Canteen is a good place to get a decent and fairly quick bite in the Orchard area, which is saying something. I say fairly, because our appetizers took more than 10 minutes to arrive, which we found rather surprising considering that the menu is so brief. But then our mains came shortly after we were done with the appetizers so it wasn't a consistent problem.

The food is tasty enough, although one of their specialties, the Japanese style hamburger, isn't as good as the one at Ma Maison in Central. But seriously- at that price point, the food wasn't bad. I was there for dinner, but thought the set deals for tea time were especially well priced. Certainly enough to give Starbucks a run for its money.

So why would anyone in Singapore pay 60 bucks for 2 bowls of noodles, some spring rolls, a goreng pisang and a bowl of peanut cream anyway ? You’ll be glad to know that the premium charged by Canteen can be attributed ( at least) in equal parts to enhanced taste and flavor as it can be to the presence of wait staff and air conditioning.

Thankfully, you don’t come away feeling too ripped off.
The XO lo shi fun lived up to its good reviews. The texture of the noodle was unfamiliar at first but once you got going, it worked really well with the little XO’d nuggets of pork and century egg. It is spicy, but in that kind of hurts-so-good way. The homemade Mian in double boiled consommé with truffle oil and shredded chicken tasted exactly as it sounds – like tricked-out chicken noodle soup. I’m sure lots of people will be thinking it’s a con job, but to be fair, I really enjoyed it. Simple but comforting flavours - the truffle oil was fragrant and the noodles come close to Din Tai Fung standards. Plus there was none of that sickly MSG-water aftertaste you get from hawker centre versions.

The Haambagu is nice enough, but a little disappointing after you’ve dived into the starters. The duck spring rolls are my absolute favourite. They are crisp and chockful of lean yet flavourful duck meat. The prawn toasties are a good choice too, but the duck is better.

Dessert was a tempura’d giant banana with some incredibly creamy and smooth vanilla-nutty ice cream. We also had the peanut cream which was pleasant, but I have to say a little too smooth for my liking. Don’t ask me why, but this was the only dish which tasted a little mass-manufactured. Mass manufactured or not, it’s still a creamy sweet nutty concoction – and I can quite easily live with that.

Portions here are huge, and the dishes look really interesting – you’ll probably want to order a few different ones to pick at. The service was impeccable as it always is with les amis.

Just a thought, I don’t necessarily think high class hawker food is a bad thing. I for one love hawker food (give me Hill Street Char Kway Teow over the insipid offerings at Forlino anytime man!). Even if you could find similar flavours in a cheaper and dirtier environment - I don’t think that’s reason enough to avoid places like Canteen . Places like the now-defunct (and rightly so!) Nooch at Wheelock I probably wouldn’t be so charitable about, because the noodle dishes, while somewhat rooted in hawker fare, were simply unimpressive. Canteen however puts an interesting spin on the tried and tested, and that’s worth paying a little extra for.

I must admit I had high hopes for The Canteen after reading the many reviews of it. Unfortunately, this reincarnation fails to be an improvement and really does reflect it's moniker of a canteen.

Up on the list of must-tries were the tiger prawn toasts, the famed lo shi fan, crab mee pok, and two desserts.

The tiger prawn toasts comprised flattened bread rolled with a prawn paste stuffing and deep-fried. This came piping hot, very crunchy (though a tad over-fried), with a fresh filling. Unfortunately, it was a little on the bland side and my dining companion and I found ourselves drizzling each roll liberally with the accompanying lemon sauce.

The lo shi fan came next and suffered from the same lack of "zing". It was nowhere as spicy or fragrant as we'd expected and my dining companion ended up adding salt to the dish. Perhaps this is a good thing from a health perspective but we'd expected the noodles to be liberally coated with and tasting of the XO sauce.

The crab mee pok fared better with springy mee pok noodles, crunchy beansprouts, bits fresh crab meat and a very well done soft shell crab topping.

The stars of The Canteen must be the desserts. We tried the red bean potong ice-cream which comprised of red bean ice-cream done japanese style sitting on a bed of sago and coconut cream. The taste of the azuki with the sago and coconut was a unique take on an old school dessert. The lychee jelly with pandan granita also got the thumbs up with it's very refreshing sweet lychee juice, soft jelly and ice-shavings.

