Restaurant review: PS. Café (Palais Renaissance) - Singapore

DECEMBER - My favorite month of the year is here. For me, the festive atmosphere begins much before the arrival of Christmas. I love Singapore especially during this season. The sparkling lights and colorful decorations go up way in advance which makes the festive cheer linger for a satisfying amount of time. 

Me and my girlfriends always make use full use of the holiday season to do our Christmas shopping, gift exchange and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. This year we planned an early Christmas outing because several of us were scheduled to be traveling overseas for the holidays. We settled on PS. Café at Palais Renaissance, Orchard road because it was recommended by a friend. 

I had never been to any of the PS. Café outlets before (there are lots of them in Sg) so I was looking forward to it. The restaurant features a western menu with an amazing array of desserts. There are minor variations in the menu depending upon the time of day that you go (brunch, lunch, dinner) and the location of the branch.

We made a dinner reservation at 8pm on a Friday night. I would recommend making a reservation in advance since this place can get pretty crowded. We arrived right on time and were shown to our table after only a few minutes of waiting. The waiting area was saturated with people so we were glad that we had a reservation. 

The interior of the restaurant is composed of a color palette of primarily white and black which gives it an elegant and chic appearance. The high ceiling and large glass windows gives it a cavernous and airy feeling. I loved the tiled floor and the white ceiling beams. The ambience of the restaurant is casual and relaxed and I was happy to note that even as the restaurant got crowded, it didn't get noisy. 

The menu is not exactly elaborate but the dishes are interesting and appetizing. From where we were sitting, we actually couldn't see the specials board so we got the waitress to brief us on it. 

A word in advance - the food photographs aren't very good due to the dim lighting inside the restaurant. 

Truffle Shoestring Fries

We ordered the Truffle Shoestring Fries which was a gigantic serving of medium-thin, crispy golden fries with grated parmesan & parsley tossed in truffle oil. I thought the fries were great (perfect texture and non-greasy) but I felt the truffle oil was a bit overpowering. It left me with a strange aftertaste reminiscent of gasoline. Nonetheless, we polished it off in record time (it is fries after all) 

Truffle Shoestring Fries

Mushroom Wellington

For the main course, I ordered the Mushroom Wellington which consisted of a wild mushroom and roasted cashew filled pastry parcel served with roasted roots and mushroom vegetable jus. I enjoyed this dish immensely. The pastry was warm and flaky and the filling packed with flavor. The roasted veggies and the jus went perfectly with it. A very satisfying main course indeed. 

Mushroom Wellington

Moroccan Lamb

One friend ordered the Moroccan lamb which consisted of ginger and dukkah crusted lamb skewers with roasted vegetable couscous, oven roasted tomatoes, baby rocket and harissa yoghurt. She said that the lamb was tender and delicious but found the couscous a little dry. 

Moroccan Lamb

I

Rustic Ribeye and Mushroom Stew

Another friend ordered the Rustic Ribeye and Mushroom Stew which looked like a hearty dish of beef and mushrooms stewed in red wine and served with roasted vegetables and char grilled house bread. This dish seemed to be the all-round favorite among my friends as they each sampled it. 

Rustic Ribeye and Mushroom Stew

I

Miso Cod

The Miso Cod was plated beautifully with broiled aware miso pacific cod fillet on one side of the plate and a ginger, lemon and sesame dressed soba vegetable salad on the other. My friend who ordered it was quite satisfied with this colorful, dainty and flavourful dish. 

Miso Cod

I

St. Louis Ribs

I was a tad shocked when I saw the size of the St. Louis Ribs, ordered by the most slender girl in our group of friends. It consisted baby back pork ribs with smoky sticky BBQ sauce served with a tangy vegetable slaw, baked spud & a dollop of sour cream and chives. I was certain she would struggle with the portion but to my surprise, she finished it almost at the same time I finished my main course so I assumed that she really loved it. She attested to the same later. 

St. Louis Ribs

Traditional Christmas Dinner

The traditional Christmas dinner was one of the specials that was scribbled on the blackboard. Only one of my friends ordered this dish. It looked huge with oven roast turkey, ham, apricot, ham with vegetables and cranberry jus (if I remember correctly). This dish was probably the one that didn't go down as well when compared to the others both in terms of flavour and value for money. 

Traditional Christmas Dinner

Even though we were pretty full from the main course, none of us were willing to skip dessert especially considering that dessert was the main motivation for us to visit this restaurant. Among all of us, only one had a regular experience of dining at PS. Café so she recommended the Sticky Date Pudding, Double Chocolate Blackout Cake and the Banana Butterscotch Cake. 

Double Chocolate Blackout Cake

I am not a huge fan of chocolate flavored cake or ice-cream so even before we placed the order, I knew that I would be greedily eyeing the other two desserts. 

The Double Chocolate Blackout Cake is perfect for chocoholics. It looks positively sinful, is rich, decadent and it completely cures your chocolate fix. I thought it was good but after a while I couldn't eat much more of it. The ice-cream does help to tone down the  chocolatey-ness of it. 

Double Chocolate Blackout Cake

I

Sticky Date Pudding & Banana Butterscotch Cake

The Sticky Date Pudding (steamed) was my absolute favorite. At first, I thought the Banana Butterscotch Cake was right up my alley but on further sampling, I thought the Sticky Date pudding had a more interesting texture and flavour. Both desserts are moist, light and moreish. The luscious sauce and ice-cream only enhances the two desserts. Note that the Banana Butterscotch Cake is the sweeter of these two desserts. 

Banana Butterscotch Cake

Sticky Date Pudding

We had a memorable dinner at PS. Café and returned home with bellies and hearts full.

I

PS. Café: Great ambience, good food but slightly pricey

PS. Café @ Palais is an urban escape, nestled in the heart of Orchard road. The interiors are pleasing to the eye and the ambience is pleasant. The service in general is alright. Although the staff re-filled our glasses with water periodically and brought in our orders in good time, I felt that the café was understaffed and we had to catch the attention of the staff several times. The portion sizes of the dishes are quite generous and satisfying thereby making several of the dishes ideal for sharing. More importantly, the food is good and the desserts even better. But as cafés go, this one is on the pricier side with the salads costing an average of $25, mains courses ranging from $26-36 and the desserts roughly around $12-14. The expected damage to your wallet would be about $50-$60. 

I would recommend this place for couples, small groups friends, colleagues or a girl's night out.

My rating for this café is

PS. Café at Palais
Address:

Level 2
390 Orchard road
Singapore

 

Concierge: 67089288 (10am to 10pm)

Hours:

11:30 - 10pm

Last order: 9pm

Cheers,

Megha

This is not a sponsored post or invited review