The Quarters (Closed)

Item: The Quarters
Rating: 4
Author: RunningMan

Tanjong Pagar

$21 - $30

Asian Variety Singaporean Western Desserts and Cakes Restaurant

RunningMan

Level4

325

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Full The Quarters review: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/07/the-quarters-tasting-session.html

Founded by passionate, young owner-chef Chung Deming in September 2014, The Quarters is a quaint, cozy cafe in Icon Village, just a short 5 minute walk away from Tanjong Pagar MRT station. This former financial advisor and self-taught chef serves Modern Singaporean fusion cuisine in The Quarters, showcasing unique, local flavours within Western plating and presentation. Drawing inspiration from Singapore's old ethnic quarters, and creating everything painstakingly from scratch, The Quarters is a culmination of a dream that began years ago, when he first created his signature dessert, the Duraincanboleh.

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Ambience at The Quarters is a homage to the old dock / pier side warehouses and godowns, with trappings of corrugated metal, wood panelling, burlap sacks, and bright spotlighting. Colour themes of wood against black abound in the thoughtfully laid out 30-seater space, a cozy, yet nostalgic industrial feel. Furniture is rather comfortable, good enough for casual meals and short business talks, less ideal for long relaxing sessions. Love how open and attractive The Quarters looks, though ambient noise levels can be rather high.

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Service at The Quarters is excellent. Staff are professional and efficient, quickly seating guests, taking orders, and clearing away empty / dirty tables or plates proactively. The small sevice team here is friendly, knowledgable on the complexities of dishes, and able to make solid recommendations. The serving counter is laid out so staff can even converse with customers! Heading up the staff is owner-chef Chung Deming himself, who alternates between quality control of food in the kitchen, walking around to engage customers and get feedback, and even taking orders, serving dishes, and clearing up! However, it should also be noted that fulfilling orders takes longer than usual, at least 15 minutes or more, because they make everything from scratch. Example: A mass order of 10 drinks would take some time, because their commitment to quality means they can only prepare it 1 at a time!

The Quarters Cocktail

Food at The Quarters is Modern Singaporean. This means local Singaporean ingredients and flavours; Malay, Indian, Chinese, Peranakan, fused with American, British, French, and Italian plating and preparation styles. The menu may be small, but each dish is thoughtfully planned and designed, each component complementing, or contrasting, the others in taste, or in texture. These novel, innovative dishes at The Quarters are all hand crafted, using recipes self-created by the owner-chef, after long hours of fine-tuning, and searching for sustainable, honest suppliers of quality produce. This also means that flavours are unique, and may not always appeal to an individual's tastebuds. That said, each dish is uniquely Singaporean in taste. Portions are nicely sized, and prices are really affordable for the amount of effort and time in each dish. Budget about SGD $19 per person for a decent meal here.

Fresh chicken chunks breaded in old-school prawn paste are deep fried for the Har Cheong Gai (SGD $9.50). The chicken is tender and juicy, with a coating that is savoury and has good shrimp flavour, yet is non-greasy. Served with a Power Belachan Dip on the side, this yummy appetizer disappeared all too quickly. Highly recommended!

Of the salads we tried, I prefer the Samsui Chicken Salad (SGD $12.80). Meaty strips of Hainanese style white chicken (poached in-house), is laid over fresh, crunchy lettuce, juicy cherry tomatoes, strips of cucumber, and garnished with a soft, onsen egg. Finished with a house created piquant vinaigrette of garlic chili, the dish is their rendition of a healthy chicken rice, and tastes delicious! While the chicken could be a little more tender, you do get the natural, clean taste, and it works well together with the crunch of the lettuce and fragrant sauce. Worth ordering!

A house special, the signature Satay Burger (SGD $17) is incredibly flavourful. A tender, juicy chicken steak is marinated in spices for 24 hours, then grilled to perfection, and sandwiched between crisp, chewy, fragrant, hand made rice burger buns, garnished with julienned strips of fresh, crunchy cucumbers, sharp red onions, and red bell peppers / capsicum. Incredibly tasty! The house created satay sauce is served on the side, and I recommend pouring it over only in small amounts for best results. Pour too much and the burger might get soggy. Highly recommended!