Having read so much about Friends at Jelita, decided to give it a try.

Food: Had the set lunch where I had French bean salad and my wife the mushroom soup, Both were delicious. The mains were pork scallops in cream sauce - delicious and my wife had the Silver Perch. The crispy fried edges of the fish were the best part. Desert was a disappointing bread pudding - a piece of cake would be better.

Ambience: Stylish contemporary finish with good table settings.

Value: Not so friendly for the food they serve.

Service: Challenged, one guy was serving about 5-6 tables and he seemed hassled.

Good experience but I do not need to be too friendly with them. We waited a long term for our mains - because the cook forgot to cook one dish. Waiter was nice enough to take off the $2 surcharge for truffle oil with the mushroom soup.

Had dinner there the other night with hubby. Got of on the wrong foot as the starter - Portobello mushrooms - he wanted was sold out (at 8 pm) and a Coldstorage downstairs....

I started with some fried tofu w papaya salad, and it was not what I had thought it be. The papaya was actaully pickled and I'm pretty sure it did not mention that in the menu. Was quite tasteless and boring.

I then had the beef which was ok, but not fantastic. Hubby had escargot and something else, could it have been asparagus maybe? pasta. It was pretty bad. No flavour and the escargot tasted like they came straight out of a can...

We were by now so disappointed we left without any dessert. They seem to aim for being a French restaurant and the kind of food served was not even close to anything you would get at a cheap café anywhere in France.

We had dinner there to celebrate our anniversary. It was a weekday night and the place was quiet. They gave us a nice table as requested by phone during reservation.

The service was quite good actually. Having spent 2 months in the US where servers serve you well to get tips, these servers here served well without expecting tips and we appreciate it.

We had the 1-for-1 set dinner promotion from Citibank and it was really a steal considering we were having quality 3 course French cuisine. I wasn't a fan of French cuisine but we went ahead to see how it would taste.

The bread that started the meal wasn't a favourite. It was unique and contained raisins and nuts but I didn't really like sweet type of bread and the olive oil and balsamic vinegar didn't taste as ideal as I wanted it to.

My first course was cured mixed mushroom which tasted not bad though a little oily but that's probably how it's supposed to be. My husband had the Smoked duck breast salad which made me instantly regret my decision to take the mushroom. The duck tasted great and I dislike duck meat! The taste of the green apples and kiwi dressing mixed with the duck was sensational.

Then we ordered the mushroom soup with white truffle oil because it was so highly recommended and it really lived up to its name. It was really good and the truffle oil really brought out the taste. The staff was aware we were going to share and took the initiative to offer us a split of the portion into individual bowls for us without even us requesting. That was really a pleasant surprise.

My main course was Fillet of sea bass which was fried crispy and tasted nice with the tomato, green pepper and basil marmalade mix though the green pepper was a little overcooked. My husband had the grilled sirloin steak and he was pretty impressed by it. It had a nice grill taste and the pepper sauce that went with it accentuated the taste very nicely.

Our dessert was the apple tart with ice cream and raspberry sauce and it was also very pleasant. The sweet sour filling inside the crispy crust went very well with the vanilla ice cream.

I'd recommend this place to anyone who wants a value for money and rather good quality dining experience.

Heard that Friends was having a special promotion for dinner so popped down the Jelita outlet one weekday evening with my gf.

Located on the 2nd floor of Jelita Shopping Centre in the upclass residential area of Holland, Friends @ Jelita's interior was simply done up with nice leather seats. Very nice and clean feel till I spotted a table with empty plates and cutlery still on it and no one seemed to be taking the initiative to clear it. And no, the wait staff weren't busy. It wasn't until probably about 5 minutes after we had taken our seats were the plates unhurriedly cleared. Sadly, first impression speaks volumes.

Complimentary Bread - Served up in the folds of a napkin which obviously didn't do a good job of keeping it warm, the complimentary bread was average at best. Tasted like normal bread you could buy from any generic bakery in the heartlands.

Pan Seared Tuna with Nicoise Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette - The tuna was nicely seasoned with salt and pepper and pan seared till cooked on the outside but raw on the inside. Very nice and tasty. However I did find it a little too dry. And portions were rather dainty - 3 small slices of tuna.

Chicken Caesar Salad with Garlic Bread and Parmesan Biscuit - A most forgettable dish and one that relied soley on caesar salad dressing to give the whole dish taste. The chicken pieces were bland and rather soft.

Pan Seared Sakura Chicken Breast on Caramelised Pumpkin, Grilled Vegetables and Orange White Wine Reduction - As tantalising as the name may sound, the sakura chicken breast wasn't a big deal really. For one the meat tasted like normal chicken breast which you can get off the shelves at any supermarket. The caramelised pumpkin didn't exactly sit well with me as the sweetness of the pumpkin didn't blend well with the caramel in my humble opinion.

Peppered Sliced Beef Tenderloin with Sautéed Spaghetti & Vodka-Tomato Sauce - The spaghetti was overcooked, coming across as a tad too soft, which also happens to be the bane of the sliced beef. Taste but no texture. Probably the only saving grace was the tomato based sauce which was relatively light with a nice tinge of smoky after taste.

Chef Kenneth’s Gourmet Trio of Chocolate Desserts - This name bearing dessert was a letdown. Very very ordinary if you ask me. Put 3 small pieces of chocolate and mousse together and viola, you get Chef Kenneth's gourmet trio of chocolate desserts. Very chocolaty, which is good if you are a chocolate addict.

Coconut Panna Cotta - Another average dessert, the quivery but a little glutinous coconut panna cotta carried an evident taste of coconut without the raspberry sauce being too overwhelming. It should/could have been good but more work probably needs to be done on the texture first.

$47 for an average dinner for 2 isn't really that expensive honestly, especially when theres service and ambience thrown in as well. But quality of food here really needs to buck up and I believe I'm not the only one who thinks so.

See all my pictures here.

After reading so many reviews of this place, i HAVE to go to this place to try out. Made a phone reservation just in case its full, turns out the place was half filled, maybe because its a weekday evening.

We ordered a 1-for-1 set meal using Citibank's card plus some ala-carte food.

Set dinner:
1. Starters were some asparagus w salad, second set we ordered was a brinjal related salad, both were not bad.
2. For main, we had roasted chicken w mashed potato: the chicken was soft and tender. V nice!
3. 2nd main, we had a pork chop: the meat was slightly on the hard side. I will say its not too bad.
4. 1st dessert was a apple pie w ice cream: V nice!
5. 2nd dessert, i cant remember what it was but it was v nice too! Hehe..

Ala-carte dinner:
1. Mushroom soup w white truffle oil: Heavenly! Lots of mushrooms unlike other places where only a few pcs, soup was thick and creamy too!
2. Portobello Mushroom: V nice!
3. French duck liver: Another v nice starter! Crispy outer yet melt in your mouth!
4. Roasted lamb loin: Medium done w herbs on top. Nice!


Staffs were friendly and attentive. Always on the look-out if u need assistance.