A for Arbite @ Aliwal Arts Center

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My brushes with A for Arbite have been sporadic and the last time I tried to visit, it was closed for the Arts Festival. This time, I managed to score a table in the bustling cafe - partially attributed to the salted egg craze that has been going on for a while now.

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Salted Egg Fries ($12)

Voted best fries by their customers, I would have second or even third thoughts on this audacious claim. I was hemming over fries with a buah keluak dip and this supposed signature was highly recommended.

The chowdown on the signature - soggy fries, egg yolk marinate that was mostly blah and bland and sharing is a must because we ended up pushing the basket to each other in our bid to finish the fries. 

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Beef Tataki Salad

Salty beef slices on a bed of greens - I faulted the over seasoning to no end. Perhaps they wanted a constrast between the proteins and greens but I am hardly impressed.

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Salted Egg Soft Shell Crab Pasta ($24)

It may have been an overkill ordering two salted egg dishes in the same meal but both were lauded as signatures, I muse in defence.

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Oodles of pasta soaking in a puddle of oil topped with a soft shell crab that was dunked in a heavy batter and fried.

Maybe the usage of salted egg gave this dish more oil than necessary yet once again, the salted egg was barely tasted and paired with an equally doughy soft shell crab, I was definitely in for an overkill.

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Chef's Special ($18)
Grilled Dory Fish, Prawns

What the portions made up for, the taste failed horribly. Soggy slab of dory fish that would not have withstood the fork test - a mere prod disintegrated it. Barely marinated and the prawns were overcooked.

This visit left us terribly dumbfounded - service was decent but everything else fell apart. A for aghast.

A for Arbite
28 Aliwal Street

Comments

  1. You are not the only one. I left the shop feeling upset with the food as well. :(

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    Replies
    1. Yeah and to think their are SO many raving reviews. What is wrong?!

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