Brownice Italian Bistro Tasting Session

Brownice Italian Bistro Tasting Session
55 East Coast Road

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 10pm


https://www.facebook.com/ilovebrownice

This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session, but I did pay the standard price during subsequent visits.
Attended with representatives from Her Pen And Fork, Purple Taste, Jelly Love Fats, Justin Teo Living Loving You, and msginginly.

Arancini (SGD $12)

Vegan Ice Cream! Decent Vegan Italian Cuisine

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 8
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $27 per person.


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Established in July 2015, Brownice Italian Bistro in the Katong area of Singapore is a pure vegan Italian cafe and ice cream parlour. Being much stricter than vegetarians, Brownice Italian Bistro vegan meals do not have meat, fish, poultry, eggs, honey, dairy, or any other animal derived ingredients. Yet, they've managed to craft Italian dishes that are pretty tasty!

Brownice Italian Bistro Signage

Ambience at Brownice Italian Bistro has recently received a makeover. The space is now casual and inviting, with modern wood and metal furniture, warm lighting, and bright posters on the walls lending a splash of colour. The biggest change is the addition of a comfortable sofa area, and the large, attractive, brightly lit display of vegan ice cream at the storefront. This draws the eye with its vibrant, colourful display of home made vegan ice cream flavours!

Brownice Italian Bistro Exterior

Brownice Italian Bistro Interior

Service at Brownice Italian Bistro is friendly and casual, befitting a typical cafe. The mostly young staff seem happy and cheerful, enthusiastically greeting diners, and quickly seating them. Orders are taken tableside, and while the menu has some basic descriptions of dishes, staff are able to answer basic questions, though they need to check for more specific questions. There is a short waiting time for orders, about 10 minutes or so. However, payment is self-service, over the counter. Staff are able to advise and describe the different flavours of vegan ice cream, and how they're made. Pleased with the service here!

Decorative Lights

Food at Brownice Italian Bistro is vegan Italian cuisine. This means salads, pizzas, and pastas dominate the menu. Generally, food here is tasty to a decent standard, very commendable that they can achieve good taste even without any animal derived products! However, I must note that the food largely tastes similar to rustic, home cooking, meaning it definitely does not match up to restaurant quality standards. For vegans however, it's a must-try. The star here is their delicious vegan ice cream, with over 30 different flavours, of which 18 are available at any one time! Portions are slightly large for individuals, and may be shared. Prices are comparable to other cafes, budget about SGD $27 per person for a meal here.

Vegan Ice Cream

Menu

Menu

The Hazelnut Shake (SGD $8) here is made with home made brown rice milk, and has some slight crunch from the hazelnuts. But I felt the flavour didn't really agree with me. The Passionfruit Mango Smoothie (SGD $8) was much better, fruity sweet with the flavours of passionfruit and a hint of mango, this smooth beverage won approval from us. Highly recommended!

Hazelnut Shake (SGD $8)

Passionfruit Mango Smoothie (SGD $8)

What surprised us about the White Truffle Fries (SGD $10) was the vegan cheese, if you didn't know this was vegan, you actually might not be able to discern the difference! Piping hot, with crisp outside fluffy inside, thick cut potato fries, slightly perfumed with a hint of white truffle oil, sprinkled with vegan cheese. Delicious, savoury salty cheesy in flavour, this was the best appetizer we ate here. Highly recommended!

White Truffle Fries (SGD $10)

White Truffle Fries

Good attempt at the Italian Arancini (SGD $12) here, these little fried breaded risotto rice balls have a crisp exterior and a soft interior. As there is no meat, you can taste the distinct grainy texture of the fragrant arborio short-grain rice, along with the gooey savoury salty vegan cheese. Served in a bright, tangy sour sweet, fresh home made tomato sauce, and laced with sharp balsamic vinaigrette, these yummy risotto croquettes should be eaten quickly when hot! Good!

Arancini (SGD $12)

Arancini

The Fresh Mushroom Soup (SGD $8) features 3 types of mushroom (porcini, button, shiitake), blended with vegan cheese, resulting in a thick, savoury earthy appetizer. On our visit, the soup was over seasoned, but the texture is rich and creamy, absolutely tasty! A slice of bread is dunked within, which I felt would be better if it was served on the side, as it got soggy after awhile.

