On Wednesday I went to meet my wife for a late lunch and she recommended we try out the Kim Garry restaurant that’s on the basement level of Tampines 1. I’d never had Hong Kong style food before, at least that I know of, so I was willing to give it a shot.
When we were seated by the hostess, she tried to squeeze us into a cramped area along the wall that was already packed with customers, so we went ahead and re-seated ourselves at a stand-alone table where we’d have more room. If I’m going to pay for food at a restaurant I’d rather be comfortable, otherwise I’d just go pay 3 bucks for food at a hawker and squeeze in there.
The decor of the restaurant is really nice. It had a stylish, modern look to it, but it felt a little incongruous given the types of food.
The food itself was good. We started out with the borsch, which is a traditionally Russian or Polish soup that has a beet and tomato juice base. The borsch we were served had chunks of tomato and cabbage in it as well. I’d never had borsch before, so I have no basis for comparison but it seemed pretty good to me.
Before moving on, one more thing I’d like to point out is how they serve their silverware. You can see it in the picture above. It comes in a sealed container and the utensils were spotless, which is just how I like it.
My wife had a dish that I forget the name of, but it had pork chops in garlic sauce over spaghetti noodles. She let me have a bite of the pork chop and it tasted great!
I went with the beef baked rice with cheese. There was a choice between a white cream sauce with sweet corn and a red wine sauce. I went with the red wine sauce, which I think may have been a mistake. It’s sweetness threw off the whole dish. If I go there again before departing Singapore, I’ll definitely try a baked rice dish with corn next time.
When it came time to pay the bill, we were happy with the cost. The food seemed to be reasonably priced.
Overall, the dining experience was moderate. It’s hard to judge a whole restaurant off of one trip and one dish, but I think this is a restaurant that’s worth going back to at least a few more times to further explore the menu, if only I had the opportunity.