But first the good. Quick recommendation if you're ever in Orchard for lunch! Sumiya Charcoal Grill may look a little pricey at first but they do set lunches for quite a reasonable price, ranging from around SGD$16++ to around 30++ (but that was for stuff that's usually expensive, can't remember what it was now but probably something like tuna?) I got the Charcoal grilled fish of the day set for around $16++ (before GST and service charge) and Shu got a Chirashi Don for around 18 I think? All the sets come with a chawanmushi, a bowl of miso soup, salad, oden veggies, some other pickled veggies and a white bean mochi that was really really good. I think that's pretty good value!
Now, on to the bad news. I generally don't like to complain about food but I was really quite disappointed , plus I my friends requested that I give a scathingly honest review, so, here goes. Headed to Haha Thai at Ngee Ann City with some of my friends for dinner before drinks last Wednesday because I had wanted to try their desserts. I just couldn't resist the thought of a Thai Tea flavoured lava cake. Unfortunately, I was pretty let down by their savoury menu. It's not that any of the food is bad, but the portions were so small, I was beginning to wonder if I had accidentally wandered into a fine dining restaurant, because that would have been the only place I could have accepted microcuisine. Scroll down for prices.
Salted Egg Yolk Squid. I believe this was about $16. Even from a macro perspective you can tell there's barely anything in there.
Haha Fried Rice. You can choose three flavours, of which we got pineapple,tom yum and olive. Each portion doesn't even begin to approximate a normal small bowl of rice. This was about 10 or 11 bucks?
Crispy omelette. One of the better dishes, but still expensive. Can't remember how much it was but def over 10 bucks.
Pandan Chicken ($6) and Green Curry Chicken. Don't be fooled by the pandan, the chicken pieces are minuscule. Literally, you can finish it in one bite. You don't even need to open your mouth too wide. Green Curry was okay, not great.
The dessert I came for! Thai Milk Tea Lava Cake, served with a side of coconut ice cream. This was pretty good, although the tea taste is a bit overpowered by the coconut ice cream. The inside was a really yummy condensed milk filling. The price though? $10. I know. Scary. All in all, I paid about $20++, including a drink (they don't serve tap water and charge for wet napkins used) and I barely took a bite of every dish. The food isn't bad, the service was friendly, but the prices and the portions are ridiculous for what it actually is. It's not mindblowing food that I can't find anywhere else in Singapore, so why should anyone have to pay that much when there are very much cheaper options elsewhere? I understand that the higher prices and smaller portions are probably due to the move from Lavender to Ngee Ann City which, I presume, has sky high rents, and I really would love to support a local restaurant in Orchard Road, but the quality has to match the price. Either up the game, or move back to Lavender, cuz I ain't loving it as it is now.
