Dinner at Owl Cafe @ Star Vista

1 Vista Exchange Green #02-10 - 11, The Star Vista, Singapore 138617

Tel: 6694 3537

It was my first time going to Star Vista, and I was excited because there were many restaurants there that I haven't tried. What's more, I was finally catching up with *Edwin and *Gerald again after so long.... anyway, *Gerald suggested we try Owl Cafe, so we met up there.

It is the first Straits Asian Cafe in Singapore, this tiny little cafe with a cosy setting and minimalistic designs sprinkled with tiny lights, artwork and colorful cubes on the walls.

We sat at the vast outdoors, where we could chat more freely and dine in the semi-darkness, under natural + artificial breezes from the air and fans.

I didn't even realize it was the same OWL coffee brand that opened this cafe until the guys mentioned it. Ok.. neat. If it wasn't late I might have ordered the coffee but I did not want to risk insomnia as it was.

The Soursop Freeze (SGD$4.20) was a chilly delight - sweet with soursop's flavor, and there were a fair bit of soursop flesh within the drink itself.

Then there were Mango Soda with Pearls (SGD$3.80) and Sour Plum Juice (SGD$2.80). The latter drink was fine but *Gerald mentioned that the Mango Soda with Pearls tasted kind of funny and did not have the mango flavor at all (we even wondered for a while if they served the correct order).

Appetiser to share was a Crispy Duck Spring Onion Prata Roll (SGD$5.80) that was like a Popiah stuffed with duck and a little spring onion and veggies chopped into tiny pieces. The slices of duck were thin and there was not a hint of crispy anywhere - not the duck nor the skin itself. Don't get me wrong, the taste itself was rather good, but not if you were expecting a dish of crispy duck-wrapped rolls.

*Edwin had the Double Boiled Black Chicken Soup (SGD$6.80) which he said was rather fragrant and tasty, and the black chicken meat was not touch.

*Gerald had the Peranakan Laksa Lemak (SGD$5.80) that seemed to contain the essential ingredients of a good bowl of laksa - hard boiled eggs, taupok etc, but it was not spicy like the usual Chinese laksa we are accustomed to. He said it was quite nice anyway.

As for me, I had the Soft Shell Chilli Crab Spaghetti (SGD$9.80) which was quite a generous portion. The pasta was fine - not too springy but not soggy so I had no complaints. The chilli gravy was not spicy but added flavor to the dish, and I kept chasing the egg white stirred into the sauce. The soft shell crab was coated too heavily with flour that it obliterated the naturally sweet flavor of the crab. I still prefer the Soft Shell Crab Spaghetti at Joe's Corner Cafe / Bar.

Overall this was a nice, casual cafe similar to Toast Box and Ya Kun Toast, I feel (since now their menu includes more savoury dishes too), but the service could have been better. Half the time our table was ignored because no one bothered to come outside - the servers who brought food outdoors did not bother to look around even though we waved a few times to place more drinks order etc.