Sunday, April 15, 2007

A return to Cafe de Amigo


This return to Cafe de Amigo was triggered by the availability of Argentinian beef tenderloin. Heads up from Recentrunes. I've never had Argentinian beef before so curiosity got me. The previous visit gave me mixed feelings about the place. While the food was on the whole quite decent, with hits and misses, the prices were a little high. Service felt like it came from automatons.

lobster bisque ($9.50)

I'm generally wary of lobster bisque. At this price point that is. Apart from an impressive rendition from Coachman Inn which I've had about half my life ago the only other one I liked enough to remember was the one from Morton's. Cafe de Amigo seems to have whipped up a pretty delicious rendition of the bisque. Albeit not as robust in flavor as the two places that I've just mentioned. Still, this was a pleasant surprise. It was rich and buttery and there were generous portions of lobster meat.

escargot ragout ($16.50)

The escargot ragout turn out to be very savory starter. It's basically escargots housed in mini choux puffs with garlic cream sauce, topped with chopped almond. There was quite abit of the sauce sauce which while was pretty good, became overwhelming after a while. Drowning out most of what could be tasted of the snails. I'm not complaining. I enjoyed this. And the remaining sauces was good on bread as well.

Argentinian beef tenderloin 200g ($36)

This char roasted filet was the highlight of lunch for me. I wasn't really sure what to expect out of Argentinian beef, but it turns out that it wasn't very different from other beef which I've had. Not quite what I was expecting after reading about it. What I enjoyed about the steak was the juicy tenderness. The succulence was remarkable. The steak was accompanied by sides of fries, boiled vegetables and a cream peppercorn sauce.

filet of leng fish

sliced duck breast ($25.50)

I'm don't know what leng fish is, but it tasted quite ordinary. The duck breast was a little more interesting. Done medium with a prune sauce of sorts and accompanied by some potato croquette and poached spinach. The meat was however a little dry and flat tasting.  That prune sauce did help out there.


Their apple pie seems to have shrunk a little from the last visit, but it was still good. In fact, this time round, I think it got a little better. Freshly made, sliced apples on top of a light buttery crust which was good with the vanilla ice cream.

This trip was worth it for the beef I imagine. It's too bad it won't be available for much longer. One more week I hear. I felt better about Cafe de Amigo this time round, but still can't shake the feeling that they're still pricey.

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