Makan: Ho-gs Breath

Seeing as to how i was woefully neglected yesterday, today was the time for me to enjoy bm's bonus-season treat. we havent been out for a nice dinner for a veryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery long time.

so since my sis said the steak at Ho-gs breath cafe (HBC) was quite good and to give it a try, we jumped at the chance when we came across it by accident while we we contemplating entering "Dai So" at Vivocity.


relatively small menu, only a couple of pages, but colorfully illustrated. the usual drinks and beer (heini and tigers, bout $8-9 a bottle) The restaurant has a very "brewerkz at clarke quay" feel to it - clean wooden bench tables with an overhanging bulb-lamp. only more funky. their slogan is afterall, "food with an attitude".

As Vivocity is at harbourfront, we found ourselves by a window facing the seafront, looking towards Sentosa and the new monorail line. Not too bad a view, but i gather, that most of the vivo restaurents have a sea facing view. (we also did try White Dog Cafe when we went to meet some of bm's friends. too paiseh to take pics so no review on that!)

So unadventerous me had the fish and chips, while my lovely dining partner had the texmex.

fish and "hogs tail" curly fries with the salad

my fish (~$19) was less than fantastic. i really couldnt bring myself to finish it. the portion was large, but the the fish was too oily, so other than oiling myself to death, i cant taste a thing. the fish lacked texture and didnt even taste like fish! the salad was abit bitter, but, then again, maybe the kind of vegetable was supposed to be bitter. thank goodness for the large cups of icewater provided (with straws too, i noticed.)

the curly fries was good tho.

the tex mex grill - steak and a chicken filled chimmy-changa,
with the salad and curly fries

bm's texmex fared better. The chimmy-changa tasted like it had some curry powder rolled in. however, if you're the kind of person, who like bm, enjoy eating a RARE steak, HBC is not for you. They recommend a medium-rare steak because they slow cook their steak for 18 hrs. bm thought, what the hell, and just ordered a rare steak. it came cold, and we gathered that the chef was too worried about getting the meat overcooked so it was grilled only briefly. we found out about the slow-cooking thing after that, and that they actually took the steak off the chill for us to cook it rare - which explained why it was so cold and pinkish.

nonetheless, the meal was saved by a bevy of young, but awesomest service staff around.

at the door, service was prompt and we got our choice of seats very quickly. the attending waitress at the door was immediately accommodating when we requested to seat somewhere where we can get a better view of the outside sea view. the moment we were shown to our seats, the waitress came by and introduced the menu to us, and even recited the off-the-menu specials for us when we couldnt see the blackboard where these items were written for display, and recommended dishes to us. she knew off hand what soups were available, and what items were available. if you were a service staff before, you'll know that sometimes you just forget, or never even found out before you started your shift. it appeared to me that this restaurant really does brief their staff well.

after we were served the food, a young dude came by the check if the steak was up to our taste. he gave bm sometime to try the steak, and came back a second time and very concernedly asked bm if the steak was too rare, and when we said it was very cold, he took it back to the kitchen for us. after which, he hovered for a bit to see if the steak was alright.

bm and i were thoroughly impressed, and thanked him profusely for all the trouble he's taking. but he modestly said that at HBC, the steak is their main specialty, so the company expects them to check on customers to see if the steak is alright. but DUDE, anyone can just do their job, but not everyone does their job well! and it's not just him, his colleagues are equably as fantastic. It's the best service i've ever encountered in a restaurant, even better than what we've encountered in hotels! certainly makes for a good dining experience, i can only hope that all customers feel good dining there, otherwise it will only be a matter of time before these young people get the good working attitude beaten out of them by many an unappreciative customer. it's really service with a smile.

did i mention i'm so impressed!?! they certainly deserved a tip on top of the service charge. :)


place: Ho-gs breathe ca-fe.
location: top floor, vivocity@harbourfront, next to Dai So
Verdict? : Try try lah...go for the meats, stay away from the fish!