trusty marmalade pantry

It's a long story how we ended up at Marmalade Pantry. We wanted to go to Superfamous but the reviews were so bad we decided against it. We then wanted to check out the Moomba but it was raining and we didn't feel like braving the torrential storms for a cold sandwich. Finally, we decided on VietCafe. It was closed. And since Sharon could only spare about half an hour or so, we went to the Marmalade Pantry since it was close to her office.

It's really quite a pretty place isn't it? All that crisp whiteness and understated elegance? Anyone noticed that all their servers are (rather) good-looking? Even their servers' all white attire spells casual-chic comfort. Although I must object to the quality of their tshirts. Even my secondary school PE tshirt is better quality than that. It looks like it will stretch in the washing machine after just one wash and it's so thin! Apparently, they are designed by Song+Kelly. If so, I'd say defunct for a reason.

If they used better quality tshirts, I promise the servers will look so much better; and confident.

Their signature white chrysanthemuns at each table, with white salt and pepper shakers on white tables with white chairs and white placemats. Everything's so pristine and bright, you feel shy to even laugh loudly. It's definitely a girl's place, for girls to feel like cherubic princesses.

My crab caesar salad. I normally order the crabmeat linguine with tomato chilli and pinenuts. I fell in love with this dish at Wild Rocket/Relish and despite Sharon's insistence that Marmalade Pantry offers a better version, I insist on Wilin Low's version. I'm fiercely loyal to the Wilin Low Empire like that. (But honestly, I really do prefer the Wild Rocket version)

So anyway, my salad was pleasurable. I was a bit disappointed at the obvious lack of food-porn quality, the food looked bland and unappetising. It was just romaine lettuce with crabmeat and toasted bread with their own caesar dressing. Boy they weren't kidding when they said crab caesar salad. It was expensive too, at $22!

To be fair though, they used real crab meat and the dressing was really good. It reminded me of how the Caesar dressing at The Line, Shangri-La used to be. Really thick, creamy with a distinct zing to it.

Sharon ordered her usual grilled pesto chicken wholemeal wrap with oven roasted butternut. This was even better than usual. The chicken was impossibly moist today and it was extremely well-seasoned. It was not fatty at all so some may find it not luscious enough for them. But I felt that the creamy pumpkin in the wrap compensated for whatever lack of fat perfectly. The smooth consistency complemented the meat's firm texture and the sugars in it accentuated the chicken's succulence.

The wrap was quite nicely done too. True, it wasn't exactly flavourful but the taste was definitely not flat. It wasn't too limp or too thick and gooey, and you could actually cut through the wrap without everything falling apart when you do. This is actually a neat wrap!

I particularly liked the sweet potato and tapioca chips that are served as a side. They are oh-so-crispy and oh-so-toothsome. And they are cut so fine, they are light to boot! I could eat 1kg of these and not be sick of them.

Marmalade Pantry, not exactly an exciting dining experience, but count on them to deliver consistent quality food.

The Marmalade Pantry
Hitachi Tower
16Collyer Quay
#01-04
Singapore 049318