On one evening after bike riding at Pasir Ris park, we decided to have dinner at Changi Village. It was Sunday. Changi Village was packed. I was pretty disappointed because I had my heart set on eating some bbqed seafood like Gong Gong (sea snails) and Sambal Stingray 😢 In Singapore, where ever there is good food it will often mean no parking. So we drove around and around trying to figure out where to eat and hubby remembered a place his colleague had brought him to but he had no idea of the name, he just knew it was around the same area. So after driving around for a while, he pulls into a small little carpark just in front of the Changi Chapel & Museum. And right beside it was a little restaurant called The Bark Cafe. The carpark was quite full so I guessed the food must be good and they must have their own regulars because the cafe is kind of situated in the middle of no where.
I didn't take photos of the interior, you can google it and you'll find pictures. It is a casual cafe with choices of Western and Asian food. The cafe has a nice ambience, good music, and is semi al fresco, where you feel like you're sitting in someone's backyard having dinner. It is covered from rain and elements, but there are no walls, so everything is pretty airy and outdoorsy. But it wasn't hot either as there were lots of ceiling fans.
On the menu there were typical Western choices of fries, fried chicken wings, pizza, pasta and grills. On the Asian choices, there were things like mee goreng, hor fan, etc. On inspecting the menu, I was a little shocked at how pricey things were. Most mains on the menu averaged out between $17-$19 with the most expensive dishes at about $27 for ribs or steak! I'm more used to cafes that price their items at around $14-$15 for things like pasta and fish and chips.
So we decided to order the below food:
Fish and Chips $18.90, because Caelyn had a craving for it. It's probably one of the most expensive fish and chips we've ever had. But thankfully it was a big portion of fish, and it was tasty. The fish was huge and tasted fresh with no fishy smell and it was so moist. The batter was also light and non greasy and wasn't too thick, just nice. So thumbs up for that. The chips were delicious, I was surprised there were hints of truffles in the chips. I wasn't sure if it was meant to be truffle chips, or did they just put the chips in a container that had been used to prepare truffle fries which they have on their menu. The side salad was also a pleaser as it was nicely dressed in a Japanese sesame dressing.
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| See how big the portion is compared to Caelyn? The chips didn't look much but was hidden underneath the fish. |
We also ordered the Cheesy Hamburger with a homemade beef patty, topped with fried egg and bacon, $18.90. Again, it was a pretty big burger. Hubby couldn't fit the whole thing in his mouth so he ended up cutting it up with a knife and fork. I thought the burger tasted pretty good. The bread was nicely toasted, giving it a lovely crunchy contrast to the meat patty which I thought was quite juicy and flavoursome. The bacon was also nice and cruncy. However, can you see that cheese in my picture? It would've been good if the cheese had been melted over the patty rather than just simply an added topping to the burger. I've watched enough Food Network and AFC channels to know what constitutes a good burger. I'm not saying it was bad, but could be improved. It was nice that they also gave a side salad (dressing was same as the fish and chips one).
The next dish we ordered was the Black Pepper Smoked Duck $18.90 which came with mashed potato and side salad (same dressing as above). At first look, I really liked the presentation. The duck was sliced like an accordian and you can see the fat had been rendered. The skin wasn't exactly crispy but had a nice glaze to it. There was some kind of sweet sauce on the plate which made the duck taste better when you smeared the sauce on it. The mashed potatoes was nice, but a little stingy. A bit more and the plate would've looked fuller. The duck itself was okay. Hubby thought it was a little chewy, but I thought it was fine and how smoked duck was probably supposed to be. However I thought it had this slight funny taste, maybe slightly gamey. Usually when I eat duck cooked in Chinese way it doesn't taste gamey, so maybe it's the method of cooking or maybe I'm completely wrong and the funny taste was the glaze or something. The taste lingered so much that as soon as I got home I had to eat some ice cream to wash away the taste. Overall this dish was okay, but I wouldn't order it again.
We also ordered a Diet Coke and a pint of Heineken and brace yourself, the bill came to $83.10 after tax and service charge! That to me is one expensive cafe dinner. Would I go back again....maybe...if someone asked me to go with them, but we as a family probably wouldn't intentionally just go there again to have dinner. Service was okay, not much warmth but they were quick to accommodate our needs.
What I disliked though is how the food came out all at different times. Fish and Chips came out first, then only about 10-15 minutes after the fish and chips did the burger come out, followed by the duck at another 10 minutes after that. If you are dining with family, I'd say it's ok to eat at different times, but if you were dining with friends, it's a little awkward if you had to eat first while your friend is waiting for their food. You could wait, but then your food would end up being cold and unpleasant.
The Bark Cafe
Address: 1000 Upper Changi Rd N, Singapore 507707
*this is an unsponsored review
