CW Gourmet Month Review: Village Cafe

The Opposite House’s Village Cafe is a participating CW Gourmet Month restaurant and their  Gourmet Month Menu (RMB 99) offers a three course menu with three choices for each course (choice of soup, main, & dessert).

By coincidence, I came to try the menu in a party of three, so each of us chose a different dish for each course and were able to share and sample it all. And of course, all in the name of in-depth LumDimSum reporting.

The beginning of our meal had great potential. The first course was a selection of three soups (Minestrone, Pumpkin and Mushroom) and while all three were delicious, the Minestrone came out on top. I am normally not a big Minestrone fan, but this one was exceptionally good with big chunks of various veggies for a very fresh taste. But all three were very well-made and were complemented nicely with a big bread basket.

The main course selections were a Grilled Rib-Eye Steak in Red Wine Jus, Baked Vegetarian Moussaka with potatoes, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes, or Grilled and Baked Chicken Breast with curry sauce, pickled vegetables and rice. The chicken was dry, the rib-eye was mediocre and the vegetarian moussaka came out on top with its rich, cheesy flavor.  But alas, the main course was the weakest link of the set menu.

Dessert picked back up again with a choice of Pavlova with fresh strawberries, passion fruit & house made vanilla bean ice cream, baked white chocolate cheese cake with caramelized banana, or a Fruit Platter. The pavlova’s meringue was a bit too thick and to be honest, it pales in comparison to Capital M’s pavlova. However, the white chocolate cheese cake with carmelized bananas was the winner of the meal. This alone made the meal worth the trip.

Review of Village Cafe’s GM Menu:

Best Part:

• Out of the three choices, I would recommend ordering the Minestrone Soup, Baked Vegetarian Moussaka & White Chocolate Cheese Cake with Carmelized Bananas
• A nice, 3-course set menu for RMB 99 is Great Value.

Comments:

• Gourmet Month Set Menu is only available for dinner and they tack on a 15% service charge. Normally I would happily pay the additional service fee, but this was bull considering there was literally 1 staff in the entire restaurant and she was never to be found.
• By 9PM, the entire restaurant seemed to have disappeared with no customers, no waitstaff and no chefs in the kitchen. Very odd.
• Service was a major issue during this meal and the place was just empty.
• The decor of Village Cafe is quite night, but the fact that it was so empty was a buzz kill. Throughout the night, there were only 2 others tables in the entire restaurant (9 people total including our table).
• I am glad I tried this set menu at RMB 99, but I honestly would not return for it again.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 7
• Atmosphere: 3
• Service: 3
• Overall Experience: 5

For a list of all participating restaurants in CityWeekend’s Gourmet Month, click here.