The Exchange

Have been here for a few quiz nights now.
Food and drinks are good but not great. Highlights so far: the Exchange Salad, the Exchange Burger and the risotto with deep fried cheese crisps.
Prices a bit on the high side, but I guess it’s par for the course in the CBD area. Service is unfortunately quite plodding, as they appear somewhat understaffed. it’s quite common for the staff to get your order or bill wrong.

Came for drinks after work. To buy a single beer, not worth it, if you are looking for a special deal go with the bucket of 5 for 35 (to share obviously :) can’t say about the food, definitely a lot of expats at the bar after work.

I am extremely happy that I was able to watch the USA superbowl here. I SEARCHED all over until a few great Unilocalers helped me out. The atmosphere was great, but that could be because I’m in Singapore. They attempted on having a good breakfast but that didn’t happen at all the pancakes were the most driest I’ve ever had. I asked for a bloody Mary and it tasted like straight Tabasco sauce with Vodka. But overall the fact they helped us American football enthusiast and was great. Thank you!

Solid if not spectacular after drinks work spot in Asia Square. Very open layout, good for a drink with some mates. Ladies night is Wednesday, so keep that in mind. As per other places in Singapore, drinks are expensive but what can you do. I would probably come here again, the crowd is fine, not too pretentious but certainly not low-​end, if I was in the Asia Square area.

The Exchange is nearly always busy after work hours, but that has more to do with it’s strategic position between the two towers of Asia Square business park. It makes for a convenient spot to decompress after a hectic day at the office. On its own, though, there’s nothing particularly impressive about The Exchange. It’s expensive (even by Singapore standards) and the beer selection is lacking. What is nice, though, is that the bar is completely open to the outside, affording nice people watching views and a good breeze on hot days.

We have to remember that food & drink establishments are not always passion projects. Sometimes they’re just businesses looking to make a buck. Some of these businesses are successful in spite of lacking outstanding food & drinks. The Exchange is one of those places.
Don’t get me wrong. The Exchange has a pretty good selection of booze, decent beer on tap and the food is pretty good (I like the wings, sliders & fries). But nobody really goes here to order anything specific off the menu.
People come here because:
a. it’s downstairs from the office (I’m guilty of this)
and
b. free «martinis» for ladies 6pm-​9pm on Wednesday.
I’ve taken a sip of one of those «martinis». It tasted hideous to me. It (in this case a «lychee martini)» tasted like someone had drowned a lychee in syrup, added a dash of vodka and topped it up with more syrup with some water for texture. But judging by the queues that form for these martinis, I guess anything free is worth a shot. And if you drink 36 of them you might even get buzzed!
And, of course, where the ladies flock so do the men. Three days later when the weekend is just a distant memory and we have been deprived of vitality and entertainment in our office cubicles we welcome an opportunity to socialise and flirt.
So The Exchange formula works. Kudos to these guys for being good businesspeople. They’ve even been modifying their outdoor layout to get booze to people faster on Wednesdays: they now have what amounts to a humongous ice bucket full of San Miguel Light & Pure Blonde outside selling at $ 12 a pop.
Is there anything special about the food & drink on offer? Not really. But is it a good vibe and do I welcome it as a weary respite at the end of a long day’s work? Absolutely. Especially on Wednesdays.

Meh, to be honest, only so-​so.
Yes, the interior design is bright and open, and the corporates love it… and location is ideal planted right beside my work. But the food and coffee leaves a little to be desired… I had the battered fish and chips. The batter was overwhelming, too thick in texture and the fish too thing. French style fries when chunky fries is a MUST when having F&C. 6 weeks in to Singers, I had been CRAVING fish and chips, but unfortunately this was well short of the mark… The shank looked a decent size, although does not fall off the bone like you would expect of a shank.
Have also had take out coffee from the side counter… gives me the caffeine hit I need but the hot coffees are heavy on the milk and not on the flavour so stick to the iced coffees is my recommendation.
Corporate crowd at lunch of course, so wear a suit.
Despite the average food, service is very efficient and professional and of course I still want to try their martinis on ladies night! It’s easy enough to win back my affections…

This restaurant is not on my radar of must-​try places; the only reason why I came here was because Nik T. and Jireh H. were hangin’ here for the Super Bowl! I don’t even watch football, but as an American I felt it my duty to make an appearance.
First impressions were good, as I loved the white interior, visible kitchen, free wifi, and the New York Stock Exchange theme. Their wifi password is «greedisgood». +1 for the Gordon Gekko reference!
In terms of the Super Bowl event, it could’ve used more planning. To echo Nik, they didn’t even have the right channel on the TV’s; luckily Nik pointed this out a few minutes before the start of the game and it was switched to the correct channel RIGHT before kickoff.
Also, the staff didn’t seem to know the drink specials, as they kept charging our beers at full price. Once we showed them the ad that they posted on their OWN website, advertising happy hour prices for our drinks, they finally fixed it… however there was STILL a discrepancy. Their physical menus mention $ 10 happy hour prices on beer, yet the receipt only reflected 15% off, which ended up being around $ 11.95. I mean, get it together! If you’re going to charge 15% off, that’s cool, just make sure your advertising is consistent!
Breakfast specials were okay, I had pancakes with a fruit compote but it’s nothing to Unilocal about.
Overall, decent place to watch the Super Bowl if you’re not into crowds and you want to have a TV screen to yourself. I’ve never been to Brewerkz for the big game but I heard it’s a lot crazier and crowded, along with pricier breakfast specials… so I guess it really depends on what you’re in the mood for!

