Keong Saik Snacks

I can see why they are called Keong Saik «Snacks» because what they serve are ridiculously overpriced for something that doesn’t even qualify as a meal. $ 17 for a «Turkish brunch» the size of a small soup appetizer? You better believe i won’t be running back here any time soon.

Looks a lot better than it is.
The coffee was quite good.
Couldn’t get the order right and way overpriced for what it is — you can get the same things done better just down the street from there or at many other places in town.
Was really looking forward to it but I doubt we’d feel right about giving it a second try.

I had one of the worst experience here, from a very badly trained server.
I’ve truly never, ever experienced such bad/​rude service
We arrived for lunch on Dec 27 at around 1p.
A bad-​mannered teenager greeted us at the door and quickly told us there were no tables available.
The rest of the conversation went something like this:
ME: Oh, OK, we’d like a table for 4 when it’s available
HIM: I don’t know when there’ll be space for you
ME: OK, can we put our names down?
HIM: We don’t take reservations
ME: Umm, it’s not reservations, i’m trying to just put our names down for the next available table
HIM: We don’t do that
ME: really? umm, then when should we come back to check on an availability?
HIM: How would i know? I don’t know how long these people will be eating!
ME: Are you serious?! You don’t know if there’ll be a table in maybe 10 mins? Or will it be an hour?! That’s kinda a big difference… if you can advise us, we can plan accordingly.
HIM: I don’t know how long this people take to eat!
ME: OK, can you just write our name down so when we come back in 15 mins to check on a table?
HIM: FINE. I’ll go get paper
He proceeds to randomly grab a stack of paper to half-​heartedly scribble my name down.
Then he just walks away.
WTF
Thankfully, after 5 mins of waiting, another server spotted us outside the restaurant (yes, the idiot left us outside) and magically found us a table.
If it wasn’t my friend’s birthday, I’d have stalked away; there’re hundreds of other restaurants in Singapore with Much better food at way more reasonable prices– we don’t have to slum it at Keong Saik Snacks.
They may want to look at retraining their staff

The good: It’s a strong 2 stars. Small and cozy, this spot sits in an up-​and-​already-​came area of town. All the food I tasted was tasty, but that’s only talking about 2 plates. I had the lobster roll as my main and it was cheaper than Luke’s and almost as good. My friend went veggie and all things considered, it was decent. Service was the new Singapore standard (slightly better than before, but not as good as in a tip culture) and the crowd was watch worthy.
The bad: There were a few more items on the menu that I wanted to try, but at least one of them would have to strongly stand out for me to make this a destination location. The good news is that I’ll be back, the bad news is I don’t know how many times.
The ugly: The menu reminds me of a slightly less creative 28HK menu, and I’ve had it up to my bow-​tie with the the concept of taking street or home-​style meals and putting a twist (and a new price tag) on them. The fact is, they were great before you made them gourmet.

Heyo, I’ve found the hip kids! At 7:30 on the dot they began fluttering in like moths to a flame, like trend-​spotting foodies to dude food, like Waldo to that barber pole factory. And I can see why — the reputation of Jason Atherton is not one to be taken lightly. With Esquina a block away, he’s certainly making his mark on this hood. And the venue was exceptionally stylish. A bit more American diner than British bistro, it was warm and chrome and exclusive with an open kitchen and fantastic service.
But let’s be honest — it was upscale pub fare with a dude food twist. Which is undeniably delicious, but at what price? As I put together my DIY tuna tartare and my dining partner indulged in his kimchi burger (both recommended, by the way) we both agreed that yes it was tasty, but had a hard time separating the style from the substance. Pork ribs. Lobster rolls. Hot dogs. Chili garlic fries. Delicious. But boof were they ex. pen. sive. The highlight for us? The doughnuts. And a tip for your trip — ask for both flavours of cream. They’ll happily oblige.
I’d recommend a visit, even if it’s only to pick up the password to the Library next door. Just make sure you brace yourself for when the bill arrives.

The 3^rd outpost by chef Jason Atherton (think Pollen, Esquina) and his most casual. He calls it British-​inspired snack bar. Tiny place, open kitchen, no reservations taken.
Food is ok. Given that it is a snack bar, it just has too much fried food than I’d like. I am just not much of a fried flour person. Brilliant though, if you are half drunk and starving.
DIY tuna tartare is great and a refreshing way of serving it. Signature hotdog is flavorful if you like dogs. Fish and oysters is a paper cone of fried fish and oysters. Daily special of BBQ ribs were fall-​off-​the-​bone soft. Chilli garlic fries were good but the portion oh so tiny.
We also tried the ice cream and I really love the milo-​rum chocolate ice cream. The milo is mixed with rum and sprinkled as a topping. And the ice cream not too sweet. Much as I love my desserts, I do not like to taste sugar in them.
And ya, it is located next to the supposedly secret bar next door.

If I could give 3.5 stars, I would. I’m awarding 4 stars by merit of the yummy bone marrow, which comes roasted with an onion remoulade and braised pork belly. The bone marrow on toast was really good, and the portion of bone marrow was very generous. The chili garlic fries were kinda soggy and not very impressive at all. The shaved asparagus fennel salad was good, with the burrata cheese. My only comment would be that it was a tad too heavy, for a salad. The hot dog, which was supposed to be the special of the house, was good, but not as good as we had expected. If you like hot dogs to begin with, this is your thing, since the hot dog comes with avocado and peppers on it to give it more flavor, but well, if you are not a fain of hot dogs, try something else. You will not be missing out. The ambience was nice, very modern, casual and minimalistic. Worth trying out, but definitely not a favorite restaurant for me.