Oriole Cafe & Bar

Today's lunch was at Oriole Cafe & Bar, located at Pan Pacific Suites at Somerset.

 

I was in a salad mood, so I ordered the Harissa Prawn salad. It was supposed to be served with romaine lettuce, but they ran out of it, so I had mine changed to mixed greens. It consisted of grilled spicy prawns, canberries, tomato salsa and garbanzo beans topped with a pomegrenate dressing. I was expecting to see pomegrenate seeds but didn't.

Nonetheless, the dressing was sweet and fruity. A pretty light and refreshing salad which doesn't go too heavy on the palate. The prawns were sizeable, slightly spicy and nicely grilled. The grill flavour was just right and not overly charred.

For mains, I orderd the Philly Steak and Cheese sandwich, partly because cknewsstand recommended it, and partly because I've so often seen this on food shows and they always looked wickedly inviting.

It was layers of thinly sliced beef, sweet onions, peppers and mozzarella cheese sandwiched with a toasted sesame bun. The bun was still warm and slightly crispy on the outside, and the toasted sesame contributed its aromas.

I was a little disappointed with the beef as, while it was not dry, I had expected it to be juicier. The cheese had also solidified and was not melting. Perhaps what I saw on the food shows had raised my expectations a tad too high.

Overall, I still think the meal as a whole wasn't too bad for its mid-range prices. I did see some pretty interesting drinks on the menu, but did not venture forth as some contained alcohol.