Tiong Bahru: Open Door Policy

Probably the most telling of how far along in its gentrification efforts Tiong Bahru has become, Open Door Policy is the latest culinary venture of Singapore's Spa Espirit Group that aims to bring fine dining to the neighborhood at more affordable prices. (All this is seriously just googling heh. Just thought I'd give a bit of overview incase you were too lazy to google yourself ;p) It's next door to Books Actually and while I'd heard from a few people that the food was pretty decent albeit overpriced, I really wanted to try it out for myself. So finally, Donald and I headed over there one day for a late lunch. I suppose that was a wise choice because there was hardly a crowd at all and we were able to get seated really quickly. A couple of features I really like? The brick walls on the side and the glass-roofed sky light. We decided to be adventurous and tried two main courses: 
1. Wild Mushroom risotto with truffle crumbs 
 2. Pan Seared Sea Bass with Artichoke, Potatoes and Rocket Salad. 
So since I'm not a seasoned food critic nor do I claim to represent anyone else's taste in food but my own, I must say that the mushroom risotto was not the best risotto that I've had. I tend to like risotto that's lighter both in texture and flavor and this one was rather heavy in terms of consistency and the truffle flavor. I always feel that truffle works best in minimal amounts; just enough to make it tantalizing. Too much and it loses its effect. The sea bass was decent though. I remember it being soft on the inside with really hot and crispy skin on the outside. Nonetheless it was rather salty, but with the risotto it worked out alright.
 

 

 dress: Fancy French Cologne, necklace: Mikkat Market, bag: Urban Outfitters  

And because there isn't much flexibility in the day-to-day school/work dress code I have to contend with, I focus all my energy in having fun dressing up for the weekends when there's time for restaurant-going/cafe-visiting. :) I first saw this dress on one of my favorite online stores (ok, I do have many!), Fancy French Cologne, and it struck me immediately as a dress I loved because of the zany print that really only made me think of one word - Vintage. :D My sis thinks I look old (and from her tone of voice I could only presume she meant Granny-old) but I suppose fashion is all a matter of perspective isn't it? Oh and having at least a layer of thick skin. So to match what I thought was a more vintage feel of the dress, I pulled out an old Urban Outfitters handbag that I'd bought quite a while back. 

Open Door Policy 19 Yong Siak St 

Singapore 168650 

Just to sum up Open Door Policy -- I think based on that first experience I can only say the food is decent but it IS somewhat overpriced. So do go if you're willing to splurge because the ambience is great and you'd definitely enjoy being in that restaurant.