Double Bay Australian Dining and Bar

Double Bay Australian Dining and Bar

I first heard of this place from Ice's blog and shortly after, I couldn't resist further after reading Sihan's blog about this place.

Named after Sydney’s most fashionable shopping and dining suburb, this stand-alone Australian-style restaurant is located at the back of Raffles City Shopping Mall (if one travels via the MRT).

Encapsulated in a glasshouse and located along Bras Brasah Road, one can enjoy "Alfresco dining" without having to tolerate Singapore's hot and humid weather. The use of high ceilings with cushioned seats provides a superb ambience for gatherings, dates and chillouts. In short, I have fallen in love with this place.

With a selection of seven types of fresh fish (e.g. sea bass, barramundi, red snapper, marble goby, etc) and three different coatings (breadcrumbs, beer batter, or sumac-and-coriander batter). One will be overwhelmed by the choices but a mini description of the texture of various species of fish makes it alot easier.

Chilean Seabass ($26.90++), known to be firm, white, very rich, moist and flaky was actually both Yuan's and my choice of fish. Not choosing Double Bay's signature fish and chips style, Yuan firmly believe that ëxpensive" fish are meant to be served either pan-grilled or steamed to enjoy the maximum sweetness of the fish, hence he prefers to have his Seabass pan roasted with Hokkaido seaweed crust and served with potato mousseline and vine tomato coulis.

Being mildly cooked over the pan, the Seabass retains the moisture. Lightly marinated hence one will be able to enjoy the original freshness of Seabass. What’s worth mentioning is the mashed potato, it’s so smooth that I thought it was the sauce accompanying the Seabass . Definitely a must-try.

Since I have a liking for firm and rich fishy texture, I had the Barred cod (Grouper, $24.90++) with Sumac and corander batter. Yeah, their signature fish and chips. Served with chilli sauce, vinegar and tartar sauce with thick cut fries that adopt slight-crispy, lightly salted exterior with a fluffy interior. The batter is light but what amaze me is the tender fish in the batter. It taste as juicy as how pan-grilled fish are supposed to be. The most important thing about this fish and chips is that the batter does not retain the oil like others and has a slight pepperish taste and crispness.

The desserts can be viewed via the hyperlinks below:-
Lemon Meringue Pie
Molten Warm Chocolate Lava Cake

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Double Bay Australian Dining and Bar
252 North Bridge Road
#01-22A Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: 6334 6530

Operating hours - 11.30am - 1am (Daily)

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Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

We used to have bad impression of lemon meringue tart/pie as we thought it was suppose to be a combination of extreme sweetness and sharp lemony sourishness. My opinion starts to change after trying Aerins' (via Evan's recommendation) and I am ready for this dessert.

Lemon meringue pie ($8.90++), unlike the tart form we had previously, is flat like a pancake. The meringue that is directly on top the lemon filling is extremely fluffly and light. However, we thought that this layer was not torched sufficiently. The lemon curd filling was a pleasant surprise with it being smooth and slightly sour.

In short, we both agree that this gave a totally different perspective of the lemon meringue. Soft pastry skin rather than the crispy tart crust, not-so-sour lemon paste and creamy meringue. For those who dislike the sourness of lemon, this is a good reason to like a lemon meringue pie.

Lastly, nothing to rave about the ice-cream. Although the vanilla fragrance is sufficient, the ice-crystals present in the centre of the scoop was quite a let-down.

Double Bay Australian Dining and Bar
252 North Bridge Road
#01-22A Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: 6334 6530

Operating hours - 11.30am - 1am (Daily)

[ ... ]

Molten Lava Cake

Molten Lava Cake

Chocolate, has always been an all-time favourite to many and chocolate lava cakes make no exception. Somehow or rather, just looking at the oozing chocolate "lava" flows out like magma thrills many or maybe it is the aroma of warm chocolate that does the trick.

Basic requirement for a good lava cake is a crispy layer with a generous molten core and this has definitely meet the requirements of both. In fact, this is one which I hope there is more cake content than molten chocolate.

What we both enjoyed about this warm chocolate cake ($11.90++) is its crispy outer layer without having the burnt taste. This cake, no doubt, is moist and fluffy but has a similar texture as a souffle. Particularly, Yuan felt that the "egg-y" taste is more distinctive than the burnt chocolate taste which some warm chocolate cakes have. For that, we generally prefer dark devotion from tcc and Soffiato from Ricciotti.

Double Bay Australian Dining and Bar
252 North Bridge Road
#01-22A Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: 6334 6530

Operating hours - 11.30am - 1am (Daily)

[ ... ]