Prive Chijmes

Prive has been on a roll, opening up 2 new outlets, in fairly prominent locations, in the span of under a year. There's one at Wheelock Place, taking over the spot previously helmed by Coffee Club; and there's the other at the Chijmes lawn, where used to be Pizzeria Giardino.

I like the Chijmes location, and have been wanting to check out its multitude of restaurant options ever since it underwent a facelift a year ago. We only ever frequent Lei Garden there.

Prive has now a smattering of local cuisine, in addition to its regular cafe fare. But while the idea of premium-ed Asian food seemed enticing, the dishes failed to impress. Better to stick with the standard western fare, "safer" options in a decent-but-pedestrian way. Then again, the food at Prive isn't the main draw, it's the breezy garden setting of the Chijmes courtyard that's conducive for whiling the day away.

Some people consider it almost criminal to mince up wagyu, but Prive did it anyway, with the Wagyu Beef Roti John ($18). The pan-fried omelette baguette, stuffed with onions fried minced wagyu beef, and flavoured with sambal, coriander, cheese, and tomato-chilli sauce, was hearty and filling, but lacked the smoky fragrance imbued in most street food cart versions.

The Seafood Laksa ($16), flecked with prawns, squid, fishcake, quail's egg, and tofu puff, disappointed. It'd smelled heavenly when it arrived, but it tasted insipid and watery.

The Awesome Superfood Bowl ($16), a salad of quinoa, kale, broccoli, goji berries, cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, roasted sweet peppers, roasted pumpkin, and almonds, tossed in a lively citrus-balsamic dressing, was all things good for you in the most delicious way. Except that I supplemented with 2 portions of maple-glazed chicken breast ($4 per portion), which then made this more a chicken dish with side greens, than a salad with some protein. I still think it's a healthy healthy lunch option!!

The Signature Burger ($27) layered a juicy wagyu beef patty with melted cheddar, streaky bacon, and garlicky mayo. Crisp fries, and a simple mesclun salad complemented the moderately small-ish burger.

The Ultimate Fish & Chips ($23) paired a couple of beer-battered snapper fillets, with fries, and mesclun greens. I liked that malt vinegar was served alongside tartar sauce as condiments.

I couldn't quite discern the cheese in this, but the Crispy Parmesan Wings ($12) was commendable, and didn't require copious bobs into the garlic-parsley-dill parmesan dip.


Prive Chijmes
30 Victoria Street #01-33
Tel: 6776 0777
Mondays to Thursdays from 11.30am to 12midnight;
Fridays from 11.30am to 1am;
Saturdays from 10am to 1am;
Sundays from 10am to 12midnight
Website

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