The first question that comes to mind when looking at the mouth-watering food items featured at the annual Geylang Serai Bazaar--do they taste as good as they look? We headed down to the bazaar to put some of these items to the test.
1. Flaming Unicorn ($9.90)
Disclaimer: Unicorn float not included.
Your best bet for the most Instagram-worthy shot. While the Unicorn Swirl featured above wasn't what we ordered, you must admit that it's a lovely thing to look at. Instead, we ordered the Flaming Unicorn. One of the top hits at the bazaar, this concoction featured purple vanilla soft serve with fruity pebbles, marshmallow, whipped cream and fondant. It even had a unicorn cut-out and a pink balloon.
"Why flaming?" you may ask. I'll let the video do the talking.
If you fancy seeing bubbles being set ablaze, this might be for you.
This is what you're left with, after the flaming bubble bonanza.
The dessert had a taste reminiscent of something I just couldn't put my finger on.
"Paddle Pop!" quipped one of the FAT Club members, which was met with enthusiastic agreement from the others. Indeed, this tasted almost exactly like the Paddle Pop Rainbow ice-cream we all grew up with.
Seeing the similarity in color, you'd almost think that the Unicorn dessert was essentially just a melted-down version of the Paddle Pop.
After consuming this sickeningly-sweet dessert, we attempted to make our $9.90 worth by stretching, hitting and throwing the balloon at each other for the next hour, like the adults we all are.
Gimmick or not, you decide.
2. Classic Meatballs in a Bucket ($9)
Created by Sofnade, this meatball package is one that has been causing quite a stir amongst the local food scene, having been featured by the likes of NOC's Food-King, LadyIronChef and TheSmartLocal. Unsurprisingly, the queue for it was pretty long, despite us being there early.
Glorious cheese.
The Classic Meatballs in a Bucket comes in an assortment of chicken meatballs, mashed potatoes, twister fries and a generous drizzle of nachos cheese. Strangely, mine did not come with the cranberry sauce as advertised.
My bucket versus the one shown on Sofnade's Instagram. (insert crying face)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think chicken's supposed to look like that.
Unfortunately, the chicken meatballs had a texture that resembled dough more than meat. They were kept in a huge box, conveniently being taken out when orders were made. No points earned there, especially if you're one for freshly-made food. The twister fries were equally disappointing, tasting soggy even before coming in contact with the cheese. The mashed potatoes were decent, but then again, it'd be difficult to get even that wrong.
The saving grace in this item would be the generous amount of cheese given (which also made everything more palatable) and also the portion size which would make one considerably full. Otherwise, at $9, I wouldn't be ordering this again.
Image credit: Sofnade
Not to discredit them though, we weren't able to try their much-raved Chicken Satay Meatballs in a Bucket. This has been a crowd favourite, so try that if you can.
3. Rainbow Grilled Cheese Toast ($5)
Don't you feel happy just by looking at it?
Margarine-coated slices of bread, pan-fried and then drizzled with condensed milk and rainbow sprinkles. This is one item that really entices you with its appearance. The staff are careful to make precise incisions across the bread, ensuring that you get your picture perfect shot when you pull it apart.
Beyond how it looks, this toast unfortunately did not amount to much. The cheese tasted cheap and unappetizing, like something anyone could make at home. The combination of sweet condensed milk and salty cheese made for an interesting one, to say the least. This wasn't something that tingled my taste buds, but we did have fun trying to pull apart the bread. Though at $5, this is probably the first and last time I'm getting this.
4. Watermelo Volcano ($6.90)
This post wouldn't be complete without featuring the standard Watermelon Volcano. These have been a common sight in Singapore for awhile, popularized by the watermelon soju bombs served by Korean establishments. No alcohol in the one served here though, as the bazaar is a strictly Halal event.
Refreshing!
The watermelon shaved ice was a pleasure to have, and despite having both sweetener and condensed milk added, it wasn't saccharine and provided a much needed respite from all the oily foods consumed previously. The watermelon spheres were surprisingly sweet too, a far cry from many desserts that provide palish-looking watermelon that barely taste like anything. At $6.90, the portion was also large enough for 6 of us to share.
Out of all the things we tried, I personally felt that this was the most value-for-money. I'd definitely have no qualms buying this again.
5. Swiss Rosti Raclette ($13)
"You want to take a video?" remarked the server as I snapped this shot.
It might interest you that this stall was opened by a person with zero F&B experience -although if you tried their potato dish last year, that would clearly be evident. I recall under-cooked and under-seasoned roast potatoes blanketed with cheese that tasted absolutely underwhelming and unimpressive. Fortunately, The Raclette Factory's rendition of rosti does better this year. According to Night Owl Cinematics, the owner actually flew to Switzerland to learn how to prepare the dish properly.
There's nothing better than watching raclette cheese reach its boiling point.
I dare say that part of the stall's popularity can be attributed to blowtorches being used to set the raclette wheel ablaze. The sizzling char of the cheese, paired with knife-scraping cheese action made for a spectacle that drew a large crowd.
Taste-wise, this was definitely on the better side. The Switzerland-imported raclette cheese was undisputedly a notch above the others sold at the bazaar, while the rosti tasted fresh and had a nice crisp. Although $13 was a tad expensive, the long queue of people might have disagreed with me.
Still, restaurants should get one thing straight: adding raclette to every single food imaginable doesn’t automatically make it taste good. In The Raclette Factory's case, kudos to the owner for his dedication in improving the dish.
While it might be a stretch (and also highly offensive) to completely agree with what @smrtsg remarked, it'd be hard-pressed not to admit that I have similar sentiments.
Without a doubt, most of the food here don't taste as good they look. While the food quality has improved, it still almost feels like stalls are competing to see who can make their food more visually stunning at the expense of flavour. That said, I do admit that that prioritizing sight over taste might not necessarily be the wrong way to go. To some, being visually stimulated is half the delight; so if you're one to prioritizes ocular senses over taste, the Geylang Serai Bazaar is probably the right place for you.
Otherwise, if you strictly care about how food tastes (like myself), I'd suggest you avoid the bazaar . There are countless other places that serve better tasting food at cheaper prices, not to mention the lack of a jostling crowd and sultry heat.
Here at NUS FAT Club, we strive to be objective and write about things that provide value to our readers. If you like what we're doing, join our secret community where we take the discussions surrounding food further.
- Dylan Teo
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