We had lunch today at a new startup, The Wild - a young restaurant by two budding entrepreneurs.
Young, passionate entrepreneurs, Jun and Shan - the brother and sister team. Both Jun and Shan are SHATEC (Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre) trained chefs - Jun in Western culinary art and Shan in pastry art.
The Wild is a dream come true as the siblings had wanted to open their own restaurant since they were in high school.
The Wild is simply set up. Inside, the space is informal, bright, clean, contemporary, cosy and welcoming. Not yet two months in business, and the smart locals have already discovered the little gem in their neighbourhood.
We tried one of The Wild's SGD10+ set lunches, choosing the Prawn Olio. (There are also chicken chop, home made pesto, grilled chicken salad, beef Bolognese, tomyam pasta and other options for the set lunch.)
The spaghetti done soft al dente, tossed in a sauce of olive oil and vegetable stock which is gentle on the taste buds except for a mild spicy aftertaste from the sprinkling of black pepper. Garnished with shelled prawns, mushrooms and capsicum.
We liked this Salmon slab pan fried to a browned crisp outside and slathered with a creamy sweet savoury tangy house made mayonnaise.
We enjoyed the contrast in textures, with crispness outside while inside, the pink flesh cooked to well doneness was tender and moist. The signature salmon flavour was complemented by the mildly sweet tangy mayo.
The mashed potato side was lovely too. It's real potato boiled and then mashed (not the "instant" kind made by adding water to powdered "potato"),
I indulged in a braised lamb shank, one of my favourite dishes at Shan's suggestion.
The shank braised till tender (not mushy soft) and juicy was set on a bed of mashed potato, soft stewed carrot and a shallow pool of house made savoury sweet brown sauce. Slathered with thick pulpy tomato sauce on top and finished with a sprinkle of dried basil leaves.
There wasn't any gaminess and I know many people love their lamb this way. Personally, I wish there was a bit of that characteristic lamb flavour.
After the main courses, it's time for coffee and dessert.
I wasn't expecting much from this coffee (add SGD2.50+ with set lunch) - the latte art wasn't well defined and quite a few bistros I've been to recently seemed to serve coffee like it's an afterthought.
But hey, I was so wrong.
This cappuccino at The Wild was excellent. Good serious coffee.
So, busybody me went to find out why their kopi is so good lah.
Ah, it was this.
Guatemala and Ethiopian Arabica blend from Chye Seng Huat delivering a "nutty, pecan, and cherry sweetness in a smooth body".
Like that say, "win already lor" as we say in Singapore.
So here's a tip - The Wild is the best place to get your good Arabica fix at SGD4.00+ a cup (Espresso) nia nia. Or, even better, add SGD2.50+ with your SGD10+ set lunch.
Dessert time.
The Oreo Cheesecake made by Shan. Just the right sweetness delivered in rich smooth cream cheese punctuated with bits of bittersweet biscuit crumble. A very good rendition of one of my favourite desserts.
Another of my favourite desserts - tiramisu, presented in a jar. Just the right sweetness in the whipped cream with soft biscuits laced with Kahlua and port wine. Nice touch of finishing the tiramisu with cocoa powder and fresh seasonal berries.
Panna cotta - another Italian classic of sweet thicken cream dressed with a blob of sourish sweet jam.
Jun suggested that I come back for his buffalo wings, vegetarian pizza with house made dough and his signature sio bak (crackly skin roast pork). I will definitely be back☺
👍We enjoyed our meal at The Wild. Indeed, we love the whole experience. It's a nice cosy space with fine foods at reasonable prices. We can feel the young Chefs' heart and soul in the food and in it's delivery. Keep up the great work guys☺
(The Wild is offering 10% discount on a la carte menu items for Johor Kaki readers. Just show them this post.)
The Wild is inside Westway Building which is just across the road from Haw Par Villa and Haw Par Villa MRT station (Circle Line).
Restaurant name: The Wild
Address: 27 West Coast Highway, Westway #1-12 Singapore
GPS: 1.283332, 103.780842 / 1°17'00.0"N 103°46'51.0"E
Tel: +65 9687 2259
Hours: 12:00 noon to 9:00pm (Monday closed)
(The Wild is offering 10% discount on a la carte menu items for Johor Kaki readers. Just show them this post.)
Non Halal
Date visited: 2 Aug 2016
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