The Bark Café

For more photos, please visit Six&Seven.

As much as it sounds like a place for dogs, The Bark Café definitely does not serve up chow for your mutt. Instead, this little enclave tucked away in Changi is my friend’s response to “Let’s go somewhere we won’t bump into people we know”, as well as his secret retreat from the bustling city life – well, not so secret anymore.

An entirely outdoors dining experience (read: no air-conditioning, but shelter & fans provided), this quaint café-restaurant beside the Changi Chapel and Museum is breezy and has a calm, relaxed ambience. That is, if there isn’t a soccer match being broadcasted on their big TVs or friends having a game at their pool table.

My friend immediately jumped to their Snack section the moment we were seated and insisted that we had to order the Bark’s Speciality Chicken Wings (3pcs for $7.90/6pcs for $14.90). While I was sceptical – seriously, chicken wings for more than $2 a piece? – the wings arrived fried to an awesome sinfulness and were full-flesh, almost like plus-sized equivalent of chicken wings.

While not served with a dip, this extremely popular dish—every table had at least a plate—managed to shine with its addictive, spiced battered skin. I also liked that it wasn’t too oily, so no need to worry about clogging a vessel while enjoying your meal.

Whenever I go to a ‘fusion’ restaurant, I try to make it a point to order dishes from both sides of the spectrum. A mini test of what are they actually better at, I would say. Upon  the waitress’ recommendation, I went along with the Russian Chicken ($18.90).

Served with roasted potatoes and other greens, the ‘herb Oriental Vodka mixed cream’ sauce over my grilled chicken thigh tasted more like a ‘milk cream’ sauce. Did someone leave out the Vodka? And where’s the Oriental part of this sauce? Thankfully, the meat was juicy and tender though.

From their local cuisine section, my friend ordered their Crayfish Hor Fun ($15.90). Definitely one of the more expensive Hor Fun’s I’ve had, the dish makes up for its price tag with a huge serving of flat rice noodles and a fresh, whole crayfish among other seafood ingredients. Slathered over with thick, flavourful gravy, this 2-pax serving disguised as a pricey 1-pax dish lives up to be one of their trademark dishes.

Finding this place is definitely a pain for those unfamiliar with this extreme corner of Singapore. I definitely had the thought if I was being taken and sold off by my friend when he turned into the dark carpark at Changi Chapel, but The Bark Café remains a place worth visiting. (Though their open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant puzzles me still.)

For the complete post with uploaded pictures, please view;

http://thefoodnomads.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/the-bark-cafe-upper-changi-road-north/

 

An Alfresco-dining area with Basa Nova music played in the setting; it was a very relaxing afternoon with excellent company. The sweltering heat, however might be a little too unbearable for some and we felt that the place would be more cosy and pleasant around the evening or at night. On a Sunday afternoon, we were surrounded by rather large groups of families and duos consisting of middle-aged men. 

We were introduced to their Bark’s Specialty Chicken Wings. The meat was tender and juicy, while the exterior had the perfect crisp to delight each and every bite. They are definitely a must-order should you patronize The Bark Café.

Crayfish Hor Fun; the texture of the Kway Teow was rather smooth, and they were not too thin. There were really generous servings of seafood while the Crayfish had a considerable amount of succulent flesh. The Superior Egg Sauce essence was flavorful enough, and as such, complemented the Kway Teow rather well.

Chapel Cheesy Burger; the strong flavor of the cheddar cheese enhanced the significant relish of the beef rather well; the 150grams home-made beef patty was juicy and definitely worth a huge bite! The sunny-side egg atop the patty was not only visually appealing, but added a ‘yolky’ element to both the cheddar cheese and beef patty. Highly recommendable should you intend to settle for a heavy lunch or dinner!

Black Pepper Chicken; a thick slab of boneless chicken which was rather tender; I would have preferred it if the culinery team could have been slightly easier on the use of Black Pepper gravy. The vegetables were slightly overdone in my opinion, as I would have enjoyed the vegeables to still have a crunch to accompany every bite.

