Friends @ Jelita

R's birthday treat at Friends @ Jelita. It's been eons since I've been there. Located on the second floor of Jelita, I made reservations for two in a cosy corner. The decor of the place is done up rather nicely and had the ambience for a slow enjoyable dinner. Groups of diners took up at least half the restaurant.

Service started off on a nondescript note, with the waiter telling you what's the Soup of the day, dessert of the day, asking if you'd like wine to go with the food. He made no attempt to ask if we'd like to top up the meal for a choice of desserts.

Since it's the month of Oktoberfest, the mains were largely German infused dishes.

The food arrived promptly too, dish after dish.

Warm bread was served nested in a napkin which I found delicious with the olive oil. Pity they did not refill it, nor offer to either.

Starter

Smoked Mackerel with potato cake & turmeric cream cheese

I liked this, no fishy hint whatsoever. Simply just potatoes if you ask me, no trace of "tumeric cream cheese". Maybe it's the designs on the plate.

Soup

Beef Soup with root vegetables

A first for me, clear soup with beef boiled so long it kind of lost its meaty bite to it. Tasted good warm though, not spectacular.

Main Course
Roasted Crispy Pork Knuckle with sauerkraut, mashed bacon potatoes & mesclun



A mighty display with a quarter pork knuckle! The crispy skin fried so dry, got me crunching loudly, ignoring the potent calories that came with it. The pork was a little too dry but I don't mind it that much. Slightly on the salty side. The sides of mesclun and mashed bacon potatoes are equally outstanding. Not quite a pork knuckle person so I don't know if that's how the legendary pork knuckle's supposed to taste.

Home made Spaetzle with “Kami Sakura” Spiced Chicken (German style pasta with sliced chicken thigh & cream sauce)



R's choice of pasta which did not go down to well. German pasta and Italian are as different as chalk and cheese. The pasta's pasty pieces of noodle with no bite actually, tasted more like our local favourite, handmade noodle. The cheese was overpowering with measly chicken slices. Kami Sakura chicken is apparently their signature dish. The chickens are farmed in Malaysia with Japanese farming techniques with no antibiotics used.

Tasted quite like Kampung chicken with a juicy tender bite. The pasta needs quite a bit of getting used to. Too much of it renders a strong lingering "gelak"-ness.

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Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin squash with a crunchy base and drizzled with chocolate sauce. I'm a fan of pumpkin, found this a delight in fact. Simple yet indulgent.

Overall, service is to the point. You order, food's served and cleared quickly. Call for the bill, it's delivered soon. Off you go! Very chop chop, no fuss. They'd not make any attempt to inform you of anything in fact, be it topping up of menu for other desserts or the free parking that apparently came with it. Was only after I checked the receipts that I realise parking was complimentary.

As for the "food and wine people" as they claim, I can't vouch for the wine part but food? Certainly not the best I've eaten. Not the best service either.

Oh, they don't do "birthday surprises" either, wasn't expecting one but would've been nice if there was one.

"Casual fine dining"? Fine dining it's not, casual (service) it sure is. It's one of those "been there done that" places. If not for the promotion, I doubt I'd be back.

4 Course set @ $49.90 per person
1-for-1 with major credit cards

http://www.friendsfoodandwine.com/jelita.html

Friends @ Jelita
293 Holland Road, #02-04