tomatoey seafood wonder. Tell me if you know of one, ya!

There’s not much difference in the Spaghetti Vongole (S$16.00) either. Generosity ensured with a good amount of clams and other flavouring ingredients like chili and parsley. But the white wine sauce was disappointingly bland. Then again, with an array of more exciting dishes (I assumed, from the descriptions) to choose from, I (me, me) would have skipped the Vongole. I hope the Js are not reading this. Hehehe.

Now, my choice. The Seafood Risotto (S$17.50). With a rich tomato cream sauce (and parmesan cheese), it was the most flavoursome amongst the rest. Dense, tangy and slightly sweet, it was good. Perhaps too good (or rich) as I almost withdrew halfway doing the rice. The selection of seafood, including squid and prawn was fresh while the rice was cooked to perfection.

No desserts for us as we believed the tasty luck was not on our side that night, tenths of meters above sea-level, despite the attentive service. Adjourning to the nearby, topographically lower Coffee Club for their invincible mudpie proved to be a bad decision as well. The pie fell short of expectation with its shape and size and taste. But let’s keep that for another day, ok? It is afterall, the beginning of the weekend.

Despite the food, I guess the evening turned out to be a rather fun one. For what’s important besides mouth-watering food is a good company, a wise sage-like (as in an herb) individual enlightened me yesterday.

As for the roof/garden, I’m serious. Definitely a nice place to chill out or date (yes, yes, yes) or spend some quality time alone.

Really one!

Roof Terrace Café
211 Holland Avenue
#04-01 Holland Road Shopping Centre
Tel: (+65) 6462 6194