SF's Food Tasting @ Cafe Oliv

Boy were we glad that the torrential rain failed to dampen the spirits of those who had signed up for Sistafood's first food tasting session at Cafe Oliv. Despite the intimidating storm which threatened to flood the roads in the East, the turnout was exceptional and many had even arrived much earlier than expected! Thanks to all who came despite the bad weather and distance. Sistafood's food tasting session finally kicked off on a Halloween night at 7.15pm in high anticipation and excitement. Whoosh here we go~!

Hokkaido Sea Scallop with Asparagus

Cafe OIive III- Service improved?

J: After our 3rd visit to cafe oliv which left us feeling disappointed & unhappy over the food & service, we were invited to cafe oliv by kevin as a gesture of apology. Seriously for me, just the service alone determines my mood for tt meal. Last week's service totally turned me off n im glad tt kevin took our complaint seriously. Not only did he reprimand his staff, he even went as far as to install CCTV to keep a tab on them to make sure tt they dont slack n provide decent service to customers. This time round, u can really tell e vast difference in service. We were promptly attended to upon entering. Water was constantly refilled n they even changed our utensils & serviette after each course which never ever happened before! I must really applaud kevin for this major improvement in service but i certainly hope tt this is not just a one off kind of excellent service. Well, we shall see if we do continue to enjoy this kind of service n i would be glad to pay tt 10% service charge willingly.

Back to the food, everything is on the house today. Thanks Kevin!

Gratin Oliv Herb Butter Yolk Cheese Monray Escargot $9.90

1st mouth of this sauce intrigued me as I've totally no idea what it was. It smelled fragrant & light initially. The escargots were topped with mozzarella n their signature fried sweet potato strips which r present in all dishes. The fushion of this french dish with chinese spinach makes it really unique. Upon chatting with kevin, I found out tt e sauce is actually made from white wine, pesto, mushroom n lots of butter. He came up with this fushion as he thought spinach can go well with everything n y not escargots? His creativity amazed me. However, this dish failed to impress me for long. I felt satiated after a while n e mozzarella was too chewy for me. Sis felt tt e sauce was tad too salty due to e presence of pesto & mozzarella. The stems of the spinach also added a tinge of bitterness to it. I must agree with kevin tt e escargots if presented on its own may be too ordinary but i rmb eating escargots in paris on its own too! They were seasoned well n we had to use toothpicks to get e meat out from e shells. The flavors of e Paris escargots were definitely much more intense than what we had in cafe oliv. In my opinion, I thought perhaps it would go better with scallops, but its just me :)

J's ratings: 4/5, A's rating: 3.75/5

 Char-Grilled Honey Glazed Pork Belly Ribs with Barbeque Sauce $16.90 (half slab)

BBQ pork ribs coated with thick rich bbq sauce accompanied with daily greens and starch.

I ordered this dish with high anticipations as it was highly raved by many reviewers online. No doubt this was the most tender pork ribs I had in sg n u can easily separate e meat from e bones, but personally I felt tt it can be a little dry. The honey glaze added a tinge of sweetness to e ribs which was not too overpowering n i certainly enjoy eating it with their homemade BBQ sauce. However being a lazy person, I find eating this pork ribs too much of a hassle as there were many bones n separating e meat was a chore for me haha =X

A: This dish is kind of disappointing. I was expecting more from the sauce but it's just BBQ sauce. Nth really special. But I must say the pork ribs were really tender! Don't you think this looks a bit like char siew?? LOL

J's ratings: 4.25/5, A's rating: 4/5

Traditional Braised Lamb Shank 18.90
Tender herb braised lamb shank served with daily greens and starch.

Needless to say more about this baby? Click here for the review on our previous visit! This is simply heavenly & I just cant stop raving on how T-E-N-D-E-R this lamb shank is tt u can separate e meat from bones easily just using a fork & it literally melts in ur mouth! My top entree in cafe oliv!!! I must rmb to ask kevin whats e sauce used in my next visit~ I simply adore how mushy e mashed potatoes were tt went well w e greens n lamb shank :)

J & A's ratings: 4.8/5

Warm brownie with mocha chip ice cream $5.90

If u have read our previous posts on cafe oliv, u would have noticed tt this is our no 1 heavenly dessert not only in cafe oliv, but in sg! We love u sooooo much, baby. Today's scoop of ice cream was much bigger than e previous ones tt we had... soo big tt there were left over ice cream even when i finished my warm brownie! I was glad tt e waitress rmbed we enjoy this baby being served warm n specifically inform e chef. Unlike last week's brownie which was sooo dense tt tasted like choc pound cake or even being close to a kueh, today's brownie tasted e best among all e visits. It was much softer, warmer n choked FULL of big chunky walnuts inside! I would never get sick of eating this~ Kevin told us tt e brownie was actually bought from outside n sometimes e supplier will change e chocolate used for e brownie. However, a change in choc shouldnt change e texture of e brownie too much right? Last week's brownie was a total disaster. Seriously even if u give it to me for free i wouldnt want it. They usually freeze e brownie n warm it when there's order n they keep e brownie for 2-3 days. I suspect tt last wk's brownie was kept longer than its shelf life but well, who knows? I hope e standard can be maintained this way soo tt i will go back for more =P

J & A's ratings: 4.9/5

Click here for our 2nd visit and here for our 1st vist!

