Chef Daniel's: Great Deals For Lunch!

It's sad to see restaurants at Iluma unsustainable over time. Hua Li Xuan is gone, while the cinema level eateries had all closed down (The Xin Cafe says renovation, but no movement observed). Business at Marble Slab seems strong, and I hope it stays that way before I start shunning Iluma too! But did you know, there's another hidden gem at the rooftop?




Helmed by our local celebrity chef Daniel Koh, the restuarant was located at the rooftop garden with the dining area and open-kitchen housed seperately. Before exams, I was attracted by their set lunches at $10.50 nett, so I vowed for a visit after my papers!

Till now I'm puzzled by Iluma's design, in which they wasted a perfect rooftop view of the city skyline by having concrete instead of ceiling-to-floor glass walls. The restaurant itself was styled with parquet furnishing and booth seats options. Service was prompt and polite, making recommendations of their bestsellers.



Soup of the Day, Complimentary Bread

Serving Pumpkin Soup was definitely a refreshing change from your usual Cream of Mushroom! While it was flavourful, it would have left an even better impression if the texture had been less watery.

I love the "Q-ness" of the ciabatta bread, pity we had the last two on the tray as I saw them refilling with fresh hot ones after that!



Prawn & Crabmeat Burger, Tonkatsu Don

There were plenty of choices for main courses, so girlfriend and I settled on a burger and japanese selection for sharing. While crabmeat was almost non-existent, the juicy patty was delightful with crunchy prawn chunks. Served on a toasted half-bun, the other half was topped with fresh salad and had french fries as sides.

The don had a generous portion of tender pork cutlet with crispy coating, simmered lightly in egg mixture and enoki mushroom. With chewy japanese rice grains, a dash of soy sauce and seaweed, it was good ol comfort food!


Dessert of the Day

I'm not good at describing cakes, but to me this was essentially a very light sponge cake sprinkled with sugar icing. Served with honey and sweetened cherry, it was a simple but decent way to round off the meal!

All main courses also came with a choice of soft drink or coffee/tea. At its nett price, I thought it was a really affordable lunch fix without compromising on quality. In fact, I'm convinced enough to go back for their dinner menu coming Saturday!

Taken with Nikon D70