Everything with Fries

Expectations. Setting and meeting them takes skills. Managing them requires greater skills.
So, what have you set for yourself today?

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An impromptu decision to dine out on a fine Sunday afternoon brought us to this little area that we like to go but is quite out of the way. We had heard about Everything with Fries for a while now and had been wanting to go down and have a go at it. Worried that it may be crowded out on a Sunday brunch timing, we called to make reservations but was told that they do not take them. Undaunted, we proceeded down, with a few places in mind as backup in case the queue is long.

To our surprise, we were given a table when we arrived at about 1215PM. We understood why they could not take reservations as there are limited seating for them and it is just no economical to do so. However it is always in my personal belief that exceptions need to be made for bigger groups. Oh well. That's just me perhaps.

Menu

The menu was quite extensive with enough choice and variety. You can see that the dessert list is almost as long as the mains and the drinks list. Ha. I have a liking for a short menu, especially for a small holding as it is a good indication that the chefs are focused and the dishes on offer are probably what they do best.

Lemonade

Usually we don't order drinks but the offer of a nice home-made lemonade ($2.90) on a sunny weekend afternoon is too enticing. With the right tint of sourness and perfect level of sweetness, it quenches our thirst and readies us for the meal ahead. A refreshing start indeed! (4.25/5)

One Egg Soup

We were advised by the waiting stuff that the food will take some time to prepare and recommended the One Egg Soup ($3.90) to start us off while waiting for the mains. Not sure if it was a marketing gimmick, but we had the intention to order the soup anyway, and so here we go. The soup is basically prepared using one egg. The egg yolk is used to thicken the wine infused chicken broth and the egg white souffled, and served with cream on top. The fusion of all the flavours was amazing! The egg white fried quickly in VERY hot oil was great and hit the spot with the broth. A very nice follow up to the lemonade indeed. (4.75/5)

Grilled Pork Chop

The main courses come with a choice of salad (colesaw or baby caesar) and a choice of fries (obviously). We ordered baby Caesar salad and curry fries for our grilled pork chops ($13.90). The pork chops were a bit dry and tough, although seasoned sufficiently. And the one piece serving definitely will not satisfy the hunger of a hungry man. The baby Caesar was a disappointment too with limited topping and a "lazy" sauce. Fries were ok. You cannot do too wrong with curry powder and salt. (3/5)

Breaded King Salmon

The breaded king salmon ($13.90) was the other 'signature' dish recommended by the waiting stuff. For th salmon, we had the colesaw and salt&vinegar fries to go with it. The colesaw was passable, tasted like one you would find at your coffeeshop western food stall while the fries were a bit too sour but still edible. Nothing too special to it though. The salmon however was very nicely done. Still moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, it came with this killer sauce that further acentuates the taste and freshness of the fish. Definitely better done than the grilled pork. (4/5)

We couldn't skip desserts could we? We were advised to reserve our choice of desserts as the more popular ones tend to run out very fast, like the nutella tarte that we wanted to order. We were recommended the hot banana butterscotch and the mille crepe and that's what we had.

Hot Banana Butterscotch

We find the banana cake ($5.90) too moist and too sweet. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, we found it strange. It is not the usual 'wow' feeling you get for ice cream and warm chocolate cake. It is just kinda weird. (3/5)

Mille Crepe (Nutella)

There is two mille crepe ($5.90) on offer. The vanilla and nutella. Having missed out on the nutella tarte, we naturally ordered the nutella version. The crepe layered with nutella crepe was quite special. With the right level of sweetness. It is like the western version of kueh lapis but less dense. On hindsight, the vanilla version may had tasted better. (4/5)

Overall a satisfactory meal although the mains were a bit disappointing. However, the prices are affordable and the whole set-up is nice and simple with great waiting staff who were decked out in pink, lending a certain youth energy to the place. Not a bad place to hang out on a weekend afternoon.

Everything with Fries
458 Joo Chiat Road
6345-5034

40 Lor Mambong
6463-3741

www.everythingwithfries.com