Dinner at Wild Oats Restaurant @ Punggol Park

97 Hougang Avenue 8, Punggol Park, Singapore 538768

Tel: 6858 2087

Talk about riverside dining... we could never get close enough at Boat / Clarke / Robertson Quay, but here at Punggol Park, one could literally sit by the waters, smell it, and dine by it. That was also one of the reasons that The Beau and I chose to dine at Wild Oats Restaurant.

A long restaurant nestled in Punggol Park itself, with an interior dining hall and lots of vast, spacious al fresco dining space.

The relaxed ambience attracted plenty of diners - families, couples and friends alike. Good music was blasting throughout the place, and the cool night air swept through the area soothingly.

We chose al fresco dining, sitting outdoors and by the river - what a romantic and beautiful idea. The sheltered structure ensured that even if it was raining, we would still be able to dine in peace without due disturbances. Here we overlooked the lights of buildings opposite, as well as see the reflections of the lit buildings clearly in the waters - and sat perched at the edge of the pond.

We started with a Luncheon Meat Fries, served with Kaffe Lime Leaf mayonnaise. For luncheon meat lovers, this crispy delicacy is something that you would enjoy - strips of deep fried processed pork meat without any hints of fattiness, and went well with the citrusy creamy mayo sauce. It got a tad salty for us after a while though.

I had the Sarawak Chicken Curry Shepherd Pie - a delicious, thick curry blended into a baked dish topped with cheese atop. The curry was piping hot and somewhat spicy, with slices of tender chicken. It was delicious no doubt, an interesting fusion of traditional Asian and Western dishes. The sticky baked dish would have been perfect without the fatty meats and skin though - there was quite a fair bit of that and I had to keep fishing them out. Constant trepidation of trying to prevent biting into a piece of chicken skin has reduced the enjoyment of this dish significantly.

The Beau had the Creamy Mushroom Pasta - a pool of creamy delicacy encompassing springy (slightly on the hard side, the way I like it) spaghetti strands, and generous portions of shittake mushrooms. Needless to explain the unique, rich flavor of luscious shiitake flavor and chewy texture - this goes very well with the pasta drenched in rich cream sauce.

For drinks, we had the Fruli Belgium Strawberry beer (SGD$11.50) and Pink Grapefruit Juice. The fruit beer was light and refreshing with fruity overture. The grapefruit juice was resplendant of bittersweet grapefruit flavor, and both drinks made for perfect thirst quenchers to our rather heavy-flavored food.