Lazy Susan, the latest pop-up store in town, wait.. Mum, did they name this place after YOU? Hahaha!
After our constant encounters with café and hawker food, I think we are all looking forward to indulging our palates with something different. That’s when Lazy Susan becomes a great catch for us all. Why? Because this pop-up serves unique twists to our usual fix – café/ everyday food fused with exciting global flavors, way beyond our imagination. Okay, maybe only way out of my imagination because I’m not very creative. This amalgamation of flavors and what they call, culinary mash-ups is probably why the place is named LAZY SUSAN, which is by the way the spinning thing to put food in Chinese restaurants. It’s like having a taste of different flavors around world with a little spin on the plate. This is my most legit guess of the origin of the name of this pop-up, then again, it could be named after the chef’s ex, and me trying to be deep and reading too much into things. Women…Lazy Susan is having its very first pop-up at House at Dempsey from now till 27th December, and will then be spun off to Open Door Policy from 5th to 24th January. I heard Lazy Susan has even set sights to land on cities like New York, Paris and London and aims to curate and incorporate Asian twists to the city’s flavors. EH.. BETTER BE FIRST TO CATCH THEM BEFORE THEY GO OVERSEAS HOR, so that you can be cool!
Asian traditional breakfasts? Hawker fare? Café food? Dim Sum? What is Lazy Susan actually offering? Everything. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. All their dishes are served in sharing plates so that you can try MORE OF THEIR CREATIONS and pick your own selection according to your tastebuds. Clever, clever move. Now let me attempt to help you ease your dilemma and ENTICE YOU with the following review.
The Menu
They have a crazily extensive menu, especially in the drinks department and they even have common man coffees! SHIOK LAH. What more can I possibly ask for?
The Food
Okay let’s actually start with the drinks!
This was taken when I was hiding under that teeny bit of shelter together with the aircon vents. LAZY SUSAN SOUNDED SO EXCITING, I had to brave the rain to get there. I. MUST. GET. THERE. OR. DIE. TRYING. HAHA!
Since I was soooo cold, I was recommended to have their Red Latte ($6)
This drink was described to me as…. A teh tarik without all the unhealthy parts, i.e. Condensed milk. HAHA! It’s true. And I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. My dining partner preferred it a lot more with the syrup provided though. But I liked it on its own. AND WA, since when teh got teh art one?
Do note that each dish is served in sharing plates as mentioned above! This is the actual portion you’d get! Here’s the run down of most of the items on the menu!
Excited?
1. BBQ Jackfruit Bum ($12)
No. It’s not pulled pork. THIS IS A VEGGIE BURGER – braised young jackfruit drenched with gula meleka bbq sauce and pistachio studded guacamole. FOR REAL? I’m not a fan of jackfruit, but I was sold by the description.
Soft, fluffy buns, and this tasted NOTHING like jackfruit to me. It could be because I only took a little portion of it, but I was trying really hard to convince myself that NO THIS IS NOT MEAT INSIDE THE BURGER. Crazy, but it’s true.
2. Corny Bollywood Pancake ($12)
I asked my partner, “How are the pancakes ah?”, and she said, “Umm, very corny..”, then she went ahead to check the menu and started giggling, because this dish is SO APTLY NAMED. CORNY indeed.
This is a curried Indian spiced corn pancake topped with tomato-coconut chutney and a fried fishcake crumbled oozy egg. Yes, I thought it was fishcake…
I thought wrong.
Pardon the poor quality. My first time using my camera to video this down. Give chance ok?
The pancake was indeed corny. But it was a good change, and it was pretty fluffy as well! Just the way I like my pancakes to be! The tomato chutney had a very indian taste to it. Not a bad thing, but just taste like indian food lor. But I liked this dish because I never really quite come across a pancake and combination as unique as this!
3. Wing Bean Toast ($12)
The sourdough toast is sourced from sister bakery, Tiong Bahru Bakery, and you should expect nothing but the BEST. Topped with creamy white mozzarella, wing beans, Lazy Susan’s specially concocted XOXO sauce, and finished with tart hibiscus leaves.
I unfortunately did not get to try this dish, but help me try ok!
4. Fried Carat Cake ($9)
I’m sorry it looks really leafy. BUT THIS IS DA BOMB. IT’S THEIR HOME MADE (FROM SCRATCH HOR) carrot cake stirred with a light curry sauce, sweet radish, pickled mustard greens and jalapenos. WOW. I actually LOVED their version of carrot cake, so thick and GOOD, and together with the curry sauce…. OH GOSHHHHHH CAN HAWKER CENTERS SERVE THIS RENDITION ALREADY?!!!!!! ORDER THIS ORDER ORDER ORDER!
5. Muscle Cheese Surf & Turf ($11)
I looked at this and thought.. Huh this one not just shallot toast meh. Seriously.. LOOK AGAIN.
Ya. HUH? THIS ONE NOT SHALLOT TOAST MEH?
HAHAHA! This is actually one of my favorites, even though I DONT LIKE SHALLOTS. I ALWAYS HATE IT IN MY BAN MIAN. This is their TBB sourdough bread with a spread of ricotta, marinated mussels and choy sum (the veggie), and sprinkled with a crazy amounts of crispy shallot. WOW. I loved how the mussels gave the extra chewy texture to the entire dish, and complemented the slight crunch from the shallots. It’s like WHERE DO THESE GUYS GET THEIR IDEAS FROM? Mussels and shallots… I dont see how they can work so well together, but they just did.
