O'town

I got into a pleasant conversation when I ran into a Singaporean expat from a while back. Having been in Melbourne for a much longer time than I, he's been around the block quite a few times. I wrangled a list of restaurant recommendations from him (and passed on my favourite Middle Eastern restaurant in exchange). 

One of his favourite Singaporean restaurant is O'town, and I could see why: the ambiance made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Nothing against Pappa Rich or Petaling Street, but their service and layout seem more impersonal in comparison. Coming to O'town feels like going home. It wasn't overly crowded with hoards of people to squeeze through or new arrivals waiting for you to finish up and leave, but had the just-right amount of people to create a pleasant din of conversation around you. We reached 15 minutes to 8pm, and there was no difficulty finding seats. The service was really efficient as well. We were seated and served in 10 mins

The Fried Octopus ($9) was delicious! It seemed a little soggy when I picked it up, but the texture was fresh and crunchy. For $9, there was plentiful to go around. 

Wanton Mee with Cha Siew ($10) was decent. It was average in taste, but the portion was large and plentiful. I almost couldn't finish. Almost. The noodles were decent, but the cha siew was unremarkable. You could probably get better results with a bottle of Lee Kum Kee sauce and pork neck. 

We shared a bowl of chendol ($7.50). This one we didn't finish: the shaved ice was too coarse.

The Verdict
The portions were very generous, especially for the price. It's a decent choice for Singaporean food; the food tastes like home and it's a cozy place to linger and chat. We left feeling satisfied and happy and we will be back to try other dishes. (I hear the Dark Sauce Wanton and Ipoh kwey Tiao with chicken is great.)

Must-try
Fried Octopus