Paddy Hills

Paddy Hills
38 South Buona Vista Road

https://www.facebook.com/paddyhills.sg/

Berry Muffcake (SGD $23)

Quaint Cafe, Modern Food, High Prices

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 7
Value for Money: 5
Spent about SGD $32 per person.


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Opening in March 2015, Paddy Hills is a quaint cafe in the far south-east of Singapore, named after the vision of abundance of rice in a paddy field. Known for their eclectic Modern Singaporean dishes which incorporate elements of French, Italian, and Singaporean cuisine, Paddy Hills continues to attract diners to its far flung location through constant re-invention of their dishes, offering new and exciting plates every few months.

Ambience at Paddy Hills exudes a quiet but appealing charm. Calm and vibrant tones of wood, blue, red, black, grey, and green, blend and complement seamlessly, neither feeling gaudy or striking. The warmly lit place is neatly lined with a variety of comfortable furnishings, though we find most of the tables a little small, as their plates are large in size. Very suitable for long, lingering meals and chatting with friends.

Service at Paddy Hills is functionally efficient, but lacks that memorable edge to make it outstanding. Decent enough though, staff are quick to seat guests and take orders, and display sufficient basic knowledge on the menu if questioned. They also offer to clear empty / finished plates and dishes throughout the meal, particularly if the table gets too crowded. Could do with more interaction though. Also, there is usually a short wait of 15 minutes for orders to be fulfilled.

Food at Paddy Hills is Modern Singaporean, influenced by French and Italian techniques and flavours. Plating and presentation is very appealing. However, dishes are hit or miss in taste - some work, some don't. Execution is average across the board, and there are some inconsistencies. Portions are medium to large, and can be shared. However, prices are expensive by cafe standards, budget about SGD $32 per person for a meal here.


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Paddy Hills Exterior

Paddy Hills Interior

Rise And Grind

Seating Outdoors

Seating Indoors

Seating Lounge

Seating Bar

Seating Booths

Menu

Menu

Menu

Menu

The Orange Sky (SGD $8) is a fruity sweet sour citrus blend of blood orange juice, mandarin orange juice, Calpis (a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink), and lemon juice. Interesting and vibrant mocktail, though pricey.

Orange Sky (SGD $8)

Coffee seems to be a highlight here, and the Latte (SGD $5.50) & OZ White (SGD $4) were respectively above average, with good strength and depth of flavour.

Latte (SGD $5.50) & OZ White (SGD $4)

The Hand Brew Costa Rican Blend (SGD $7) is drunk from a shot glass, feels so good to down this smooth and silky brew in a gulp. Love the hints of floral and roasted notes, and the acidity is rather light. Nice.

Hand Brew Costa Rican Blend (SGD $7)

The Lotus Root Chips (SGD $10) feature thinly sliced lotus root chips, coated in sumac powder and pop rocks. It has a lovely peppery seasoning, but it's the execution which was disappointing... alternating between crisp and limp. Would have been so much better if every single piece was crisp and crackling, but sadly, it's not. Skip this.

Lotus Root Chips (SGD $10)

Lotus Root Chips

The NZ Mussels (SGD $20) achieves a middle of the road balance. Neither memorable nor terrible, the best I can say is that this is alright. The plump mussels are savoury sweet, served in a sauce of Guinness stout, bacon crumbs, and Italian parsley. The sauce is tasty, but too much of it feels overpowering in earthy herbal flavours. Decent appetizer, yes. But I wouldn't order it again.

NZ Mussels (SGD $20)

NZ Mussels

Loved the Duck & Waffles (SGD $25), which has a large coffee infused waffle, stacked with a confit duck leg, red apple ribbons, peanut butter snow, cinnamon maple, and an ordinary fried egg. The waffle is soft and fluffy, with good roasted coffee bean flavour, while the duck is tender, moist, and savoury salty in taste; so addictive. Honestly, I wasn't sure how the peanut butter snow adds to this, but the cinnamon infused maple syrup complements this dish nicely. Good!

Duck & Waffles (SGD $25)

Duck & Waffles

The Christmas Burger (SGD $26) features a thick slab of turkey breast patty, coated in a golden crumb batter, sandwiched between chewy buttered hot cross burger buns. Stacked with fried gherkins, gruyere cheese, bacon, and a unique cranberry mayonnaise. Served with a fresh mesclun salad, and crisp salt & vinegar shoestring fries. Taste of the patty is delicate savoury sweet, but texture is rather crumbly when cut, falling apart easily. Overall though, I like this festive dish.

Christmas Burger (SGD $26)

Christmas Burger

Christmas Burger

The Crispy Pork Belly (SGD $26) is kind of a misnomer, with the tender but gamey slabs of savoury salty roasted pork belly having the skin removed, and plated separately as chunks of crisp fried crackling. Served with earthy sweet roasted purple cabbage, crunchy sweet caramel popcorn, confit garlic puree, and fruity sweet apple jus. Sounded exciting, but the combination of flavours was rather underwhelming.

Crispy Pork Belly (SGD $26)

Crispy Pork Belly

The Uni Truffle Pasta (SGD $35) has earthy homemade squid ink spaghetti pasta noodles, garnished with salty savoury chunks of cured serrano ham, in a rich tomato cream sauce. Luxurious topping of Himalayan black truffle and creamy briny uni / sea urchin, which lends some colour. Intense earthy briny notes abound here, flavours of the earth and sea. Tasty, but really expensive dish for a cafe.

Uni Truffle Pasta (SGD $35)

Uni Truffle Pasta

The Berry Muffcake (SGD $23) is a signature dessert here, featuring a fluffy crumbly pancake with a muffin texture, buttery in flavour. Beautifully presented with seasonal berries (raspberry, strawberry, blueberry), berry compote, cubes of vanilla ice cream, and yoghurt balls. Fruity sweet, visually appealing, and tasty. This was the best dish we had here. Highly recommended!

Berry Muffcake (SGD $23)

Berry Muffcake

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