Cafe Oliv II - We're back for more!

After craving for a week & raving how heavenly the cafe oliv's brownie was, we finally went back again to satisfy our sweet tooth. Having read the good reviews on their soft shell crabs and lamb shank, we decided to give them a try!

Salty Egg Soft Shell Crabs Biscuit Fritter $6.90

Soft shell crabs marinated and stuffed with salty eggs breaded with biscuit fritter.

J: I was simply bowled over when the softshell crab hits my tastebuds. This is e only soft shell crab I tried where I can find crab meat in its tiny legs & pincers. Normally for e legs, I can only taste e fried leg shell. There r also lotsa crab roe inside this softshell crab! It is also slightly saltier than ur usual softshell crab which may be due to e salty egg but not tt salty to turn u off. The biscuit crumbs make this dish absolutely crunchy & I really love their shredded sweet potato! Another surprise comes from Kevin's homemade thai mayonaise where they added thai chilli in it! I cant really taste any spicyness but this mayo is simply amazing! It's slightly sour which really whets my appetite & is my 2nd fav sauce after North Sea Fish Restaurant's homemade tartar sauce. :)

A: Well, what else can I say? GOT TO TRY IT! Soft shell crab full of crab meat & roe!

J's rating: 4.6/5, A's rating: 4.5/5

Black Pepper Pesto Chicken Rosemary Sauce

Today we had a friend along with us! Annie ordered this dish & our 1st thought was gosh, this tastes like chicken satay! The chicken is really tender & e serving is soooo BIG tt it definitely make ur money worth. Annie mentioned that it tasted better towards the end!

Annie's rating: 4.2/5


Traditional Braised Lamb Shank $18.90 *MUST TRY!!*

Tender herb braised lamb shank served with daily greens and starch.

J: I flew to heaven immediately when I had the 1st taste of this lamb shank. It was my 3rd surprise after the softshell crab & thai mayo. This lamb shank is sooooooo T-E-N-D-E-R that it literally falls off when u poke ur fork into it! U dont even need a knife for this dish, i swear! Just look at its pink flesh. OMG ahhhHHHhhhHHH this is H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y!!! It's very well braised and I particularly enjoy eating it together with the oh-so-soft mashed potatoes. I just wish e lamb is much much bigger lol. more moRE, i want MORE!

A: How i wished i could give this dish a 5/5! BUT, there's definitely room for perfectionism!

J & A's ratings: 4.9/5

Brownie with Ice-cream $5.90

J: We came all the way for this & obviously it failed to disappoint. Just look! The ice cream was actually melting & wobbling on top of e brownie when e waitress brought it to our tables. We had a brownie each & my 1st brownie wasnt warm enough to make me go wow. However, as usual, e brownie is choked full of crunchy walnuts & they were more generous with e cocoa powder this time round. 1 brownie was definitely not enough to satisfy our cravings & I shared another with sis. This time round we specifically requested for e brownie to be made really warm & this is it! WOW im loving it~ =D As u would know by now tt I have actually qt a low sweetness tolerance. The reason y i really love this brownie is tt e sweetness is just right for me & i never feel sick of eating it. Their mocha ice cream really complements well with this choc walnut brownie which at e same time, satisfy my love for coffee. Had wanted to sample their black sesame & red bean ice cream but unfortunately, Kevin told us tt they were removed from the menu cos they were not popular. Oh well, im satisfied with my mocha ice cream. :)

A: Damage for today??? 3 brownies for Janelle and I!!! Annie wanted to finish her brownie but she was just to full to finish it up! You can imagine how good it was!

J & A's ratings: 4.8/5 for WARM brownie with mocha chip ice cream

Cafe Oliv fails to disappoint once again & gave us many surprises during this visit. Will be back for more & I really hope Kevin can come up with some loyalty programme cos I can foresee tt we will be his regular customers soon. However, at this rate im eating, its gonna burn a HUGE hole in my wallet! :(

Refer here for our previous visit to Cafe Oliv!

Next on my to-try-list: Chargrilled Honey Glazed Pork Ribs with BBQ Sauce

Cafe Oliv
220, East Coast Road
6-344-3114
Open daily from 11:30am - 11pm