Bacon Oriental Pasta; the extensive use of olive oil overwhelmed any possible flavor from the dish while the bacons were overdone.

The highlight of our visit to The Bark Café; the Roasted Pepper Duck drew our attention away from all the other dishes when it was served to our table. I was glad to have ordered the dish; the aromatic fragrance of black pepper infused within the crispy skin of the roasted duck breast, marinated with red wine was as delish on the tastebuds as how it had appealed to us. The meat and fats were rather chewy and the juice splurted out with every bite.

Deep fried to golden brown, The Bark Café’s Fish and Chips appeared to be really inviting. Our friend claimed that he enjoyed the slightly thicker batter for the additional crisp. However, he felt that the Pacific Dory had a slight hint of ‘fishy’ after-taste.

I would personally feel that a long trip from the other end of our island via public transport, would be too much of an inconvenience. If you are around the area, you should settle for a laid-back Alfresco-dining experience at The Bark Café and try out their signature Western dishes. Of course, the Bark’s Speciality Chicken Wings and the most memorable dish of our meal, the Roasted Pepper Duck are definitely must-tries.

The Bark Cafe is set in a quiet corner in Changi and has a nice, relaxed ambience. The service was efficient and as I sipped my wine, thought I was onto a winner. I ordered the lamb chops as my mains but was shocked when it arrived. The entire contents occupied about half the plate and I asked the waiter if he had served me the children's portion instead! Please have a look at the picture and tell me if you can spot the potatoes - magnifiers may be required.

I went to Bark Cafe on New Year Eve, 8pm with my wife. There was sufficient parking lot despite the full house that day and there was an attendent shining the torchlight to guide us.

As it was full that day and I did not made a reservation, I was asked to sit at a relatively dark corner. I think I shouldn't complain about it since I never expect a full house. The whole place is big and spacious. Plenty of room to walk and not too noisy even when all tables are full. The place is suitable for big groups. It was unfortunate that they don't have any tea candle after I asked for it to light my my table. Else, it can actually be quite romantic at my exclusive corner.

Food wise, we ordered the 3 pieces Chicken Wings, Fish and Chips and the Russian Chicken. The Chicken Wings are good to my expectation after reading the reviews. It taste great and sufficiently crispy. As for the F&C, the batter was a bit too thick and I felt that I couldn't taste the fish much. As for the Russian Chicken, the sauce is good. I can smell the vodka though the taste not enough of it. The portion of the chicken is more suitable for ladies and certainly not enough for me alone.

The waitress are too eager to clear our plates and keep coming to our table to ask if we want desserts or any other drinks. I felt pressured to leave as my table are empty and they kept coming to ask if I need anything else. I'm not sure if this is considered as good service but I certainly don't like the feeling of being embarassed to sit with an empty table.

Overall, ambience ok, food ok, value so so, service don't quite like it...

With a GPS on hand, it isn't too difficult to locate. If you are coming from the direction of Upper Changi Road, The Bark Cafe is on your right. It is located under a slope, so have to take special notice to locate the big bold signboard.

Order as follows:

 - 6 piece chicken wings: $13.90

 - Spicy Otah: $16.90

 - Red Palm Soda: $4.50

 - Honey Lemon: $4.50

The chicken wings is definitely a must try. Saw that alot of other tables also had it as their appetizer. Very crispy on the outside, and juicy and tender in the inside. But their in-house seasoning became a little salty after my 2nd wing. And sadly, they don't serve ice/plain water. Even when we had each ordered a drink, they still don't serve ice water. You mean such a 'No Ice Water' policy still exist? This is definitely a let down.

The Spicy Otah is tasty. Spicy indeed with some shrimp hidden between the fish meat. But if you are hungry, I think this can only be an appetizer for you.

I like the concept of this cafe. As we enjoy our dinner, we can also immerse ourselves into the natural fauna surrounding the cafe. Witnessed an eagle soaring across the evening sky. It's open concept, with huge fan blowing away any unnecessary heat  makes the dinning experience enjoyable. Ideal for people seeking a quiet and non-airconditioned place for inspiration.