Overall, with the steep prices (around $16 for the noodles) and lacklustre noodles, The Canteen would fare better as a tea house with the inventive and competent desserts and unique range of tea-time toasts; it's central location offering weary shoppers a respite in the middle of Orchard Road.

I dined here on a couple of occasions since its opening, and here goes nothing.

1st visit: It was relatively quiet, close to the end of lunchtime. I ordered duck spring rolls, XO lo shi fun and red bean potong. The 4 spring rolls were absolutely delicious, stuffed with nicely marinated duck, crispy and not too oily. The creamy chili dip is sweet and complements its savouriness.

The lo shi fun emerged when I was muching on the 3rd spring roll, which gave it time to cool down a little. Maybe they were trying to clear the entrees before teatime, I thought. The temperature came down a little but not its spiciness! Through the heat I could make out that the spicy minced pork sausage was chunky, and contrasted with the softness of the century egg and the mee tai mak. It was generally savoury and a little sweet. Refills of water were prompt, and I was later advised that I could ask to have no added chili oil next time.

The red bean potong was the highlight of both my visits. Thankfully it didn't arrive before I finished the entree. The casein did its fire retarding job, the Japanese ice-cream was light and not too sweet and there were real sago pearls in the coconut milk. It was a delight, even if the santan conspired with the chili to give me the runs the next day.

2nd visit: I arrived a little earlier than before, and this time the place was as hectic as Hell's Kitchen. Having learnt my lesson (and that all but one of the noodle dishes were spicy), I ordered tiger prawn toasties, which were juicy and savoury in their finely breaded coating and came with a sour chili dip, and Mr Wong's handmade mian.

The mian arrived early as well, but by the time I started on it, the mian was already soggy. Nevertheless, the broth had a great, clean and slightly herbal taste, and the chicken meatballs were great to bite into. The light flavour of this dish figures nicely on the menu of rich and strong flavours.

My only real gripe was the timing of the courses on both visits, which I made known in feedback. Kudos to the staffer who enquired about my experience on both visits, redeeming a few points for service.

Coz this place is not your usual canteen!

This is a revival of the defunct Canteen, the newest outfit by the Les Amis Group. It’s an all day dining eatery serving fusion Pan-Asian food. Nopes. Don’t call them fusion coz Pan-Asian cuisine is how they differentiate this casual eatery from restaurants serving “similar” fare.

A little bit of history lesson here. Some of you may remember the old Canteen at where La Strada is now. The Canteen 1st opened in 2003 and after 3 fleeting years it finally closed in 2006 after struggling with a fusion-confusion concept. Then the more sophisticated-looking restaurant served hokkien mee and hor fun alongside duck confit and ossobuco. Think about it. Back in 2003, Singaporeans are not acclimatized to paying $16 for a chic-chic plate of hokkien mee. Concept didn’t work neh so ta-dah! Les Amis had to close the then Canteen after a very brief existence. I’ve dined there a few times in the past and thought the food to be ok only. Nothing was really mind-blowing except for a few dishes that I’ll never forget. The Philip’s Hokkien Mee!

And so now it’s back and I think this eatery will stay. Look. With the proliferation of fusion restaurants like Persimmon, I certainly believe Singaporeans nowadays are very willing to fork out even $20+ for a plate of CKT. But the chef’s no longer Chef Lee, (it’s now Michael Han who has done stints in Michelin-starred restaurants like The Fat Duck in London. He’s damn cute haha) so the menu’s different from the past no hokkien mee. :( This new Canteen still serves local fare though, but reinvented. And cooler! Hold your breath….here goes! There’s Duck Spring Rolls (served in a Chinese take-out box!), Salmon Salad for starters, Crab Mee Pok, Bak Kut Teh, Laksa Udon with Tiger Prawns and Quail Egg along with the strangest chow like Curry Chicken ramen, La-mien with truffle oil (woa!), Black Pepper Beef Spaghettini (with beef shin & beefballs) and afternoon snacks like Peanut Butter & Banana sandwich (I want!) and Chili Crab Sandwich with Scrambled Egg even! Desserts like Goreng Pisang Katsu with vanilla ice cream!