Word on the street points everyone to Brewerkz in Clark Quay if you’re interested in watching a good sporting event with an amazing crowd and atmosphere. I would have gone there if it wasn’t for Gold Elite Nik T. who wanted to try something new this year for the Superbowl game between the Ravens and the Niners. While chatting him up at the last UYE, Nik T. had decided on checking out The Exchange — instead of his usual haunt — instead… which I decided to tag along and check out myself.
We arrived about at 0720 hrs and found out that all TVs had the wrong channel on. No one knew but Nik T. knew well and immediately let the manager know about it — who switched it over quickly. Those poor souls would have never known… and it was a Gold Elite that saved their day. Funny… and sad at the same time.
They had the Superbowl Breakfast set going for $ 20 that included bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, and a beverage of your choice. True, I didn’t order anything at first except for a Guinness Draught — what some would call breakfast for champions — but the moment they served it to Nik T., I JUST HAD TO ORDER IT TOO.
It LOOKED just absolutely IMMACULATE:
Well…immaculate it looked, taste-wise…plain old boring.
We easily made the most noise throughout the whole game — something that was absolutely different from Brewerkz. It would have been a riot there BUT as initially mentioned, we’re here to try something new.
I doubt I’ll be back again (since I’m a guy) and the real reason that anyone would come here would be Wednesday Drunk Women Night (aka free martini’s for all women from 6 — 9 pm). So yeah, maybe this place would be a better spot if they advertised EARLIER instead of two days before the Superbowl…
Service…could do some brushing up.
Unilocal 100: ¹¹⁄₁₀₀

special thanks to jireh and michelle for dragging themselves out of bed so early on a monday morning just to join me in my annual superbowl pilgrimage!
i like the setup here.
clean, bright and airy.
but they really need to get their act together when it comes to organizing a sports event like the superbowl!
since i cant write a business tip like all you mobile Unilocalers, i’ll write some here in my review!
TIP:
1) advertise your event way in advance!
be it on your website or on your premises.
this is basic marketing 101.
2) make sure you have HD signals for your beautiful HD ready screens!
why under utilize your resource?
HD is the future and you need to invest in your future, yesterday!
3) good execution is the key to repeated success!
all your staff have to be on board. they need to know what you are offering and they have to deliver the same level of excitement that the event is offering.
the superbowl breakfast was not even offered and had to be requested for.
also delivering on your promise of happy hour prices cannot be in any way compromised like it was when the bill was presented.
the only saving grace was the fact that we had a big screen all to ourselves mainly because of your failure to draw the crowds in.
also the availability of free wifi is a winner!
it kept us entertained especially so during the unexpected blackout at the superbowl!
in fact, we only realized what was happening via the internet as the tv did not offer any inkling of what had happened in new orleans.
sigh…looks like it’s back to the tired but electrically atmospheric brewerks next year?

There is only one reason to go to the Exchange.
It’s not the food.
It’s not the crowd (wellll that’s debatable I guess, depending on your taste).
It’s the free martini’s for women every Wednesday from 6−9pm.
Trust me on this. I’ve had someone twist an ankle over those apple martini’s.

The Exchange is actually a pretty cool bar to hang out at after work. Great music, great space, great crowd but that kinda ends there. It’s alright for a couple of drinks but not if u are starving and want some food to ease your hunger pangs because the service is downright slow.
Truffle fries were really salty and we couldn’t taste the truffle oil at all. The texture of the fries was fine but where is the truffle oil?! The steak tartare (S$ 18 for 7 – 8 pieces) was served on little round pieces of toast. Wasn’t memorable enough for me to say anything about it.
We ordered the Gourmet platter (S$ 80) for sharing along with some other starters. The cold cuts left a bad taste in my mouth. They had a slight porky taste which is typical of old and bad pork? That stale oil taste and fishiness. The duck rilette is worth mentioning though because of the generous chunks of meat. It tasted pretty much like shredded and deboned duck confit instead of a pâté-​ish texture. This goes extremely well with the toasted breads. I enjoyed mine on the herby focaccia. The oysters were quite pathetic though. They sell them individually for S$ 4. Hur. And they weren’t particularly fresh as well.
I think the best dish in the platter would be the Grilled scallops with bacon (there were only 4). The juicy and succulent scallops has thoroughly absorbed the smokiness of the bacon and thus makes this a great savory snack to go with beer. The Chicken and lamb skewers were nothing special though
If there’s something you should order, go for the steak. The Hanger Steak ($ 40 for 220 grams) was melt-​in-​your-​mouth, tender and yet a little bit chewy and very flavourful. The hanger is the part between the loin and brisket btw. The downside is that they took forever to come, as with all our other dishes. Also, it’s quite a small steak. Even my little tummy wouldn’t be satisfied.
So to go or not to go? I’m struggling with this one. Skip the platters, go for the steaks and be prepared for a long wait. The beer kinda helps with the waiting. Cheers!