Friends

As mentioned in the post of Country Mana, the other affected post will be this one. The photo corruption for this visit is thankfully less severe and i managed to salvage a few survivors from the wreckage of photographic memory which is my Fuji Finepix. Everything 'should' be back to normal after this post.

Friends is a restaurant i've passed by plenty of times during my tenure in the bank at Serangoon Garden. It always appealed to me but never did entice me to go inside due to the mostly al fresco dining concept which i detested. How wrong i was when i finally tried and went inside for a quiet meal with a friend.

Location: 1 Maju Avenue #01-01A Serangoon Garden Village

Contact: 6289-2600

Website: http://www.friendsfoodandwine.com/

Price Range: $20- 30 per head

Menu

Complimentary Bread

Complimentary bread was served warm and covered in a rather tastily chosen basket with red cloth. The bread itself is normal though.

Interior

The exterior of the place belies the sheer space that adorns the inside of the restaurant. Once inside, i was astonished to see how big spacious the restaurant was and it came with comfortable short legged seats, wine glass and rectangular wooden tables. Lighting was dim and relaxed with a primarily laid back atmosphere to the place. It was also rather quiet that night which thus gave me the impression that no one will chase you away if you chose to have a quiet or rowdy night there with friends.

Tasmanian Apple Wood Smoked Salmon

Tea Smoked Tuna with Fennel Salad

For the above 2 appetisers, i managed to have a fair bit of both as my friend apparently doesn't like anything raw. The apple wood smoked salmon was pretty good, its possible to taste the smoke in the salmon rather strongly and it was quite salty as well. The taste grows on you after awhile but tends to overwhelm pretty soon. The tea smoke tuna was also smoke but to a much lesser extent. The taste was mild and lacked the strength the salmon version had.

South Australian Duo Of Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops

Another Look

The lamb shoulder chops was rather good. Done medium rather and served with garlic, shallots and mint jus, the overall concoction was light and sweet. The meat was tender and slightly bloody as well which was made to my order. Simple yet enjoyable.

The items you do not get to see in photo format this time will be the:
Pan Seared "Sakura" chicken breast stuffed with macadamia
&
Bitter Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Campote

I had a piece of the chicken breast and it had a honey taste to it along with it being extremely tender and chewy. The bitter chocolate mousse was served with a strawberry and raspberry which turned out to be very sour. The chocolate mousse itself was not truly bitter and had some small chunks in it which was rather different. Not too bad really.

Bill

The meal came up to $47 after gst and service charge and a one for one meal offer. Expect to pay $100 for the above if you came without a Citibank card.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Last Word:
First off, thank you Max for the meal. Its fun catching up. The meal was pretty decent for me on this one but the best thing about it was the one for one offer which cut the bill in half. Upon further examination, i would not pay $39.90 for the meal per person as it strikes me as not value for money. However, for this round where the bill is basically $20++ per head, its good enough to recommend. I repeat, bring a Citibank card. Go at your own peril without it.