6. Cheese “Mantou” in Chili Crab Sauce ($14)
Deep fried Halloumi cheese blocks drenched with Lazy Susan’s own chilli crab sauce. I LOVE HALLOUMI CHEESE and for obvious reasons I’m biased towards this dish. I LOVED THIS DISH. The Lazy Susan’s rendition of chili crab sauce was one that is more sweet, and yet has a slightly spicy finishing – different from what we have with our crabs. It’s shiok lah really. I’d have dipped everything with this sauce if I had thicker skin.
7. Marry Mee Goreng ($12)
I actually only had a few strands of noodles because this dish had A LOT MORE SEAFOOD AND INGREDIENTS THAN NOODLES. No. I ain’t complaining!
Yellow noodles with fresh seafood, laksa leaves, chives and red chillies. Probably the most normal plate in the entire menu. Not exactly amazing, but it’s good enough to give ’em hawkers a good run for their money. Then again, it’s $12 I know, but if you love your seafood so fresh and in such generous amounts… I think only here have lah hor.
8. Sitnky Meets Crispy ($22)
We are all definitely NOT new to this combination. Har cheong gai with waffles. Except this has an additional sunny side up. Also, except that this actually TASTES GOOD.
Although this was the dish that wasn’t exactly novel and unique to Lazy Susan, I thought it was the winner of the afternoon. The Har Cheong Gai was amazingly fried, without the lingering unpleasant taste (like in some cafe), and it was MORE MEAT THAN SKIN. Because I get really upset when my chicken has more fried skin that meat. Like hey… don’t cheat leh.
While the waffles weren’t impressive, THE sambal maple syrup just took our breaths away. Pro tip: JUST DUMP THE WHOLE PORTION IN. It was sweet, really slightly spicy and a whole lot of sambal shiokness. I’m really bad at describing huh? But it’s definitely a dish, or rather a sauce to try. This tops ANY chicken waffle combination I’ve had so far.
9. Luncheon Meat Croquettes ($8)
Ah… I should’ve taken a picture of the inside of these fried little balls. Ahhh.. Okay this is actually fried glutinous rice balls, stuffed with really little luncheon meat, chives, sichuan pickles, and rolled in healthy quinoa. It’s mostly a glutinous rice ball. That’s all to it really.
10. Lotus Root Salad ($9)
If you’re a fan of lotus root, you’d love this. Nothing much to shout about, but the flavors in this was GAO GAO. Sliced lotus root dressed with homemade chili jam, kaffir lime leaves, dried shrimp, topped with thai basil and lime. It’s shiok lah, but might not be a dish I’d choose over the others, unless I’m with Susan (my mum) because SHE LOVES LOTUS ROOT.
11. Tempeh Bao ($10)
Step aside Kong Ba Bao. This steamy bun hugs the marinated tempeh with a hot and sour peanut sauce, and finished with a cucumber relish. Seriously, step aside kong ba bao.
I loveD you, KKB, but I think I might just love this tempeh bao more. SO FLAVORFUL, SO GOOD. At this point of time, these guys behind Lazy Susan are seriously making me feel inferior with my level of creativity..
12. Gotta Kofta Salad ($14)
Homemade spiced beef kofta with juicy tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic potato rouille. I didn’t try this but I’d think beef never fails. Hehe.
They have 3 desserts on their menu as well, and they are namely:
1. Cornfield Cake ($8)
Grilled corn cake with fresh creamed corn, and a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. A good sweet-salty combination, and it is highly recommended for them corn lovers.
2. Mango Pudding ($8)
Just like a Chinese dinner dessert – MANGO PUDDING LOR
This picture because, omg the spoon it is served with is VERY NICE!
3. Like a Bibik ($8)
Sago cake with pearls, and drowned with gula meleka sauce (DRIZZLE YOUR HEAD. THIS IS NOT A DRIZZLE) together with a pineapple and dill relish. This is probably the most unique dessert you could try off their dessert menu. Honestly it’s quite shiok, and you can’t go very wrong with anything gula meleka eh? Haha!
Closing Remarks
I hope I’ve given you an adequate run down of what you need to know before heading or deciding to head down to Lazy Susan. While I could imagine my friends complaining about the price tags of some of these dishes, especially for the portions, I would think that they are pretty reasonably priced because
1. EH DEMPSEY LEH. Even after they move to Open Door Policy in January.. EH ODP LEH.
2. You can’t get these ANY WHERE ELSE IN SINGAPORE
3. No, seriously you got to try these at least once. You have to admit that these guys are really innovative. VISIT THEM. Positive reinforcement you know? Then we can get more of these in the future~
Frankly speaking though, the desserts were very much lacking in contrast to the mains. I could really do without them and order an additional main, just to try out the unique take of the dishes by the people behind Lazy Susan.
It’s definitely worthwhile to try them out before they are gone!
They are available at:
1. House at Dempsey: 3rd to 27th December 2015
8D Dempsey Road, Singapore 249672
Available days: Thursday and Friday: 12pm to 11pm, Saturday: 11am to 12am, Sunday: 9am to 12am
2. Open Door Policy: 5th to 24th January 2016
19 Yong Siak Street, Singapore 168650
Available days: Monday to Sunday: 12-3pm/ 6 to 11pm
Visit them at lazysusansg.com!
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