Chiak

Chiak is another venture of healthful gourmet bistro Cedele. A local form of the word "eat", Chiak serves up salad or grain bowls with a local twist.

I love the Asian influence of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese flavours in the proteins, greens, and dressings. I particularly like the mix-your-own-bowls concept of salads, dry noodles, rice bowls, or chicken noodle soup. The only catch: you'll need to match your ingredients well, or flavours will clash. You don't really need a background in Le Cordon Bleu, but some sensibility of which foods and ingredients work together would be handy in putting together a cohesive bowl. Otherwise, get Chiak's pre-designed bowls, which formulae of greens and protein are harmonious.

The Thai-inspired Spicy Chicken Basil Salad Bowl ($8.80) was loaded with soy-drenched chinese kale (kailan), broccoli & garlic, corn, edamame, Thai basil leaves, and tossed in a sesame plum soy dressing.

The Chicken Chestnut Patty and Pork Belly Vermicelli Bowl ($11.30) was a confused mish-mash of grilled sweet potatoes, garlic broccoli, corn, cherry tomatoes, crushed peanuts, in a balsamic soy dressing. This was created by a bud who thinks a Silver Queen chocolate bar is better than Jean-Paul Hevin's truffles, so I generally discount his ignorance. Still, he ate each part separately, because the flavours, when combined together, were so jarring. What a fritter of the beautifully caramelised meltingly-tender pork belly.

The Chicken Chestnut Patty Kway Teow Chicken Soup Bowl ($8.80) topped with a sous vide egg, grilled sweet potato, furikake, toasted sesame seeds, and Thai basil leaves, was comforting and wholesome, but given a refreshing kick by the spicy basil. Note the meatball is laced with parsley, so stay away if you hate the herb.

The Teriyaki Chicken and Char Siew Kway Teow Chicken Soup Bowl ($11.30) with shimeiji mushrooms, grilled pumpkin, furikake, edamame and corn, was mostly alright, but the glaze of the teriyaki chicken and char siew leeched out into the broth. I would have preferred that the meats were served separately from the soupy noodles.


Chiak
40 Pasir Panjang Road
#02-37 Mapletree Business City
Tel: 6358 2313
Open weekdays from 8am to 8pm; closed on weekends
Website: chiak.sg

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