Open Farm Community

I've been looking to revisit Open Farm Community, ever since my delicious but uncomfortable dinner a year ago. This time round, I made reservations early, so we wouldn't have to sit at the bar, and brought the Hubs and MJ along. MJ was just coming off a juice cleanse, and I thought Open Farm Community, or 'OFC' for short, would be a terrific place to reintroduce him to a diet of solid foods.

The restaurant's still buzzy, drawing a full-house most days; in no small part due to the rotating menu:- the menu refreshes every now and then, to highlight the season's best, but popular dishes remain mainstays. 

The Warm Broccoli Salad ($20) was a medley of mesclun, sauteed sugar snap peas, roasted broccoli, crumbed feta, and pinenuts. Beautiful textures, clean, and light. I'm now inspired to make something like this at home.

I loved the soft peppery notes of the Watercress Soup ($19), complemented by a softly poached organic egg and crispy kale, and sided by pita to mop up every last drop.

A signature of OFC, the Crispy Jurong Frogs' Legs ($26), battered and fried, was succulent and tender. The legs were dunked into a red curry dip, rich with root vegetables and coconut milk, and topped with fried curry leaves for added aroma. I'm not a big fan of frogs' legs, but this was superb.

A must-try, the Saffron Carnaroli Risotto ($30) flecked with chorizo, cuttlefish, green peas, Serrano ham, and a ebi cracker, was sumptuous but balanced. So so soooo good!!

The only lackluster dish, the Roasted Red Snapper ($32) was overdone. That being said, I liked the refreshing piquancy lent by the calamansi & sesame cucumber salad, beetroot pickled cucumber, floral elements of the garden roselle & hibiscus ketchup, and nuance of the blackened barley.

Another must-try, the Red Grouper Burger ($30) layered chunky tar tar sauce, pickled cucumbers, local greens between squid ink sesame seed buns. A most excellent fish burger. We were all trying to avoid carbs, but the skinny fries were so scrumptious we finished it anyway.

We also ordered a couple of sides to supplement the mains; the Yoghurt & Southern Wood Dressed Cauliflower ($17) spiked with cumin, dill, and spiced pan crystals, was an exercise in restrain of flavours.

The Smoked Paprika Buttered Sweet Corn ($17) finished with chimichurri and sprinkled with salted caramel popcorn, was juicy and sweet. A must try as well.

Open Farm Community
130E Minden Road
Tel: 6474 5964
Open weekdays from 12noon to 10pm;
weekends from 11am to 10pm
Website: www.openfarmcommunity.com