Bamboo: Authentic Singaporean

I sometimes am jealous for those who live South of the River.
Putting aside those stupid, childish but downright true and sure-win arguments of Northies > Southies, it's no arguing that there is an abundance of eateries located down there as opposed to up here where I am.

Bamboo is one of them.

The 4 of us were tired, restless, HUNGRY after badminton. I've always wanted to try this talked-about-so-much restaurant and since we were in the vicinity, we ended up in this little square of restaurants in Willeton. Sure we were "in the vicinity" meaning we were down South, however being nowhere near Willeton meant we actually drove close to 30 minutes for this.
Bamboo, you better be DAMN good. I already had high expectations before I even got to judge for myself.

Between 4 people, we ordered 5 plates of food. Even I got scared, and I NEVER get scared.
But my friends were all like, don't worry, you're here.
Naw, thanks guys. Too sweet.
I'm here to save the day like always. We'll be ok.

Iced Lemon Tea

K suggested us to try Bamboo's iced lemon tea drink. Being one of the more frequent diners at Bamboo, he did a great promotion for the drink to us then proceeded to get crazy and ended up ordering heaps. Overall I think we got a bit carried away.
A little bit of greed, a little bit more of ambition and way too much stomach space.
That combination is gluttinous and costly to feed.

The drinks came out really fast. And when they didn't stop coming even after each person already had a drink, this was when we realised K had ordered 6 of these between the 4 of us. It was a really wtf? moment at our table.

But it wasn't a mistake to order too much because these initially went down really easy. Ice cold and refreshing drinks always go down a treat but after a while these got too sweet for me. I'm devastated that my sweet tooth has left me. However these WERE overloaded with sugar, along with crushed ice and lemon juice in a refreshing tea blend. 1 cup is good, maybe not 6.

Chicken Satay Sticks - 5 for $9.80

I love a good unburnt satay stick. I love peanuts. I don't love cucumbers. I'll eat em cause they're good for me. Kinda like...I'll be friends with you if you benefit me. You know?*

I quite enjoyed these sticks. They were fragrant, flavoured well and popping hot. When isn't juicy, succulent chicken popping hot? And sometimes sauce isn't even necessary, as I find that the original, naked (...naked?) taste of whatever you're eating is retained by skipping out the sauce. Especially a sweet one like this, that can override the delicious, raw taste of grilled chicken.

I love skewers but these meats were skewered on so tightly that you have to drag your face down the wooden dagger to get your chicken off. Not a fan of splinters. In fact, I have a deadly fear of splinters. I'm a real wuss when it comes to pain. Fragility is my strongest weakness.

*Relaxxx. I'm not really like that. I wouldn't ever say that, otherwise you won't benefit me anymore LOL

Panfried Toothfish - $25.80

I'm a big fan of the sweet soy sauce that this dish is typically drenched in. The beautifully smooth and soft fish flesh encased by the slightly chewy but simultaneously crispy skin is a winning combination. For some reason it just can't be recreated at home. The smoothness just has a whole new different but not better texture at home where I can just describe it as slimy.
The more I eat, the more I ugh!
I have a love for restaurant panfried toothfish only.

I'm a sucker for that heavenly skin and my stomach hates me for it.

Rice bucket

I get called a rice bucket. And this is a rice bucket. I have never seen it in such a literal, raw form. Never seen rice served in a wooden bucket like so. It amused me! I wanted to touch it! Play with it! I bagsed serving the rice today. And only today =p

Sizzling Japanese Tufu with Chicken & Salted Fish - $16.80

Sizzling Japanese tofu I reckon, has pretty much made its mark in the area of late night Chinese supper meals. It's a standard dish now that makes an appearance on most tables, especially popular on pre-drinks and pro-drunk gatherings at places like Billy Lees.

Not surprising, as it has established itself to be one delicious and mildly healthy dish, tofu being healthy, fried tofu being only mild healthy. It always excites my senses, loving all the sights, smells and sounds as the sauce bubbles away, lifts the aroma up and drift into the air ... and friggin wildly spitting liquid everywhere it pleases!

But what does that matter, and who the hell minds, when that smooth custardy egg tofu meets with your lips, tastes delicious in your mouth then burns the shit out of your throat. Slight pops of very savoury salted fish and mushroooms! YAY! They make every dish so much better.
Mushrooms are so magical ;)

Sizzling Garlic King Prawns - $17.80

This came out and turned out different to what I had pictured this dish to be. In my head I think I envisioned a hotplate laden with the less - what I call fake - prawns swimming in a golden pool of buttery, garlicky sunshine and just smelling of fat.

I don't think the hotplate created much of a difference to a normal stirfried prawn and vegetable dish. The omission of vegetables in the dish's name became obvious when the majority of this plate was in actual fact, the vegetables instead. Turned out to be the best as this was my only accidental intake of vegetables for the day.

I like these sort of prawns - the type I refer to as restaurant prawns - as typically they are used in dishes. I know they're real but they've had something done to them - soaked, perhaps? - that gives them that springy bite that shelled prawns don't have. I hope I make sense. Just a bit?

Bamboo's Deluxe Boneless Duck - $22.80

My eyes widened when they wandered over the name of this over Bamboo's huuuge ass menu. It sounded soo good! Deluxe protruded an exquisite sounding dish and ignited my interest, but not as much as the word boneless did. That's how a sloth thinks!

I thought we were pretty safe with the choice of the house specialty. It ended up being the less-eaten dish for the night and the only dish that filled up a takeaway box later on. Maybe a little too much and a little too rich after one, two, three pieces. I thought the sesame seeds added a nice touch as a visually appealling decoration. Broccoli garnish inclusion was also smart, probably need more plain tasting things to balance out the dish.

As with all saucy components, everything gets soggy. To many's dismay, a soggy duck skin is a horrible, horrible thing to witness and eat. Crispy beats soggy and chewy any day. I know one person who prefers soggy chips over crisp ones and I can tell you she is retarded for sure!

...

Aside from being way too far from me, there's not much else this restaurant can be at fault for =p Both itself and Taurus a few doors down seem to be doing well in attracting hungry people, as evident by patrons quickly filling up the eateries around peak dining times. A full house restaurant is always a good sign and you can generally judge by looking through the windows of one!

Deco inside is simple but nicer than your average Asian restaurant, albeit having the tables a little squished together cosily with a tight and snug fit. In circumstances like these you can't be blamed for eavesdropping. There is no room for claustophobia here, as no space is wasted in order to cram in an extra table for diners. Either tables are somewhat small, or our dinner orders are somewhat too large. Hehe!

Despite being at capacity and bursting at dinner time, service is efficient and staff are around when you need attention. All the dishes offer so much variety and are reasonably priced but somehow the bill totalled more than expected, at $30+ for 4 people for a homestyle meal. Then the 6 iced tea drinks came to mind -.-

I came in hungry, lightweight and feeling healthy then left the establishment feeling like an overweight camel with a huge hump on my belly instead. Gosh, this always happens. It's like I'm fooling with my own body. Give it false hope with exercise and then just kidding! and stuff the crap out of it again.

I worked off my guilt with another few hours badminton after that...and then piled it all back on again with McDonalds at 2am.
Balance is a beautiful thing when you've mastered it.