I have been to this cafe several times n try ou many types of their cakes. They haf the indecent obsession, G-spot(durian), B/forest,bailey-cheese n many to mention. I only managed to try out the heart-shaped choc cake,indecent obsession,G-spot and the Mochamisu cheese. Well, there are limited variety here.

The better one would b the heart-shaped truffle cake and the indecent obsession. G-spot,which they claimed was good was not as it lacks the distinctive durian taste.

Service is rather good here n i got a free complimentart choc topping for my cake. Price is rather too exp for a cake

I'm not very impressed with NYDC, so I'm not very sure what made me decide to come eat at its more expensive sister restaurant.

Oh right. The bf. That's usually the case.

Anyway how much you enjoy this restaurant really depends on what you order. I've come here twice; the first was more of a hit and the second, a miss.

The first time, I ordered the penne seafood marinara ($18.90). I was almost blown away by the pasta; it was really delicious. The pasta was cooked al dente, the generous helping of tomato gravy was flavourful and tasty, and the pasta was chockful with fresh squid, crabmeat slices and clams. Yum. This is a dish I definitely can come back to order again.

The second time round however, I ordered the crabmeat linguine ($17.90). What's the difference, you ask? Well, for one, it's just a lot of crabmeat, no squid or clam. For another, it's not a marinara sauce anymore; it's more of an aglio olio style, pan fried. For a third, I didn't find this quite so tasty. I felt like I was eating fried noodles, and the taste was much more subtle. Personally, I don't like subtle tasting food as much. I suspect that my tastebuds have been spoilt or something by too much salty tze char, but the fact remain. I don't like too subtle. And I can't stomach the idea of paying $18 for something that tastes like fried noodles, even if there are bits of crab meat inside.

My bf ordered the baby back ribs ($18.90) the first time he came as well. One thing about the mains here, is that they aren't really American portions. His ribs, in contrast to Billy Bomber's and Hog's Breath, were tiny. Okay, they were a reasonable size, but comparatively, still quite tiny. On the upside, this means that us girls can order a portion without worrying if we can finish. And we don't have to stuff our faces with meat. The ribs were not bad anyway. Meat was tender without being overboiled; gravy was tasty. Worth a second order, methinks.

The second time he came around, he ordered the bacon-wrapped chicken leg. Again, a good choice, albeit a little tiny. It was literally a few pieces of chicken leg wrapped in bacon, and covered in a sauce which I believe to be teriyaki. Okay, none too imaginative, but very delicious nonetheless. I think it didn't fill him up much though; he still seemed hungry thereafter.

As for desserts - personally, now with the whole range of upmarket homemade gelatos and ice-creams around, I would say to skip the ice-creams and sundaes. They are expensive, but I don't find them any better than say, Swensen's. I still can't distinguish a macadamia nut ice-cream from a rum and raisin (except rum and raisins has raisins and is impossibly sweet) and so on. If you can't distinguish your ice-cream flavours, it's probably not a very good kind of ice-cream.

What we go for, is the cakes. Can't help it; you walk by the display of cakes in the counter. What is a hit for us is the Indecent Obsession, the chocolate hazelnut cake ($5.95). Yes, it's really sweet, but there's chocolate and there's chocolate mousse and sponge... well... You get the idea.

What is a miss for me is the Aphrodisiac ($5.95). It sounds great on paper - heart-shaped chocolate truffle cake. And it looks pretty too (the heart-shaped thing). Problem with it, chocolatey taste nonwithstanding, is that it comes across rather dry. You can pair it with ice-cream for another $3.80), but methinks a really good cake is best on its own.

As for service, so far we've had pretty good service each time we go. We get to order promptly, our glasses get refilled quickly, and we get a change of cutlery every time. With a smile too. I like that.

Oh. And the dogs. Who can forget the pictures of the dogs on the wall. Great talking point in between waiting for your dishes. You can decide between which breed you'd prefer to own, and which breed is a little stu... uh, less intelligent than the others.

I must say though, the durian cake "Spike D" saved the day. You couldn't smell the pungent aroma but you could definitely taste the durian. Very moist and delightful. The chocolate was a good contrast to the durian. A very unique "must-try" especially to durian lovers.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with Big O. I learned thru the website Big O is the newest sister restaurant of NYDC. And in my previous blog I was disappointed with NYDC. Oh well..

for my full review pls visit
http://the-f-word-blog.blogspot.com/

thanks!
shan

The usual likes;

a. starters -

i) sauteed mushrooms ; salty just the way i like it
ii) cheese sticks ; soft and limpy so its a no-go

b. main course -

i) BREADED CHICKEN ; big servings but taste is normal
ii) FISH AND CHIPS ; a disappointment as it was not really value for money considering how they only serve one fillet of fish and it was not as tasty as fish & cos so you can roughly imagine how tasty or tasteless it was :/
iii) CRABMEAT PASTA ; it used to be my fave until it started becoming really dry over time so NEXT !
iv ) BABY BACK RIBS ; their must try - soft and tender meat but its quite a small serving most of the time

c. desserts -

i) SPIKE D ; for those who love durian (like me) you will dig this ! durian pudding on the inside with a chocolate exterior :]
ii) INDECENT OBSESSION ; hazelnut chocolate cake yums

im waiting to try the COCONUT cake next - sounds quite interesting but im pretty sure i'll be back for mostly their cakes and not the main courses :/

Service is sadly non existent sometimes; maybe they're understaffed ?

went there on valentines day.
food wise, there's a reason why some are chef's recommendation while some aren't.
we ordered a starter to share, roasted field mushroom with herbs.
very nicely done!! fragrant, smooth, fresh mushrooms with chopped spring onions, just the right amt of flavour & herbs w/o covering the original freshness of the mushrooms. though its abit too oily for me, but nice nevertheless. similar to the ones found at marche, but less salty and more delicious!
I ordered the bacon wrapped chicken with barbecue sauce which was really nice, and the slightly sourish sauce gives a very nice zesty finish to the chicken.
My guy wasn't so lucky with his main course, some roasted chicken with cabbage. the cabbage tasted strange to me. seemed to be too green, while he said its due to the overpowering taste of herbs.
for dessert, i had e hazelnut choc cake (can't rem e name) which was rather yummy. almost as gd as the ones sold at cafe swiss (raffles city), but sadly, lacks a lingering after taste & e choc isn't as thick as compared to that from cafe swiss.
he had e mochachino cheesecake, just the usual taste of coffee taste, great if you like those sticky & chewy cakes cheesecakes, but not exactly my cup of tea. can't taste the cheese fragrance though. in fact, i din even noe im eating a cheese cake till he said so. (rather sensitive to cheese coz i dislike e taste of milk).
ambience wise, it was real noisy there, and perhaps due to the crowd, the waiters were slow to respond and one of them forgot to top up my water despite being requested to do so for both my guy and my water.
might consider returning for a meal, but next time i'm definitely sticking to e chef's recommendations.