Oh! Another point to note. All prices listed on the menu is BEFORE GST. Not sure if it is written anywhere in the menu. But it does caught me by surprise when I examine my receipt.

This is no pets place by the way.

Hubby and I went to Bark Cafe at 530pm today as we happened to be in the east. Prior to heading over, I decided to call up to make a reservation but was informed that there was no necessity to do so at the time we were going.

It took us a while to find the place but finally found it next to the Changi Chapel. When we went in, we realised that that we were the first customers for the evening. Although the weather has been quite hot, the place is rather airy and well ventilated with many strong fans so the heat did not get to us.

We ordered a plate of 3 chicken wings, which they are supposed to be famous for, mustard chicken and otak (fish and prawn). The deep fried chicken wings were piping hot when they came and tasted slightly of shrimp paste. They were quite good! The mustard chicken came shortly after. Mustard was drizzled on the chicken leg, and it was accompanied by roast potato wedges (abit soggy) and boiled vegetables (buttered but not that nice). We thought that the drizzling of mustard was abit strange but the unique combination turned out quite well. the chicken was not oily and rather tender. The otak followed, it was tasty and went down quite easily, with the chunks of prawns adding to the texture. Unfortunately, the accompanying sides (mixed salad, coleslaw and three slices of garlic bread) didn't go too well with the otak. But all in all, a decent meal in nice relaxing surroundings. 

Nice place to chill out. We found that the prices for the mains to be abit on the high side though, total bill for our orders mentioned above plus 2 glasses of coke set us back by $55.  

We enjoyed our dinner at The Bark Cafe last night - we had to do something at Changi General, and then realized we always wanted to try this place and it was literally 5 minutes away. The Bark Cafe is set just off Upper Changi Road North in an idyllic alcove next to Changi Chapel. You realize when you are there that it is worthwhile getting away from the town areas every so often for that sense of peace and generally slowed down vibe that it offers.

The food is well done cafe food with a slightly upmarket touch. Hence the slightly upmarket prices for cafe food. We had the cheesy cheeseburger and the lamb chops. The burger was actually very good with a nicely done egg on top of the patty. The patty itself for juicy and flavourful. The fries were one of the best i have tried in Singapore - really well done medium cut fries which a solid crisp side. The lamb chops while a bit fatty were grilled nicely and came with condiments you expect to see at a restaurant not a cafe.

They have dishes like crayfish horfun as well which looked popular as were the chicken wings which every table seemed to have.

A real surprise was the dessert - the apple crumble must have been one of the best we have tried in Singapore. This one we were really impressed with.

The restaurant is open air but sheltered and has good outdoor type furniture, not the tacky type. Good quality fans blow from the right spots to keep you cool enough. A solid place away from town to chill out with friends over beers and food in the idyllic nature around Changi. Just how mom would have liked it.

Ordered 2 sets of Cheddar cheese salad, chicken wings and 1 jug of beer.

Service was excellent and food was above average.

Nice place to chill out with friends at night.

Those driving might find it difficult to find parking lots esp during the night as there are limited spaces avail.

If you're looking for some peace and quiet dining out, this is a good place to go to. I like the fact that this place is not too busy and it has a no-pretenses air to it. The place is also clean and simple so you'll feel more relaxed and it's actually a good place to go to if you're a writer or something. The food is ok but nothing great or fancy, as what's expected. Fish & chips are crispy and portions are just right.

Have been to Bark's a couple of time. Love its vibe about the place. No heavy/ loud music that disrupts a good conversation between friends; and the tables are spaced out so you dont feel that your privacy is threatened.

Some friends of mine think the place is ulu/ remote. Well, to me thats the beauty of it. Lets not forget that you can actually catch a bus (no. 29 to tampines interchange) just 1 min walk away. Drivers will love this place too cos there is free and ample parking spaces

The Chichen wings are good! Rest of the stuff are pretty ordinary.

The only downside: They dont serve warm/ ice water. :(