Badoque, the New Black

DATE VISITED:
220110
ADDRESS:
298 Bedok Road
Bedok Shopping Complex



I always wanted to try out Badoque after reading afew reviews on Hungry Go Where, and I got the chance to dine at this bistro when my company decided to have their cohesion there. In fact, this was one of the venues I had shortlisted for another function earlier on. We settled on Bistro@Changi due to its venue.

AMBIENCE : 7/10

The place around Badoque is quite quaint and reminds me of a small town. In this small town is Badoque with his sleek black furniture and modern art. The place presents itself as a stylish modern bistro with black as its theme colour. In contrast to its nearby loud and colourful MadJack. The place offers both in-door dining and al fresco dining. They also have a reading corner with sofas and magazines.

FOOD: 6.5/10

HALAL : YES

The menu features a few regular classics that you find in elsewhere like Roast Chicken etc. In addition to that, Badoque also have a quite a few items that are unique or given interesting names. One of the unique items would Chicken Khuzee, a Chicken dish cooked in Morrocan style. They also features a few toasted baguette like Spicy Tuna which is nice to try out. Not to mention, the interesting names like Chew Baka (a Beef Burger) and Gandhi's (a pizza dish).

Another plus point for this Western bistro would be its Halal certification. Another place where you can have western meals with your Muslim friends.

1. Cold Chicken and Orange Salad - $5.00: 4/5
I enjoy this salad alot, it was a good start for the meal. The chicken is tasty although I would prefer the lettuce to be more crunchy and the dressing to be lighter. Nonetheless, the salad is was very tasty.

2. Shrimp Cocktail - $5.50: 3/5
The shrimp cocktail was alright.

3. Sauteed Sotong Simpang Style- $5.50: 3/5
This appetizer tasted normal to me, the but I would say it was well cooked because the sotong wasn't too tough and the sauce is just nice, not too overpowering or heavy. This comes in a plate, the portion is just nice.

4. Spicy Tuna (Tartine ala Badoque) - $4.50: 3/5
The tuna covers abit of chili or something below. You could tasted a contrast of flavours, spicy chili together with the cold creamy tuna that almost melts in your mouth, accompanied by a slice of baquette. The only thing that I wasn't pleased about this item was that the slice of baquette, it was too soft and soggy. If not this item would be quite a nice one.

5. Chicken Khuzee - $14.50: 4/5
This was my choice of main course. A chicken dish cooked in Morrocan style. As expected, quite a few spices were used in this dish, star anise is just one of them. The vegetables were well-cooked. I like the addition of raisins to this dish. Together with the mildly spicy sauce, it gives the chicken a sweet and spicy flavour.

6. Slab of Steak - $16.00: 2/5
The slab of steak was too tough and hard to eat. The sauce is not that great, abit sour to taste.
The steak was made medium rare.


7. Seafood Pasta - $14.00: 1/5
Prepared in aglio olio style.

This is the most disappointing dish of the day. The pasta was overcooked, not al dente, it breaks easily. The chosen pasta doesn't seem to fit this dish well, linguine. The prawn seems to be overcooked and the sight of a huge amount of oil and garlic at the bottom of the dish wasn't a pleasant sight. I had aglio olio at quite a few places before and I felt that this particular Seafood Aglio Olio is not a good one.

8. Assortment of Cakes - $3.00 (5 pics): 3/5

They offer variety of cakes, mostly cheesecakes. Oreo, Mango, Strawberry, Tiramisu etc. I enjoyed the one with chocolate chips on it. The marble one was quite okay too. I didn't like the strawberry cheesecake but my colleagues like it. Overall, the texture of the cheesecake is smooth and consistent. Some of them might be alittle bit more sour while others more mild. The dessert item that I like most is probably the Walnut Brownie.

SERVICE : 6.5/10
The staff are rather efficient and friendly. However, there is one occassion where they forgot to provide water for some of us until the end of the meal.

VALUE: 7/10
GST: YES
SERVICE CHARGE: NIL
The food portion is just nice. And their prices are quite low actually. The most expensive item is the lamb shank. Furthermore, they have ongoing promotions every now and then for everyone.

OVERALL : 6-7/10
Overall, the food here is above-average, ambience is quite nice and the food is affordable. Since it is only my first time here, I give them my benefit of doubt for the Seafood Aglio Olio. Another plus point is that this is another Halal outlet where you could enjoy western food in a bistro setting.

This place is suitable for :
- Chilling Out
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Hi-Tea
- Large Gatherings

Xin Li Felt Satisfied at the end of his meal
and would probably visit the place again.