Fresh Mushroom Soup (SGD $8)

Fresh Mushroom Soup

The Fennel Orange Salad (SGD $12) features a bed of fresh, crunchy arugula / wild rocket leaves, crunchy fennel shavings, juicy orange slices, all dressed with sharp balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil. A decent salad.

Fennel Orange Salad (SGD $12)

Fennel Orange Salad

We agreed the Truffle Mushroom Risotto (SGD $18) was among the best dishes we had here, I notice the chef does mushrooms really well! Featuring arborio short-grain rice, which is cooked to a nice al-dente and is not mushy, with large slices of earthy tender mushrooms (porcini, button, shiitake), and laced with white truffle oil, this dish is creamy, rich, and yet the rice grains are still distinct. Little odd that they added yellow bell peppers / capsicum, though I suppose it's for texture contrast, as it lends a slight crunch.

Truffle Mushroom Risotto (SGD $18)

Truffle Mushroom Risotto

The Four Seasons Pizza (SGD $18) is like a sampler pizza, with 4 different combinations of pizza toppings. Of the 4 quarters, the combination that stood out for me was the earthy black olives, and the sun-dried tomatoes. The artichoke with soy ham was decent, as was the mushrooms (porcini, button) with tofu. The pizza base, while thin, could be more crisp.

Four Seasons Pizza (SGD $18)

Four Seasons Pizza

The hearty Lasagna (SGD $17) is served doused in their fragrant home made rich tomato sauce, garnished with arugula / wild rocket leaves. Flavour packed too, with layers of diced eggplant and tofu crumble, this was savoury sweet earthy zesty all at once. Good!

Lasagna (SGD $17)

Lasagna

Sampled the Ice Cream Bowl - Matcha, Pistachio, It's Getting Dark, PB&Choc (SGD $13 - $17), where you get 4 different flavours, and 4 complimentary toppings! For the 4 toppings, we sampled the chocolate chips, dried cranberries, home made granola, and my favourite, the caramelised sea salt almonds!

All their 30 vegan ice cream flavours here are home made using brown rice milk, and generally have rich, creamy smooth textures! We tried 4 different ice cream flavours. My favourite was the PB&Choc, rich in peanut butter flavour, sticky and creamy, with a hint of chocolate. The house best seller, It's Getting Dark, is a rich, thick, smooth dark chocolate flavour. The Pistachio flavour is comparable to elsewhere, and is worth ordering, with its fragrant, nutty taste. The Matcha here is an acquired taste, while it holds good green tea flavour, it also tastes like coconut was blended in.

Ice Cream Bowl - Matcha, Pistachio, It's Getting Dark, PB&Choc (SGD $13 - $17)

Ice Cream Bowl - Matcha, Pistachio, It's Getting Dark, PB&Choc

Ice Cream Bowl - Matcha, Pistachio, It's Getting Dark, PB&Choc

Loved the smooth, creamy texture of the Coco Loco Ice Cream (SGD $4.50), with its strong earthy floral milky coconut taste! There's some chunks of young coconut within, making this ice cream particularly value for money. Highly recommended!

Coco Loco Ice Cream (SGD $4.50)

Coco Loco Ice Cream

The Passion A-Go-Go Ice Cream (SGD $4.50) has a fruity sweet, zesty tropical taste of passionfruit, with a grainy texture akin to sorbet. Like that the sweetness within is balanced, not overpowering. Good!

Passion A-Go-Go Ice Cream (SGD $4.50)

Passion A-Go-Go Ice Cream

Update Jan-2018: Finally tried the Waffle With It's Getting Dark & Nutella It's Really You Ice Cream (SGD $11). Love the waffle, piping hot with a crisp exterior that crunches lightly, revealing a fluffy soft interior that has a soft chew. Delicate sweet notes here. The It's Getting Dark Ice Cream is as tasty as ever, but I felt the Nutella It's Really You Ice Cream could have been better with more nutty chocolate flavour. It's a good dessert!

Waffle With It's Getting Dark & Nutella It's Really You Ice Cream (SGD $11)

Overall, Brownice Italian Bistro offers tasty vegan dishes in a casual atmosphere. While there is good effort in their vegan Italian dishes, I would return again for their vegan ice cream, which hands down, is tastier than most other ice cream shops around. For pure vegans, Brownice Italian Bistro offers 100% vegan food, and is a good option if you're hungry for Italian cuisine!


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