Mee Tai Mak is sick people food haha but I love it! And guess what? There’s Mee Tai Mak on the menu! This one is not your usual fishball soup MTM. This one is X.O. Lo Shi Fun with spicy meat sauce and pidan! ($16.50) It’s simply sedap! 很好吃! Like tan-tan mien so spicy! And it’s really so good you’ll forgive the $16.50 price tag and you won’t ever want to return to your $3 MTM soup at Old Airport Road anymore!

And once again, Les Amis outshone itself with the staff’s excellent product knowledge. I knew X.O sauce alone wouldn’t make this dish so spicy. I asked and was told! Orh! So Chef Han added his secret ingredient, Chili nduja de Monte Poro to this MTM. It’s a soft and spicy spreadable salami, a pork sausage from Monte Poro in Calabria, South Italy, which is stuffed with chili. My guess was spot on, as this chili is not new to me at all! Coz I ate this superior salami on my grilled Alaskan Crab Leg at Les Amis before. It’s really fiery hot so beware! But SoShiok!

I really didn’t plan on desserts but how can me the ice cream slut resist the Red Bean Potong with coconut and sago ($6)! This is a Japanese take on an old favorite, like a deconstructed potong ice cream. Japanese why coz they use Hokkaido Red Bean Ice cream! So yummy! And it really did put out the fire…

Then Thirsty Drink What? Eat mee tai mak and potong ice cream of coz must drink some kopitiam drink! Sinalco (whole can) ($2.50)! There’s Sarsi and Kickapoo if you’re not a weirdo like me who likes this cough syrup lol. Some kopitiams don’t even have these old school drinks! There’s also your usual teh/ice teh, teh-c/ice teh-c, kopi/ ice-kopi…you get the idea! And the good thing is that they are not expensive. Yes definitely not as cheap as in your kopitiams but c’mon! Paying $2.50 for a drink in a Les Amis café is OK! And I hear the auntie who makes them in the kitchen was poached from Yakun (must be coz Les Amis pays better haha :p). But oh well if you’re a cheapo, they readily offer PUB water, hot or cold FOC. They even ask!

Service was excellent. Halfway through my MTM, the waiter saw me tearing (coz of the chili) he hurriedly poured me a glass of ice water! And I didn’t even ask for it. How’s that for FANTASTIC service? It’s the Les Amis nurture. ‘Nuff said.

But I implore all you readers out there who’re drooling already and planning a trip down to this new Canteen. Please don’t come back complaining on HGW crying out loudly about getting ripped off for paying $16 for a plate of mee pok which will cost you only $3 in the hawker centres! Be aware of what you’re getting and be prepared to pay about 4X more for really fun but more costly local fare in a casual chic eatery.

Sorrie I digress here…*shh….hope he doesn’t read HGW…* lol but I saw Minister, PM Office Mr Lim Swee Say dining there with his wife, alongside with aunties and tourists….and Fyi, prices range from $6-$8.50 for starters, $13-$16.50 for mains, afternoon snacks $4-$5.50 (2.30pm-6pm), desserts cost $5-$6. No reservations are taken. First come first serve! It’s really packed at every hour of the day which only means DELICIOUS FOOD!

Next…crab meepok tah… :D

Disclaimer: Just in case if anybody is wondering, I sound like a walking endorsement of the Les Amis group but I swear I’ve no vested interest in them nor am I related to them in anyway. I wish man! Then I can dine there everyday haha. Anyway! I’m just a HGW reviewer who is a modest and regular diner at their restaurants and have tasted enough of their food, seen, heard, learnt and witnessed enough of their staff’s upbringing and service over the years to be able to attest to my claims: (with the exception of Canelé coz I don’t endorse this one at all!) That they simply are the paramount both in service and deliverance of food! Nothing atas or snooty about them. 1st class food and service yes but these are the last people in the service industry to be called snobbish or pretentious.