Food & Dining: Rendang Beef Ginger Rice Set @ Toast Box

Image from Locky's English Playground

Okay, this is going to be a quick one. A couple of weeks ago I went to Grand Century Place in Mongkok and realised that almost the entire mall is being renovated. I wanted to go to Fairwood but instead I found a food court. After rounds of search I ended up at Toast Box, a pride of Singapore.

Image from Locky's English Playground

After 5 minutes deciding whether I should go for laksa or the Rendang Beef Ginger Rice Set, I finally went for the rice. It cost a whole $50 for the set with a drink included, which is terribly marked up, but if it tasted great then it might make me feel better.

Image from Locky's English Playground

And here it is! The Rendang beef, which I counted there to be about 6 pieces at reasonable size, the ginger rice with fried garlic on top, some pickled cucumber and carrots, two pieces of prawn crackers and a cup of hot teh tarik, which was not "pulled" in any way by the barista.

For a change, I will give you my scores first.

Scores:

Look:            ★★★★☆ 4/5

Taste:            ★★★☆☆ 3/5

Smell:            ★★★☆☆ 3/5

Textures:       ★★★★☆ 4/5

Temperature: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Overall:         ★★★☆☆ 18/25

Honestly, it looked quite pretty and tidy, no faults at all, though it did not taste as hot and spicy as I expected it to be. Smell was pretty much unnoticeable but the beef was tender and easy to chew, meaning that it had been nicely stewed. The set came immediately out from the kitchen and so the food was hot enough when served, and so in conclusion, it is an alright meal, good for those with a small local stomach (I didn't eat the prawn crackers, I've never liked them). I suppose the same set will taste better in Singapore as I expect it to be more spicy. There's nothing fancy here and what you see is what you get. Don't expect any surprises other than the price you pay.


Vocabulary:
teh tarik -- (n) [U] (literally "pulled tea") is a hot milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams in southeastern Asian countries of Malaysia and Singapore. Its name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation. It is made from black tea, condensed milk and/or evaporated milk. It is also considered as the national drink of Malaysia.
barista -- (n)[C] a person who serves customers in a coffee shop (= small restaurant that serves coffee)

Resources:

Toast Box Official Website

http://www.toastbox.com.sg/

Teh tarik @ Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teh_tarik

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/barista?q=barista