This is actually a review of a second visit to The Mad Poet - a place I had to return to after the success of my first trip (see link here for the review of the first visit with different photos and narrative: http://www.thedarksmile.com/blog/review-of-the-mad-poet-gastro-bar-20-cross-street-01-2324-china-court-singapore).I have only ever been to The Mad Poet on a Saturday lunchtime, and it is pretty quiet at that time of the week. Given its trendy, dark decor, I'm guessing they get most of their business in during the week, servicing the well-heeled types working in the various offices round and about. But they make up for the weekend lack of ambience with some pretty cool tracks playing in the background, so no complaints here.On this second visit, my companion and I went for the Cajun chicken and mango salad, the beef tacos and the juicy prawn pasta (yes, three mains for two people... call us greedy). I washed mine down with a bottle of 4 Brothers Toffee Apple cider: it was pretty weak stuff at 4% ABV compared to an ordinary cider, but I must say it was delicious. As the name would suggest, it tasted like a gently fizzy, burnt caramel and super-sweet apple juice concoction - I'd almost call it a kid's drink (by which I mean no criticism), if it weren't for the alcohol content:The chicken and mango salad was as impressive as the first time around - thickly sliced, the skin seasoned perfectly, the homemade honey and mustard seed dressing perfectly balanced, not too heavy-handed on the parmesan cheese, large crunchy salad leaves:The juicy prawn pasta was another hit: spaghetti coated but not drowing in garlicky, creamy sauce, and a generous helping of large prawns (and yes, they were indeed 'juicy'):Finally, the beef tacos. If The Mad Poet slightly let itself down, it would be here: don't get me wrong, I gobbled these down in double-time, and have no complaints per se... but I would say that I have had better-seasoned, and certainly spicier, tacos elsewhere. In fairness, this dish probably suffered by comparison with the other, top-notch dishes that we were enjoying that day, and ended up paling by comparison:Having found room for three mains, we had no space left for dessert, but I discuss the soup of the day and dessert in my earlier review elsewhere (http://www.thedarksmile.com/blog/review-of-the-mad-poet-gastro-bar-20-cross-street-01-2324-china-court-singapore).Taking the two visits together, I have to say that I am huge fan of The Mad Poet. On this most recent trip, we got away for SGD 50.60 - given that that included alcohol (an imported rarity at that), and 3 mains at a mouth-watering SGD 10 each (that's ten bucks only, folks), this is a rare combination of high quality and value. Friendly and efficient staff, too. A strong recommendation: do support them on the weekends!:)…Read More
